[Aaron Olapade]: Second.
[Aaron Olapade]: in the school system yet, but I did graduate from Medford High in 2018. So I saw the ways in which the building and the faculty support students here. But I think at this point, we are now growing out of this building. We're ready for a bit of a change. So I'm really excited to be here and to see what you all have for us. So I'm just gonna be part of the process.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I have a question. I know that, as you mentioned earlier, you know, with the way that we approach education here in the district, from my perspective, we really try to keep students in the district, regardless of their lived experience. We want them to feel like there's an opportunity here for them to learn what they need to know, you know, post-grad, whatever that may look like. And so when we talk about ADA compliance and a 508 compliance under the ADA umbrella, for example, For our modern disability disabled students and all the things that come with that, for example, are there people on the team or do you subcontract out when it comes to those compliance questions about like accessibility in physical spaces when our life skill labs and things like that? How do we usually go about that? I know that that may be much later in the process, but I just want to kind of get a little better idea about that.
[Aaron Olapade]: I am a product of Medford, not only as a Medford Public Schools graduate, but as a school committee member and leader seeking reelection. I've seen firsthand both the challenges and opportunities facing our schools, and I remain steadfast in the belief that every child deserves an education that unlocks their full potential. At a time when public education is under attack, when diversity of every kind is increasing in our classrooms, and when budget debates threaten the resources our students depend on, we need steady voices with lived experience to defend and expand opportunity. Medford shaped me, and now, as your school committee member, I have worked to shape a brighter future for every student, on every path, from classrooms to careers. From advocating and securing historic funding through the 2024 overrides to advancing equity initiatives and capital planning for a new high school as a voting member of the building committee, I'm already fighting to make sure our schools are safe, welcoming, and prepared for the future, but the work is not done. My journey began when the Medford schools welcomed my family during challenging times, giving me stability and purpose. Guided by mentors, teachers, and community leaders, I learned the value of community service and the responsibility of using my voice for others. As a young leader, I built bridges across classrooms, communities, and later across cities serving underrepresented youth in Boston and Malden, fighting for resources in schools where care alone was not enough. At Boston College, I studied political science not just to understand systems, but to change them. My senior research on behavior in the classroom, the forming of subconscious bias, and the adverse effect of harmful educational practices deepened my conviction that representation matters and that schools must be places where every student is seen, respected, and supported. That conviction has impassioned my efforts and accomplishments as a current school committee member. I've worked to bring additional resources into our schools, like grant funding for youth employment and a Best Buddies program, hire high-quality leadership aligned with and accountable to our district's instructional vision, ensure students' voices are at the center of every decision. We've been able to expand access to arts, vocational programs, and career-ready pathways, begun working to bring composting to the entire district, and we've begun the long-overdue work of modernizing our facilities. I'm running for re-election with an even stronger commitment to this work. Like in our classrooms, we need a school committee that mirrors the vibrant diversity of its student body, with members who have lived the struggles and triumphs of those classrooms. Picture a Medford where students don't just graduate, but graduate prepared with the skills, support, and confidence to lead in the world they're entering. Imagine a new Medford High School that's more than a modern academic and vocational campus, a place where learning meets life and where the entire city can live into its calling to be the village that it takes to raise, support, and celebrate every generation. This is what we are fighting for, and this is why I'm asking for your vote. The challenges facing public education are real. Funding cuts, political attacks, and growing inequities. But so are the opportunities to reimagine what's possible when we center every student, open doors to every path, and work together to strengthen schools, families, and our city. By voting for me, you're choosing a leader who has proven his ability to deliver outcomes, who brings lived experience, active listening, strong, steady leadership, and who is committed to making Medford schools stronger, fairer, and future ready. Together, let's build on the progress we've made and keep Medford moving forward.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. To actually follow up on my colleague's question, are there certain portions of the facility that you find there should be a more routine checkup on? So bathroom facilities or HVAC or electrical, or do you find that just in general we should be on the same timeline, the 10-year recommendation or the five if you want to be more aggressive?
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, that's perfect. OK. And then another question I had when it comes to this assessment, you know, I haven't looked over the 150 page document fully yet. But when it comes to moving from this current assessment to an actual schematic design and bid process, do you feel like what's the usual timeline that takes to go from where we are now to what it would look like to start that bidding portion?
[Aaron Olapade]: And I think in something that you said, I think it's important that I think the committee and I think the general public who may be listening in that for the most part, the things that you found in this assessment, there were no majorly emergent concerns facility-wise about student safety or student learning that have been impacted. So if there was a longer process to get to that bidding portion, student safety wouldn't be impacted because we're taking a little bit longer to go through that.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. And then the last kind of question comment, you said towards the last portion of the assessment mechanical systems, electrical systems about the cost of repairing, you know, it can eventually eclipse the costing of just replacing. Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about that? I know there's a lot of concern in the community questions about what that generally looks like when it comes to facility costs. And, you know, we're discussing it, you know, a new refurbished or new high school here in Medford and so there's a lot of conversation about what does that really look like in the immediate cost versus long term. I just know that you mentioned I wondered if you had any, you know, just professional experience about at what point does it eventually eclipse that replacement costs.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. To go back a little bit to the belonging portion of the slideshow, you talked quite a bit about the fidelity to responsive classrooms and restorative justice. Can you talk a little bit more about what that actually looks like? I know we've been discussing that for quite a little while now, and the cost and implementation of these types of practices is very lengthy and can be quite difficult. So I just wanted to hear a little bit more about that.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, I'd be there two hours early.
[Aaron Olapade]: Hello, and thank you so much for having me. I want to say thank you to the Medford Democratic Committee. the Medford Public Schools for welcoming us, and my fellow candidates for being on stage with me. I'm a product of Medford Schools, not just as a graduate, but as a school committee member and leader seeking re-election. I've seen firsthand both the challenges and opportunities facing our schools, and I reign steadfast in the belief every child deserves an education that unlocks their full potential. At a time when public education is under attack, when diversity of every kind is at the highest it's ever been in our classrooms, And when budget debates threaten the resources our students depend on, we need steady leadership and voices with lived experience on the committee. Medford shaped me, and now, as your school committee member, I work to shape a brighter future for every student, on every path, from classrooms to careers. From advocating and securing historic funding through the 2024 overrides, to advancing equity initiatives and capital planning for a new high school as a voting member of your building committee, I'm already fighting to make sure our schools are safe, welcoming, and prepared for the future, but the work is not done just yet. During university, I studied political science, not just to understand systems, but to change them. My senior research on behavior in the classroom, the adverse effects of implicit bias, and adverse effects of harmful educational practices informed my interest in this work and my conviction that representation truly matters. That conviction has impassioned me in my efforts and accomplishments thus far. I've been able to bring additional resources into our schools through career readiness pathways and youth employment grant programs. I've been able to work with our CPAC in the city to establish a best buddies program. We're going to be doing composting to our school district, which I'm incredibly excited about. I've been able to hire high quality leadership through our different search committees. And I'm here to speak to everyone tonight about the opportunities that we have in the district. I'm excited for the opportunity to speak to you about my personal experiences and how I can better impact the community. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you for that question. I think the school committee's primary role is to be the governing body for public education in any municipal government. And I think that it's supposed to be the bridge between what the general population understands about public education and what the government is trying to accomplish. We understand that at the state level there's a lot of decisions that are made that reverberate in our local government, in our local cities and communities, but a lot of the time the general public doesn't have the capacity, the time to actually be informed on what's going on because they're busy, they have kids, they're working day to day, and so who's responsible for communicating out to the public what we're trying to accomplish in the classroom and in the school and in the district? That's not only the superintendent offices responsibly, but the school committee. We're tasked with not only balancing the budget, but also incorporating the asks and the requests of families, constituents, kinships into the day-to-day operations of the school system. The superintendent's job is then to make those things happen. And I think that as a school committee, we can always do more to communicate what we want to see as a general public. seeing how we're informing our students, preparing them for post-grad life, making sure we have access to the arts, athletics, extracurriculars that students are excited about, and the superintendent's job is to then hire the proper personnel to task people properly and make sure that that's actually happening in public. Was there another portion of that question? I think that was all of it.
[Aaron Olapade]: I think the lasting portion is that school committee is tasked primarily with policy and budgets, like I said. I think that we understand what things are happening at the federal and state level, and we then need to communicate that to the superintendent's office, as well as, as I mentioned, to the general public about what types of things need to happen, and how we're going to make them happen through the budgets that we're receiving from the city, and how that, you know, how that will, I guess disseminate might be the word, but how that actually is going to be appropriated properly. And the superintendent's job, I think, is to then make that a reality. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you for that question. So I want to acknowledge that the teacher contracts that have come before me in my time, I think, is something that is a major point of contention, as you mentioned. I think many members of the community who aren't as engaged in the educational platform that's going on in the community were really concerned with what we were doing and how we were impacting teachers, their families, and how that was, I think, impacting student learning. I think what we are doing right now on this team that I've been interacting with the last two years is really working towards making sure that all staff members feel seen and heard during contract negotiations, are incorporating the questions and concerns from the unions and how that's impacting student learning. I think when we understand about how to explain it, I think the budget is the biggest question. The budget that is teacher salaries and teacher benefits is one of the biggest components of the school budget, and understanding how every year when we have less and less of a school budget, it's going to impact teachers and contracts firstly. It's not just going to be student learning, but it's going to impact the people that are teaching the material and the curriculum that we want our students to learn every single year, I think it requires a robust Contract negotiation team that are actively trying to understand better what types of things need to happen in the meetings, what types of things are changing at the state level, at the federal level. We're advocating for increased budgets every year that's going to properly pay and staff. are educators, but not just that, but I think also incorporating and creating an environment where teachers are excited to be here, they want to return, we want to make sure we have high teacher retention rates, and I think that comes in those negotiations where they feel seen and heard every single day when we have those communications about what types of things they're seeing in the classroom, because they're boots on the ground. We as the professional staff, in the school committee and on the contract negotiation team don't get to see what students are seeing and what teachers are seeing. So we need to be able to incorporate what they're doing with what we are budgetarily restricted to. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you for that question. I find that as a state and as a local city that has the possibility of having federal funding cut, that relies on federal funding for a variety of programs, I think it's representative of the fact that there is fear from the federal government that we are doing what's right, that they're attacking our state and they're attacking our students by trying to cut programming and to be as informed, holistic students and individuals in the general population. My biggest concern is that how does this reverberate to students who have the most need? So low income, special needs students, English learners, other demographics that we here in Medford really prioritize and we want to keep in the district. I know that there is a variety of concern, I think, from the constituents about how we're going to navigate this if we do have federal funding cut and how that additional need will become more apparent with less and less monies available to us. We talk a lot about as long as we have strong educators and willing students, that's all we really need. There's a lot more to it than just that. The achievement gap becomes more apparent. The student success rates become more apparent. Graduation decline. Testing scores, as we just mentioned. And we don't quite know what that may look like because right now it's theoretical. And I know that I've been in Zoom meetings and I've interacted with people at the Statehouse. They are actively already trying to navigate what this may look like if we do lose federal funding and even additional state funding. the governor's office, the attorney general's office, I know state representatives I'm communicative with, I know local cities, superintendents are all trying to navigate what is next, even if it doesn't actually happen. How do we incorporate proper educational practices with less and less money? The biggest fear, of course, is that eventually when you're doing more with less, eventually it just becomes less. And I think that's where we need to navigate how can we as constituents actually impact student learning if we don't have the financial backing that we usually or more commonly have. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you everyone again for coming out and hearing us speak. I want to thank you to my candidates as well for working with me. It's been a really nerve-wracking, I think, night for all of us just because we're so excited about this work and we want to be the best we can be for each and every one of you. Something I think I noticed that we all talked about was every student, every path, everyone, we all have informed consideration about what is best for this district and we all have to be involved on how to impact students to the best of their abilities. When I'm talking about a vision for Medford, where every young person, no matter their background, learning style, or circumstance, has access to an education that is consistent with what they need best, not a one-size-fits-all education. It should prepare them not only for graduation, but life after graduation. That means celebrating all pathways, college, career, trades, and community service alike. As a current member of the school committee, I've seen firsthand how much progress we've made and how much more work remains. From building stronger academic supports to playing for a new Medford High, our momentum depends on experience and collaboration within the team. The work of governing isn't just theoretical. It's practical, detailed, and deeply human. It requires someone who knows how to navigate different cultural understandings, policies, partnerships, and relationships while keeping students' voices and student understanding at the center of every decision. But it also requires lived experience, someone who understands what it means to come up through our schools to face inequities and to turn those lessons into advocacy. I bring that perspective every day, being a representative of a growing population of diverse students and student learners. Our schools are changing, our city is growing, and we need leadership that reflects in response to the full diversity of our community. Something I learned during my gap year when I worked for City Year Boston is the spirit of Ubuntu. I am because we are. When we embrace Ubuntu, we recognize that every child's success is tied to our shared responsibility and collective strength. Together, we can remind our kids that they are not an afterthought, but the heartbeat of Medford's future. So tonight, I'm asking for your support, not just to continue serving, but to keep building a Medford that lives up to its promise, where every student has every opportunity, every path, for everyone. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I had a quick question about the eligibility in the draft you provided us. So I know that you mentioned that students that are promoted into the program is conditional based off of their ability to seek the following grade. For students that, for example, aren't able to seek the following grade and they need repeat a year, does that does that remove their eligibility to reapply to the program as well as how does that impact the I know for eighth grade the very least it's March is when the selection process begins in the lottery. How does that does that impact the rest of the lottery system at all if a student is not determined to be unable to seek the next grade yet but they will be eventually some question makes sense.
[Aaron Olapade]: Awesome, thank you so much.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I had two quick questions. So I know that the to comprise the actual tiered system to a prioritization, you know, you implemented a couple different ways to the criteria or metrics. Is there a metric that we're working on to determine like the actual reduction of incidents and success of this as well as whatever that may look like, are we able to kind of implement some type of mid-year report to kind of see how this is progressing so that hopefully we're seeing the numbers continue to go down so that ourselves and the district and I think families understand like why we're doing this.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I think something that my colleague just mentioned actually both my colleagues mentioned is seeing a need and feeling a need I think you all kind of commented in your own ways that noticing something that you're seeing day to day in your classroom in your school, you know, amongst your peers your friends your teachers, whatever may be, and acknowledging that there's an opportunity here as someone who's witnessing this. I have a perspective that I want to communicate out to the people who can make the changes that I'd like to see. And it's something really important that we don't get the privilege of seeing necessarily because we're not in the classroom each day like you all are. So I think maintain that, hold on to the opportunity that you are noticing to say, what can I do as someone who is seeing this need and how can I fill it, right? And even if that's just coming to a meeting like this, sitting in that student advisory chair and letting us know what you're noticing, what your colleagues or your peers are seeing and how we can best support you. So I think just appreciate that you guys are seeing that and you're actually living into that a little bit. So thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I had a quick question about the high school enrollment data. For the final report, I know this is just preliminary, would there be a way to separate MHS from MVTHS just so we have an idea about the actual numbers of students that are allocating from the middle schools and then students that are coming into the districts? I know that the middle school count is 282, you know, obviously, but then the count for ninth grade is 307, so there is a, you know, 25, 30-ish student uptick. So just understand what that looks like and where that's coming from would be just awesome to have.
[Aaron Olapade]: Awesome, thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: It's just to clarify, what does the KF stand for?
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: KF, kindergarten full day, which is all kindergarten students here in Bedford. Every acronym.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you for the update. You just mentioned. Is there any type of shift in the qualifications of the applicant needs to have or the commensurate pay or anything like that? Or is it just the expectation of the needs that you're recognizing?
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you very much.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. It's a question, I think, for both the chair and I think member Ruseau, just as a clarifying question, as you both have had prior experience, I know that you mentioned that DESE has their own valuating criteria. Are we allowed to incorporate our own criteria or things that we believe as Medford specific district would benefit from having? That may also just be what you listed out as the prior experience, but I wanted to know, is that also been incorporated into this?
[Aaron Olapade]: I don't think they did. Some of them are maybe a little hard to find because of some of the names.
[Aaron Olapade]: So just so you know, this is the spreadsheet that required to fill up the MSBA.
[Aaron Olapade]: They did have the CT consultants.
[Aaron Olapade]: of central space in between the addition renovating space today, the first kind of slideshow, trying to incorporate the idea that this is an opportunity for the community to be involved. That's as well as outdoor learning spaces. We're learning a lot now that there's a huge benefit to having that available space for students and teachers to kind of get outside the classroom from time to time. So to be able to incorporate that and have that be used as a shared space with the community.
[Aaron Olapade]: Um, they, in their, in kind of all their designs, they don't clarify what their expectations are. I know that they kind of discuss interdisciplinarity, collaboration, CT, pre-K, innovation sections on what design plans, but they don't actually clarify if they want that to be built in an adjacent building, in the building, what their thinking is with that. So it's like, it's a clarity on what their vision would be and how that kind of plays into what we're looking for, which is probably the best prospective program. So they clarify everything else.
[Aaron Olapade]: So I think that's one of the designs. We're trying to kind of lay it all at the same level. But I think this one, I think it would be an exciting opportunity to use multi-level construction builds, either for the additional, like additional renovations or for the construction. So I think it's a very interesting way to kind of consider what the vision would look like and how we can use multi-level.
[Aaron Olapade]: Any other questions? As I'm looking at them, so the smaller hill design compared to the other two, the amount of space in there for student learning in general, seems visually smaller than the other two suggestive designs. So I'm trying to understand where the space is going a little bit. It's the first and second design. Oh, it's how it is. OK.
[Aaron Olapade]: I retract my question. Yeah, they have more stories, too.
[Aaron Olapade]: of discovery, it's like this growing experiential learning opportunity. So the whole, again, they kind of try to incorporate different levels. The building kind of rises as you go from the main entrance, the level going to where the teacher's currently sits. And the whole building's supposed to kind of be this movement throughout the whole. I think it's a really interesting way to kind of incorporate what we want to accomplish as educators.
[Aaron Olapade]: We think those vary from project to project, designer to designer. Some of the questions seem to be varied. From what I've heard here, I think the questions that are being asked
[Aaron Olapade]: sessions, they have desire, you know, it's not working that way, they will have a specific number of ED spots that are just a discussion.
[Aaron Olapade]: Okay.
[Aaron Olapade]: So I don't think you necessarily need to be on 24, but I wanted to just let everybody know that there was a slight schedule change in the MSBA, so that would be on 24.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I was wondering if we would be able to add in the caregiver designation, parent, guardian, responsible to custodian or caregiver. Just add that as an additional term, custodial parent or custodian.
[Aaron Olapade]: In my experience and to your point I think that most of the time it's not being written anywhere in our previous literature I know that that's a term that is being used in other circles and education and just describe other forms of parental guidance in the home or as people custodial parents generally are. biologically related to children, while guardians tend to be court-appointed guardians, there is some separation between the two. More often than not, one of them is encompassing of the other one, but there are some separations that I think some parents may benefit from having just as an important designation. But if you, in your previous experience, haven't seen the word custodian or custodial parent in the literature, then we may not need to add it. But it's just something that I'm conscious of.
[Aaron Olapade]: Maybe we don't have to add it in because this is to clean up previous language. But going forward, maybe there's an important opportunity to kind of consider other guardian, parental, custodial ship in the home or outside and how that impacts families differently and being cognizant of people's personal lived experience in relationship to their children or students. So I will retract my additive for the time being.
[Aaron Olapade]: Well, see, I had a question, but now I'm worried that the superintendent may have to attend to that. So my question can be asked.
[Aaron Olapade]: Okay, so it's just a quick question just so I have it in my brain. So for the two new positions being incorporated for the site coordinator responsibilities and the budget, the additional $47,500, have we kind of considered a little bit about how that'll be sustained in future budgets if the external funding changes at all? I know that obviously you listed a little bit earlier last year's annual calendar listed 200,000 in. like in net. So have you just kind of thought about that a little bit? I'm sure we have.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Motion to approve.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. It's just a quick question so I understand. So if we were to do the leasing option, I understand that the maintenance would be, I'm assuming, covered by flow water. If we did the purchase, would that be a different expectation about what the annual maintenance cost is? Would we cover that as individuals? Would they teach or kind of instruct our staff on what the maintenance looks like? Or would we still be able to contract out to them for that kind of upkeep? You may not know that off the top of your head, but I just thought I'd ask really quick.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you so much.
[Aaron Olapade]: Second.
[Aaron Olapade]: Second.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Second.
[Aaron Olapade]: Is there a way because I know that we had a conversation with some people at city hallway with Alicia. the Andrews Middle School, which is the other side of town, and put the high school there, for example, in that larger space, so that you had patrons both on one location, for example, and she kind of communicates to us like the various problems that could come up with that, not only because of the size issue, as you mentioned, obviously, acreage, but also because the ground itself is not actually vital for that size building to be able to handle that much weight, I guess. I don't know the science, of course, and so is there a way that better try like a soft kind of research within various areas so that we can of course like cover our due diligence but not necessarily commit as much resources to every single site location because if we know that some sizing like acreage wise is just not going to be viable within the first couple of hours of like doing basic research we understand that it won't work we can still say to the community we understand that we've tried other locations very quickly we realized this wasn't going to work we were still led to where we a little bit more drastic, but to kind of cover both things. I do agree. I think ultimately, if we, if we know that this size wise, the best place to do it, as well as we already have some of the more like occasional spaces, the pool's a bigger question mark, obviously. I think that there is value to maintaining one space, but also saving the community that we try our best to cover other spaces as well.
[Aaron Olapade]: So I think to clarify, my intent is that we can do this quickly-ish, and we can still take things off the table officially before it becomes something we're going to spend money on in the design study.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. So I had a couple of cool questions. I know we're at the very early stages, so you might not be able to have an answer to that. Does BASIC let us know about how often they're going to report their findings? I know, obviously, this is a three-year expansion process. I know that they have a certain set of criteria or metrics they use to determine how we are growing in that success pool. Have they informed us of what they usually do? I know it's kind of the first time they're doing this consulting. Is that anywhere yet?
[Aaron Olapade]: That'd be great. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Here.
[Aaron Olapade]: Here.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, so when it comes to like it's tough to navigate because of all the questions about tariffs. And I think that even when you think about the political landscape and how there's such a flux and how things are going up and things are down, a lot of organizations at the federal level and state level are all holding onto their money because of the question marks that they're having. I'm seeing this with the work that I do, where state funding and grant proposals and things like that. But I've been doing some work on this. Madison Technical Voc in the Roxbury neighborhood, there are about 1,200 kids or so by designation. That's the current proposal. So same thing with that. That's a much bigger population. It's like 23 2400 students, but they're looking at a 660 million bill. So I think that like the cost of just randomly going up. I do think that like obviously there are bills that are much cheaper for a higher student population, but they are going higher. So I think to put a amount of students are projected, but that limit feels like a bit of a quick decision this early on, personally.
[Aaron Olapade]: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
[Aaron Olapade]: No, no. Oh, I was really loud, sorry.
[Aaron Olapade]: I was really loud. No.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. In both cases, like in the examples of students that do take these holidays off as their faith practice, is there an expectation that them or their families have to denote that somewhere, that this is a holiday they do? recognize or is that just scouts honor?
[Aaron Olapade]: Definitely, thank you so much.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. It's a quick question going back to the ADA compliance point you made. I know you mentioned that you're focusing primarily on the most like egregious, you know, eminent ones or emergent ones for the ones that are a little bit more negligible. So like the movement of the toilets, for example, or the doors, is there a listing of like where, you know, how to say a listing of every individual instance of it, like in, you know, C1 and B3, for example, the high school, but is there a way for us to see just kind of like a general understanding about where those, like the severity of those, is that possible at all?
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, you could share that with us just so that we have that. I think that members of the public might benefit from having understanding that we're not not in compliance necessarily. But there are instances where the overall cost for the shifting of that, where the disparity is and so why we're making certain decisions. So we're not actively trying to avoid compliance, but there are those costs that we're trying to deal with.
[Aaron Olapade]: Definitely.
[Aaron Olapade]: I'll make a motion to approve. I'm really excited.
[Aaron Olapade]: Second.
[Aaron Olapade]: Motion to approve.
[Aaron Olapade]: Second.
[Aaron Olapade]: I motion to approve.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. Absolutely. I want to echo what Member Reinfeld said. This is very much a similar decision as the one we made back in January in the 27th January meeting. I think it was 2025-2. It was a reaffirmation of an already standing set of expectations in our district. We're not changing policy. These things are already instituted, and we want to re-communicate that to the district and the greater community that we as an educational you know, center want to reintegrate our commitment to our students and their families and the greater community that we want all people to feel comfortable and included no matter their, you know, regardless of their characteristic or their lived experience. These are things that we all believe in, I think. Speaking as a generalization, I think there's a commitment here, especially from the federal government. There are some pieces of rhetoric coming out of that government that are, I think, misaligned from what we as a district have committed to. And so that's why we want to put this forth. So that's, you know, very much what I think Member Rodfield was trying to get at, and I'm in full agreement. So, thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Say a quick comment about this. Absolutely. Thank you very much. So this again is very much just reaffirm our commitment as a district to this. I think that there has been an increasing set of rhetoric and I would argue even weaponization of diversity, equity, inclusion efforts coming out of the federal government. I think that this, in my opinion, should be removed from a political position or ideology. I think we as people and professionals in this work have a responsibility to our students and their families and the greater community to reaffirm our commitment that we understand that DEI efforts are not used to undermine opportunity. That's what we're hearing is that this is used, these systems and these initiatives are being used to separate people when in reality it's intended to include people, right? We're using inclusive language. And so sometimes I think people who are coming from a bad faith perspective argue that inclusivity is removing opportunity. And that's just not the case. And so I think that that's why we, or myself at the very least, feel like this is a very much recommitment to that work because we understand that this is an opportunity for all students, regardless of lived experience or characteristic, that they have the equal opportunity to be involved in what we offer here at Medford Public Schools. So, thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I don't have any questions or comments. Obviously, I'm one of the voting members for that. I'm happy to, if everyone else feels confident about this decision, to increase the total number from at least from three to five, plus that additional non-voting member. I'm happy to nominate at least one member who I think would be a really good asset. I know that when we had a conversation about who would be best for this committee, I know that their expertise in this area was something that stuck out for a lot of us. So is this a time to do that or should I wait a little bit longer?
[Aaron Olapade]: So if they are willing, I'd love to nominate Libby Brown, um, to be one of the voting members. Um, I mean, I, as I understand it, she has a really good knowledge on this type of these types of questions.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you very much, and thank you to the broader city council. My name is Aaron Olapade, current school committee member. My address is 105 Brooks Street in Medford, Mass. So I just wanted to add a quick comment, I believe. I think that the continued structure of the mayor serving as both the chair and a voting member of the school committee, I believe that there is a clear conflict to a certain degree. I think it undermines the committee's ability to function, I think, as an independent governing body. I think the fundamental role of the school committee is to advocate solely for the educational needs of Medford's children, free from competing municipal interests, budget constraints, or even political considerations for that matter. I think a strong working relationship between the mayor and the school committee is essential. to ensure collaboration and alignment. I think the dual role of the mayor as both a voting member and the chief executive of the city creates kind of an unavoidable tension between these two responsibilities. I think that the mayor's voting power can unduly influence, might be the word, decisions related to the school funding, contract negotiations even, or policy priorities. areas where the interests of the city government, you know, and the needs of the school district don't automatically align may open up the opportunity for a misalignment. I don't, you know, I do recognize the arguments that have been made both in the charter and by members of the larger city as having the mayor continue as the chair in that leadership role. It was both, as I mentioned, the chief executive of the city and having a legitimate participation in the school's decision. but having them act as a voting member feels like there's an opportunity for there to be a misalignment. So I do believe that there is an opportunity for us to consider that. The decisions that is made ultimately is up to the greater council right now and I do recognize the amount of work and effort as mentioned previously by a current member in the audience. Multiple years have been put in to make this revision revised charter come to light. And so I'm very proud of them for doing that. And I thank them for their work. But I do believe there is an opportunity to reconsider this component of the revision of revised charter so far. So those are my comments. Thank you so much.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you again, Aaron Olapade, 105 Brook Street, for the record. So I, like I think many of my school committee colleagues' comments that were just made, I think I'm also conflicted. I see the merits for both systems, both an at-large or award-based representation system. I think ultimately ward-based representation has its merits for sure. I think particularly ensuring that all neighborhoods in any given area or city have a direct voice in the governance of a city, school-wise especially in this conversation. I think in many cities and certain communities, you know, those I think in some ways like Medford that have historically underrepresented and potentially marginalized communities may struggle to have their concerns heard and at large systems where candidates often come from maybe more politically active or maybe more engaged areas of the city. I think this structure helps promote like geographical diversity and decision making skills, ensuring that no single part of the city dominates the decision that we are having if you are operating off that system. That being said, though, I think a war representation sole system for a local school community can create challenges. and ensuring equitable governance and effective decision making skills. I think, as I mentioned, you know, war representation is often designed to give a voice to different neighborhoods. It can also lead to fragmented approaching when it comes to educational policy. Education, as we know, is a citywide issue that requires, I think, a unified vision. But ward-based representation can encourage, maybe let's call it a more parochial mindset, depending on the conversation that we're having. I think both, as I mentioned, have their merits. I think, ultimately, I do believe that the City Council and School Committee should be similar in the way that they're structured. And so if the decision is that city council is going to be both wards and at large, I think the school committee should follow in the same manner. But ultimately, I think it's the decision of the people and how each system ultimately avails the citizens to the voices that are needed to, I think, impact the students the best way. So, thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham, I just had a question. I know we've been in an ongoing discussion with the Curtis Tufts School about implementing what that may look like on the same campus at the very least. Is this a place where we might put that about the way we envision having that therapeutic program also implemented in the same building?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham, did you have an idea about the amount of people you wanted to bring in as voting members? Or did you want to see how people felt about increasing the number and go from there?
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, I would agree. I think at least two. We have, I believe, 15 voting members. So I don't find that it'll be difficult to find other members who would both be willing and excited about the opportunity, but also have some consideration that might be outside of our perspectives thus far. I think it's probably best to go back to the larger group and let them also hear this and see what people's perspectives are, because I think the time commitment seems like a large one. So see how people feel about that as well.
[Aaron Olapade]: Second.
[Aaron Olapade]: A motion for that. I will second that.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Motion to adjourn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. So to go back to the conversation about registration and the process for that, is that a first come first serve and then there's a wait list? Is it lottery system? How does that kind of get dealt year to year? Is it going to be changing potentially or is it going to remain the same?
[Aaron Olapade]: Okay, and so I know you mentioned earlier, and to the point you just made when you have walk ins on the day of potentially your do you kind of plan for that or is it kind of a reaction. Based off of just the need or do you kind of assume that there may or there may be let's say one to five additional youth that day just any given day, for example.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. 120, let's say that you already are anticipating day to day.
[Aaron Olapade]: Okay. Thank you so much.
[Aaron Olapade]: Fair enough, yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, I think I just want to comment on what my other committee members mentioned. I think it's important to affirm, I think, the district's commitment, both vocally and visibly, how we approach these questions. I think many of us are feeling the experiences of what's happening at the federal level. We want to make sure that we are being proactive with the communication we are sending out to the district. As mentioned before, many of these things are already happening, by and large, but I think having them in one place at one time is really important so that all Members of the community, students, educators, families, and all participants feel like they're being affirmed in their discomfort and their comfort. I think it's really, I think it's both, unfortunately. And so I just want to communicate that we are really trying to do the best we can, I think. I want us to be cognizant of the fact that this is going to impact people differently. I think this is an issue as empathetically as possible. Some people are going to be experiencing differently and feeling more personally. And so I think I want us to enter into this new year being as empathetic as possible to students and families, personal experience with the conversations that are happening at the federal level and how those will be trickling down to the state and the municipal level. So I just want us all to be very cognizant of that as we move forward. So thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. So a quick question. I know that you said, and I think it's on slide nine, about the Best Buddies stipend. That's the $2,500 per advisor. That's prorated. So that would go up for $26,000? Yes. OK. And you said it was $10,000 across each student?
[Aaron Olapade]: All right. Thank you. And then, and this might be talked about a little bit in question. I know there's been some discussion about bus monitors. I know some people in the community have been wondering about what that may look like. I don't know if you have any, if that's gonna be further in the brief or if you have any suggestions about that.
[Aaron Olapade]: Here.
[Aaron Olapade]: Galusi.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Present.
[Aaron Olapade]: All right, here we go. So thank you so much. I also want to say as a former member of the Bedford rowing team, you know, I also was a middle school rower when I learned and I went through high school, I was elected captain my senior year. And for me, it was not only a piece of experience of leadership, but also to be a testament to what this team does and the impact of a true team effort. I was able to continue on in college. And even now I still row now for boat club here in Boston. And I'm here to tell you that this type of program, not only as a team, but as individuals, you learn so much. I'm so proud of all of you to be able to do this work and to continue on. I think the dream of what it means to be a rower. So congratulations to all of you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. So as the chair of the subcommittee I just like to briefly discuss what we talked about in our meeting before we approve the minutes. So, it was very productive meeting we were able to have our di director, Francis and why Jay come in and work with us in opera and explain to us what she's been doing to support the school district. We were asked some questions of her and her experience and understanding about what that looks like day to day. We had a couple insightful pieces that it's a little difficult as the director to determine how often she's being asked to support the school district. It's case by case it's situational. She did explain to us and declare that she is not being given any sensitive information about any one student she does not have the legal capacity to do that but In most cases, when she is consulted with she's given basic information to be able to give her recommendations or suggestions which we appreciated. Ultimately, we, I think as the as the subcommittee determined that we felt it would be best to continue having her support as needed, but also consider having a new position created and personnel come in and act as a director of DEI for the school district separately from her additional consulting. But we would still have her come in and receive that stipend for her services to the district. So that was kind of how that subcommittee went. I think it was very productive and she seemed very elated to be there and to support us in the district in any way she can. So I just wanna say thank you to the director. And if there's any questions I'm happy to answer before we decide to continue on with the meeting.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes, so I think what Michael is saying is that we have to determine if we're going to approve the recommendation that the subcommittee came to, which is to, we're recommending that we create a new position as a DEI lead for the school district while also maintaining the current stipend recommendation we had from the previous meeting from the DEI director for the city. was the recommendation that we came to.
[Aaron Olapade]: How are we all doing today? Wonderful, wonderful. All right. So I think we might as well jump in if we're all good to go. I just want to make sure that we're recording. All right. So I will call us. Thank you. So I will call us to order. Please be advised that on Tuesday, November 19th, 2024 at 5pm, there will be a diversity equity inclusion subcommittee meeting held through remote participation via Zoom. This meeting is being recorded. The meeting can be viewed live on the Medford Public Schools YouTube channel through Medford Community Media on your local cable. That's Comcast channel 9822 and Verizon channels 4345 and 47. Since the meeting will be held remotely, participants can log in or call in by using the following link or call-in number. The meeting ID number is 943-9056-5846. Additionally, questions and comments can be submitted during the meeting by emailing aolapade, that's a-o-l-a-p-a-d-e, at medford.k12.ma.us. Those submitting must include the following info, your first and last name, your Medford street address, and then your question and or comment. Our agenda tonight is being resolved as motioned at the November 4th, 2024 regular school committee meeting. The following resolution was moved for further discussion to this subcommittee. 2024-40 offered by Mayor Lungo-Koehn, consolidation language for diversity, equity, and inclusion, DEI support, whereas the city's DEI director and ADA coordinator is supporting school ADA, DEI, crisis management, HR, and training needs by being a resource to the school administration team. I'm going to go ahead and call the roll to make sure we are all here and we'll get started. So, Member Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau?
[Aaron Olapade]: and member Olapade. Present. That's three present, zero absent. We're good to go. So thank you for that. So I think to start, I'll add some immediate thoughts from the meeting that had us call to this subcommittee meeting, which was some questions and some, I think, clarification about the current practices of leaning on the city's DEI director and how she's been offering her support and expertise on questions about these. different circumstances and how best we can continue to support the school district. I think the most immediate question for at least myself was are we preparing other staff for example with these you know these practices and trainings so they can then go into the community and go into the school district community and support when our DEI director from the city side is not available per se as well as are we Is there a potential to have another staffer, a date in that process. Some of the things that also came up was. The pros in my mind were that there might be broader expertise, having someone on the city side who understands the state's suggestions and mandates and policies and procedures of these practices, who can help implement them in the school system. Are we aligning the school districts, DEI, ADA, crisis management, HR, in trainings? Are they aligned with the city's mission as well? we're resource sharing as well, which I think is incredibly important when we understand how are we implementing them properly. The question I think most immediate for me is that, is there a prioritizing of time? I think that these issues are incredibly diverse and they are ever changing. And so I don't want the city's DEI director to be taken away from her responsibilities day to day if there's opportunity for her to work in tandem with potentially another employee on the city side or on the school side who can prioritize that day-to-day and they can work together to make sure things are aligned, whether it's a full-time staffer or maybe a contractor that's meeting on a, let's say, quarterly basis or bi-quarterly basis, for example. Those are the most immediate questions that I have, and I would ask my colleagues if they have any other considerations they'd like to add before we kind of open it up for further discussion.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau?
[Aaron Olapade]: Right. I think another moment, I think also the question about availability, I think is a big part of it's something that I think we've run into is making sure that we are as available to the student population and their immediate families and related relations outside of that. Are we supporting them, not just in the most emergent situations but I think outside of most emergent situations and making sure that we're maintaining that relationship after you know potential incidents have occurred or make sure that we're complying long term. And again, I think because these issues are ever changing, it feels as though. having a better understanding about how we are diverting time away from the city side of these initiatives and these trainings that the DEI office is pursuing. Are we taking time away from them to pursue those from the city side to this district? And then is that happening on the other side, the other way around? And I think that just having a better understanding about how much that's been happening thus far and is that compliant or consistent with our values as a district is also something that I'd like to hear about too, about the time management, questions I think we're all having as well. So if our director would like to chime in or anyone on the school side that feels like they have some insight would be really appreciated I think.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau, I have something I want to add. I know Member Ruseau and Member Reinfeld both put their hands up, so I'll let them. My hand's down.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes, if I can. comment on this as well. It's something that member Rousseau mentioned that I think you've kind of illustrated for us. I think that there's also, let me just go through my notes here so I don't forget. So, you know, I think that there is a difficulty in quantifying the actual work that's being done day to day because these instances of need are coming up, you know, as we know, just situationally, right? A lot of the time, right? Of course, there's the citywide want to push these initiatives forward because of the benefit of having them in place and the schools doing the same. But when we talk about one-on-one meetings, HR questions, crisis management, ADA compliance and DEI protocol compliance, those things are very much situational. And so it's difficult to determine how we are supporting students because they come up as they come up. But I think ultimately what you're talking about is a culture shift, right? It's not only having someone on the city side or the school side or both that's there to support in all these instances and endeavors, but also how are we supporting the staff, the families, everyone involved in the education system here in Medford, and how are we actually making it so that everyone feels more informed about these questions so that we don't automatically need to look to the one person in the department as of, you know, with a city that has a limited amount of money right now, comparatively to Somerville that has 11 people in their office, right? We don't always have to look directly to the head of the department to say can you please offer your expertise, it's always wished for wanted and we know we're seeing the benefits of having that but I think we want to continue to work towards making sure that as many people in the district are informed about these things so that they feel semi-informed or not experts, of course, but they feel like they're as compliant as they can be with their limited understanding so that we're making sure that the culture around Medford and the students is consistent with the state suggestions and what you know as an expert in this field. So I really want to acknowledge the impact that's having, and I think the intentionality that we want to continue to have for the students. I think one other question was, and I think that it's been touched upon a little bit, When you're going into conversations, both at the school, regarding any of the hats that you're wearing, do you find that there are some stop gaps with the kind of school component of it? Because I think that there are some needs of students and families that are a little different than the city side, potentially. Or you find there are moments where you say, I need a little more time than I may, if it was a city question, because the compliance questions differ with younger people. Does that make sense?
[Aaron Olapade]: I mean, more so like meeting with like teachers or other personnel working with students, I should say.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. Superintendent, I think you might have wanted to add something. I want to give you an opportunity to say. at your piece.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. So I think that because we're starting to come down to the end time here, I'm not sure if anyone else has any other further comments that they want to just add as additional. We don't have any questions or comments coming from the public, it seems on my end. So I just want to open the floor one more time before we kind of finish. If anyone has anything else they'd like to ask or add. Well, we still have our director here who can offer her understanding of the situation. Please, over to yourself. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Clarify, so is the suggestion from you members, so I know you're kind of still working on the language to bring back to the larger committee, the suggestion or recommendation that we start the conversation about having a new personnel come into the schools and acting in that role while also continuing the extensive collaboration that we've been seeing thus far for Miss Nwaje and also including the stipend we discussed at the November 4th meeting and continuing that as well.
[Aaron Olapade]: I'll second it. So I'm going to do a roll call. If we are all ready. So Member Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau? Yes. Member Pate? Yes. That's three in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion to send to full committee passes. If there's nothing else, I want to say thank you to everyone for sticking with us for a little over an hour and a half here. Thank you Ms. Nwaje for your expertise and your commitment to working with our district and I think just offering your time I think it's given us on the subcommittee I think a lot to think about but I think also given us a lot more to be assured that we are working towards making the district as accepting and as compliant as possible so truly thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Most definitely.
[Aaron Olapade]: Oh yeah, is there a motion to adjourn?
[Aaron Olapade]: Seconded by Member Ruseau. All those in favor? Or is that a roll call? Everything's roll call on Zoom. All right, it's roll call. All right, Member Reinfeld? Yes. Member Ruseau? Yes. Member Opada? Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Motion to approve.
[Aaron Olapade]: Excellent.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. And I would happen to agree with Member Reinfeld. I think that though I'm incredibly excited and happy to hear that Director Wangie has been able to support the schools thus far and will continue to do so, I think in her role. I do think that this sounds like a potential expansion from her role currently with the city. And it might be possible that we can consider how to build that into the current structure of the school system and not rely on her so heavily. I understand that her role is incredibly important already with the city side. So is it possible that we can have some of these things built into the school charter, for example? So, you know, thank you to her, and I want to be able to communicate with her a little bit more about what she's been doing, kind of her perspective on this as well, I think would be productive. So I'll let member Graham as well say a few words if she has any.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. Um, so taking all all the members and points of privilege and consideration, I think it may be beneficial to kind of have another conversation about this. Speak to the director as well. See from her perspective so we can hear her understanding about how this will impact both her time with the city side and the time with the school district. I may suggest that we make a motion, or I make a motion, that Resolution 2024-40 be sent to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Subcommittee, just so there's a little further review from us and some more consideration from the director. And then we may reconvene for the full committee, I would say. I think we have a meeting on the 16th of December, so just give us about a month and some change, just like a subcommittee meeting to further discuss.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: So if you go up to the part D of the reporting section of discrimination.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, bullet four. which I agree with Maru, so that doesn't make, how do you determine?
[Aaron Olapade]: Step seven, if you keep going down further.
[Aaron Olapade]: If I may, it seems like it's reading as if the timeline coordinator will not discipline a party witness or other participating entity if they make a false statement about sex discrimination, or if they felt as though it was, but it was not actually based off of the determining criteria after a review process had occurred. So there will be no repercussions towards the original respondent. I think is how it reads.
[Aaron Olapade]: I think another difficulty is trying to, if there are components of things that we want to change without changing like state or federal guidelines and the terminology that they're using. So I don't want to do anything that's going outside of what their expectations or recommendations are. So we're not kind of following their requirements. So that's another difficulty, I think.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, I'll make a motion.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, I can say really quickly, so I know where we have to go. I can say just from a younger perspective, I think needs increase. We understand that as we kind of continue to develop as a city, we're noticing as the school side that the needs of students are increasing individually, as a family, as a school system. Every single person is needing more to be assisted to meet their needs of education success, educational equity, and the like. So I think it's really important to understand that the needs of the city 40 years ago, the needs of the city 20 years ago, or even five years ago, pre-COVID, are comparably different than they are today. And so I think that though I understand that there seems to be this understanding of how money is so drastically different than it once was, we have to understand that at least on the school side of things, the needs are so severely different now. And that's why there isn't a new need financially, a new shift of how we can I think that as someone who was recently both in university and in the school system here, I can tell you that it is incredibly important that even our school spaces are incredibly important. I think there is a population that feels though that as long as you're being taught by someone who really does care about the students and you're a student who really cares about the material, the school space and the environment you're learning in isn't nearly as important as those two core components. but we are, we do understand through statistics and through studies that the school space, the learning space is just as important as a teacher who's partly committed to the work and a student who wants to learn. So we have to understand that these needs are shifting, and I want us to understand that that's what's happening, that's why the money's changing, I think, as much as it has been in the past couple of years.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. Um, so a question for both the DEP team or the assistant superintendent comments about flushing protocol I understand that every three years with the LCR rule suggests that that's been like the EPA suggesting every three year for testing but If we go above the 15 parts per billion, it changes to a different protocol timeline. What does flushing actually mean? Like, I keep hearing it, but I want to understand better, like, what that protocol actually looks like. What's the methodology that we use? Why is it that we do that compared to some other method of cleaning up the system? Yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: So it's not a flushing of the entire water system, it's just specific portions of the building? Correct. And then I guess I actually want to agree with my fellow committee member I think that there should be some explanation about how the actual costs, how we're incurring those costs of the, the yearly or try yearly testing just because I think that there's a way for us to afforded if depending what the cost would be to having a more more consistent process just because evidently even though we these buildings were built post the 84 rule about changing the piping that's still an issue evidently so I think there is a way for us to kind of have a conversation about testing more consistently I would like to know how to do that as well. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: uh so thank you mayor and thank you for doing this i have two questions you mentioned briefly that for other grade levels i'm assuming this is just for seniors not for juniors and below okay but juniors and below can have a spot and do we have what we need spots wise or is this a lottery system to determine who gets a spot i've been told that we have the amount of spots okay
[Aaron Olapade]: And then my second question is, is that when it comes to cleanup costs at the end of the year, what does that look like?
[Aaron Olapade]: Motion to approve.
[Aaron Olapade]: Here.
[Aaron Olapade]: Second.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: I'm like Larry, I can offer to support. I have no experience in this particular, but I'm happy to learn if people feel like I would be an addition, I'm happy to be involved, but I do not have any experience directly. So, yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you, Mayor, and thank you so much for this presentation. I have a couple of quick questions. So on the first slide about the 251 students that were recommended compared to the 201 that actually attended, was the reduction from the recommendation to the actual because of... parental decisions or was it a?
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. And then for the dates and times slide with the six week, four week and various programs, is there a set duration for each program or is it the same for all of them? And then it just depended on the total amount.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. And then... for each student that gets directed towards one program or another, is that based off both the recommendation of the department plus the conjunction with their parental or their custodian, like whoever's working with them day to day in their classroom and their parents?
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you so much.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. A question about the students that are entered into this program. Is there a process in which we work with them going to the next school year about how to either be more consistent with attendance or about how to kind of work with your teachers after school about making sure that they're not in danger of falling behind their credits just so that understandably that these students were struggling to begin with. Are there ways for us to kind of continue to support them going forward that they may not have had previously?
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. For the high school enrollment data, is it possible for us, it doesn't have to be, obviously, right this moment, but could we have the Medford High block separate to the Medford High plus the vocational program, just so that we understand how those numbers are changing for the current time? Is that possible?
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you very so. So I have some opinions on this as a former member of City Year Boston. I'm excited to see that the possible partnership does exist. I think the mission and the goals of City Year as an entity, as an AmeriCorps program is phenomenal. I had a great time doing it when I graduated from high school. I was working in an eighth grade mathematics course in Charlestown. And so I got to work hand-in-hand with educators, the administrative staff of Edwards Middle School, and then City or Boston themselves. A couple of things for people to know on the committee. One of the really interesting things about how City Year operates is that we receive quite a bit of formal training preceding our time in the schools. And while we're in our program, we're still receiving that training. We have a lot of one-on-one coursework that we go through. We did about six weeks of training preceding the start of the school year. Full-time every single day going to work sites, working with your team. You then are landed in a work site around the greater Boston area and you'll work with your team for the full year depending on your preferences or your ability and your age will determine how you are posted to your workspace. So Only college graduates are allowed to work with high school age students. City as an entity usually is from the 3rd grade to the 10th grade. We understand through research and a lot of studies that 3rd grade, 8th grade, and 10th grade are the focal points of maturization, and that's where a lot of students find themselves needing to determine if they can continue on with the current coursework that is being given to them by the state or by their school. By the third grade, that's when research has determined that if a student is falling behind, hitting certain academic thresholds, they'll never recover. If they can't continue to find those thresholds, more often than not, it's going to be harder and harder for them to find the missing material and retention that they need to stack up against their peers, which is why City Year has continued to be an entity that's, I think, in over 30 states, probably, and three different continents at this point. I found a great love for doing the work. It's what got me excited about education in general, was that work right after high school, working as an 18, 19-year-old, working in a classroom with a partner teacher, getting to work with a subsection of the class each day. You're in class all day. They do a lot of really good work. I will say that as we continue to have a conversation about a partnership, I want to make sure that we're conscious about how they're not treated and we shouldn't treat them as full-time teachers. They don't have the education or the certifications to be that. I'm not suggesting that that's what's happening here, but it's important that we as a district understand that they are support staff who have done really good work and are there to support our educators and our teachers as much as possible and the community that they'll be working in. But they are not, I don't think that we should treat them as being full-time staff. because they don't have the qualifications to do that. And so as we continue to figure out how we're going to implement a team in one or more schools, I think it's important that we are communicating just religiously with that school about how they'll fit into a classroom day in day, every day. Because with my school and how my program worked, I was working with the same teacher every day. Some schools need to have different needs, so you might be switching from one teacher to another. But my school, the primary focus was one teacher each day. Math and English are the two primary focuses of City Year. Now that may have changed in the last five years since I did it, but math and English were the two focus subjects. Social emotional learning was a really big thing. Teen mentoring was another big part of it. Outside community programming was another big part of City Year. So there's so many benefits this organization has to offer any community, any district. It's really important that we understand that They have a mission and a plan as an entity, as an organization, and they, I think, do a good job of trying to fit into what each district is asking of them. It's a matter of how do we, I think, utilize their skill set and what they're offering us to the best of that cost to us of that $100,000 at the reduced rate that the superintendent mentioned. So those are just some of the first thoughts that I had about this and I'm excited about the potential of it. I just want to make sure we're really careful about how we're implementing them and what that actually looks like for the students especially, but the teachers themselves and that we're not leaning on them too much because that's going to potentially burden the staff in general in a way that we don't want. It's going to put us in a position where we're not conscious about the lack of certified, you know, educated, educate teachers, when we have a support staff who are there to support us the best of our ability. So thank you for letting me rant for a moment.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes, I heard it through a family friend of ours. When I was looking at college opportunities, we had the opportunity to attend a City Year sponsored event. The former executive director, Sandra Lopez-Burke, I believe her name was, was one of the panelists at the discussion. So I was able to speak with her after the event, and she kind of illustrates some of the things that City Year was doing. And I was a senior at the time, and it really excited me about what they were offering students. You know, in the major city and I thought that it was a really cool opportunity for people who are graduating from high school and college and that that you know gap year period where you kind of had some more time to discern your interest in what you want to pursue, and so I was able to apply and work in. in close proximity with her city or Boston's headquarters is the same headquarters building as city or as the entire nonprofit, I still believe. And so that was a really cool opportunity for me to be in that space and see, I think people who were super charged about the educational opportunity that they were offering to students and supportive of our teachers. And so that was what got me excited and interested in the program originally about five, six years ago.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, so just a couple quick, you know, just line items that I'm sure will be explained very, I know that the most important thing for I think the committee understand that I'm sure we all do is that just the costs of living have gone up. So a lot of the ways that we need to pay for things have gone up as well. For example, when we're looking at the special education line item, you know, there's an increase. I can just find it right here that goes up from the 2023 2024 from 15 million to upwards of 19.5 million. So just things like that where there are those really noticeable increases, I'm assuming it's just because of cost more than any other flagship programming that we're doing or any major differences in the district. If that's untrue, that might be really good for us to have some more direct explanation from the administration about how those programs might be costing us, but if it's just increased because of cost of living, then that's something that I don't necessarily need more clarification on.
[Aaron Olapade]: I'm happy to waive the first reading, like member Reinfeld mentioned.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah. Well, so it's something that I said, I think, earlier. When we were walking around the Bonington building, two things that worked out is to me, just through my experience of it, I think what we were told is that there were multiple areas to it because their needs are starting to grow as we start envisioning what we want. So I think that I feel also comfortable with this as a starting point or as a jumping off point because it doesn't, I don't think it limits us in that we can't continue to grow or consider what the community actually needs. I mean, we're only a select few people. There's a community of 60,000 people who all probably have an opinion in some capacity on some program the high school could offer. shooting for the stars or really considering what's possible is also difficult because we don't know what's possible. When we were walking around in Wellington, I mean more than half the tour I was just like in shock at what they had to offer their students, what the faculty were experiencing, what the HFMA or the design firm were offering. I think there was so much understand what we can do, because it's never happened before. So an idea like a student cafe, we've never had that before. I didn't have it here, and I'm sure many of you didn't have a student cafe in the sense of the word. And so to even consider what that would look like for our community is something that's never been done before. So how could you say we want that? Other than hearing we're going to other communities that do have that, which I think is why we should really push to go to other programs that have done MSPA, or it's other programs in general that are offering things that we can't have as of right now, we could consider the program. I'm okay with it in its current wording, just as a starting, as a limiting, like it.
[Aaron Olapade]: So I think, like you mentioned, for example, some of the more specific items, like on the library, the library media space, we're suggesting that CERN ones are more specific than others. So are we taking them out? Because the previous section of the state of the art, the Performing Arts Facility, we're going to strike Levin, but then we're not going to strike others. I just don't really know if it makes sense to strike CERN ones but not other ones.
[Aaron Olapade]: Right.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, I mean, I prefer that. Okay, we're gonna, I don't think it makes a lot of sense to strike certain things and not other ones if we're going to be specific about certain areas. Yeah, I think one or the other should be chosen.
[Aaron Olapade]: Aaron Olapade, 105 Brooke Street, Medford. Thank you all for having me. Council President and City Council, thank you and good evening. As we stand at the crossroads of tradition and progress, we as a community are called upon to make a decision that will shape the future of our city and the generations for which we hope to ensure that future. I speak to you today, not just as an elected official of the Medford School Committee, but more importantly, as a member of this great community we call home. We all understand that our city is more than just a collection of streets and buildings, is a living, breathing, vibrant community that is a testament to our shared values and the spirit that we as Medfordites embody. We are facing challenges today that are not new, nor are they easily fixable. Our schools are struggling to provide the quality education our students deserve, our road and building restoration efforts are hindered, and our essential services are limited in ways that create a sense of concern. These are not abstract issues, they are real, and they affect each of us in ways that may not be discernible on the surface. To address these challenges, we must bridge the social and ideological gap and make a collective investment in our future, investment being the operative word. This is why I'm speaking in favor of the 2.5 prop increase and its current wording. I understand that the word tax often carries a heavy burden for many, and it's natural to be concerned or fearful about the financial impact to oneself, one's family, and one's assets. But I ask us to all consider what this increase could mean for our community. It represents our commitment to ensuring that every child in our city has access to top-notch equitable education, our dedication to maintaining our municipal buildings and grounds, and providing aid to our civil service workers and the associate personnel with the resources they need to operate. A 2.5 increase in property taxes is not just a financial decision, it's a moral one. It's a testament to our willingness to support one another, to lift each other up in times of need and to invest in the common good. This increase will enable us to fund critical infrastructure projects, support local businesses, and create programs that uplift the most vulnerable among us. We must remember that a city is only as strong as the bonds that unite its people. By supporting this tax increase, we are saying that we believe in our city, its people, and ultimately its potential. We are affirming that we care deeply about our neighbors, our children, and our future. This is a pivotal moment for all of us. Let us choose to be a community that rises to the occasion, that understands the value of solidarity and shared responsibility. Let us be a community that does not shy away from challenges, but faces them head on with courage and compassion. Together, we can ensure that our city remains a place where our youth can be nurtured, our families supported, our kinships acknowledged, and the opportunities available are limitless. I ask you to join me in supporting this investment, not just as a financial necessity, but as a statement that our commitment to Medford is rekindled. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Here's I'm sorry to interject here. Here's a question. Has there been some thought at all about the moving of one of the middle schools that's in that area and replacing it with the high school? Because I know that I've spoken to some people in the community, and this is a question on my own, where if you're to have the high school be more centrally located, as we're talking about, let's say, if you were to replace it with the Andrews, let's just say for the moment, you move the Andrews closer to the West Medford area, so you have both an elementary school in the Brooks, and then you have a middle school in the West Medford, slightly more North Medford area, for example, and then you have the, Kindergarten through high school, you know more central central to South Medford, okay So Would that be I mean, that's not crazy.
[Aaron Olapade]: Absolutely. I think, I mean, it's not a matter of, oh, we should just remove the building is it, is it at all possible to, again, just as because we're just you know praying on Hail Mary's here. Could you, could you redo the Andrews for example and make it high school age student and that age appropriate. for example, because I don't want to level the building or start from scratch. I think you're right. It's too new of a building to do what you would, in theory, do and start from the beginning. But could you use that as a foundation to say, we know how much space we've been using thus far for the Andrews. Could we work off of the standing foundation of the Andrews?
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, I think that's partly why I was thinking that McGlynn wouldn't make as much sense because to your point about the two schools, they have a bigger student population and they're having the new playground installed. The Andrews, less students, but it's an older, it's an older amount of students. The students are a different age grouping. That wouldn't be, that isn't and wouldn't be present if we were to remain, keep the high school, for example, where it is. So if we were to have the Andrews be closer to the West Bedford area, that would then mean you could have students be able to potentially stay closer to home, for example. That might not be a big thing we need to worry about right now, but I think the McGlynn might need to stay because of what it offers, even though the space itself is more consistent with what we would need to consider that choice.
[Aaron Olapade]: Motion to adjourn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Here. Present.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I think I just want to echo what our student representatives are saying. And I think what we're hearing from the community and email and other communications and just passing. I said something about this in the previous meeting where how do we weigh the costs of education to student preferences student interests and how we support our students in every aspect of their experience in the classroom and outside the classroom. And I think that what's happening here is that we are all noticing and recognizing that this can't happen. We can't do it this way. Our students deserve more. And I hope that we continue to advocate for that and work towards finding some way that we can avoid these cuts or in ways when if we do have to have these cuts how we can consolidate properly so that student experience inside out to the classroom is not being affected in any direct way. I think what's most important to recognize is that our students here are speaking not only from their personal experience from the experiences of those they are part of their kinship, the people that they're recognizing people that they're seeing as being ones who need to speak for what they believe in, and I can't thank you enough for being here and speaking for your experience. I wanted to speak to Jerry if he's still here. Thank you. I said two quick questions on the slideshow so on slide five, and I just mentioned before from the previous meeting on May 6, you know, the the bullet points some theater sections will be offered as part of a teaching assignment to align with student interest. How are we clarifying or how do we determine student interest because evidently students want these types of programs I understand that this particular point suggests that students are not as interested in the in school, you know theater program necessarily but out of school of course that's the case. Yes, yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: And then on slide 11, with the guidance Councilor for the FY 25 staffing, according to this, that you're not going to reduce the MHS staffing in any way, but for the McGlynn and the Andrews, If we just, you know, just do the basic math if you were to reduce the MHS from six to four and then move to those Councilors to the ones that make land one of the interest to maintain those staffing numbers from FY 24 at the middle school levels, I mean at the elementary, you would have a, you know, to 220. students to one Councilor, and then you would have a 295 to one Councilor at the MHS, which is more consistent with the national averages you're suggesting. I don't love using national averages. I'm sure most of us would not like to, and I understand that we might have to in this unfortunate case, but that seems to be more consistent with that.
[Aaron Olapade]: And then I think the last comment is kind of piggyback off what I said previously, I think that when we are receiving emails and communications from people in the public and we're seeing parents and students, most primarily saying, how do we advocate for our students when we're not seeing that from our government. We're not noticing how they're being supported and that's their responsibility and I think it's our responsibility to find ways that we're actually doing that. And I think that. At what point does it stop, because I think that member Graham mentioned that if we continue this, the previous meeting when we, if we continue the system of not making decisions that are going to financially support our students, people are going to come here and people are going to stay here and we're seeing that trend, the middle school and high school level. And I think that I don't know how to make the immediate fix and I'm not sure we necessarily have one direct fix and I think cuts is not the way, especially at this level. And then we have the other amount of money that isn't really being discussed that could be even more cuts potentially and so I think that. I just don't know what we do if cuts is the only fix, because at what point do we then start cutting programs? Because that's not on the table now, but that will become a problem if we continue down this path. And I understand that you're not the one that created the system that we currently live in financially, but I think that we need to continue figuring out ways to avoid cuts. I know that our student representative suggested a prop two and a half, and other ways that we can improve our financial situation here at Medford.
[Aaron Olapade]: Present.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah. Hi, everyone. My name is Aaron Olapade. I'm on the school committee with member Rousseau. I'm just excited to be here to kind of discuss this idea and hopefully move things forward. So thank you. Thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Um, it's a quick comment and something that I think many of you kind of spoke about. I think it's also a culture thing. I think that some students had mentioned that it felt like a punishment and not only the physical separation, but also the way in which I think the, the, the communication about what the program is actually intended for. And I think that that's a thing that takes a long time. But that's a top-bottom kind of process. I think we really need to be informing our staff and ourselves about how these types of programs operate, the therapeutic benefits of them, right, and what they're actually intended to accomplish over the year or years that students might be participating in them so that it doesn't feel like it's a negative. it just feels like school, right? And they just learn differently, they just have different needs, and we wanna accommodate them to the best of our ability. And that comes from us understanding why each student's actually in the program, how we can be better fit to work with them, so they don't feel as though they're being, I think, yeah, penalized for having a different set of needs to learn effectively. And it's not just the way that they're retaining content, right? There's a variety of other things that I think are individual to each of them, and I think, you know, I'm pro, I think, having the space be moved closer and closer to the high school as much as possible. I do really, I'm really interested on hearing more, I think, from students and faculty about how spaces are really important on smaller cafeterias, smaller spaces that are still in the building, for example, how we can offer just less people, for even example, right? How does that actually look? Are those spaces going to always be just for the curse tough students? Can those be spaces be used by other classrooms or faculty when they're not being used? How do we allow for all spaces to be used by multiple groups, if need be, so that it doesn't feel like it's separated? I think that that was something that I wondered about the Summerville program that we didn't get to really kind of elaborate on is how does their school, how does it integrate into the rest of the building, and is it just for their program, or do other groups use them throughout the school day, and how does that affect, I think, the students' perception about their stake in the school, if that makes sense. Just something that I'm, as we're continuing talking about, I just thought it was really interesting.
[Aaron Olapade]: I do, I would like to make that motion. Wonderful. To discuss it with the rest of the committee. Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: A second.
[Aaron Olapade]: I also agree. I think that there's going to be it is a long process and I think that the more that we I think feels equals as much as possible that allows for a certain sense of like. I think community strength, I think I prefer just because I think having certain titles for people is understandable and we want to show a certain amount of respect, but I also think that we want to operate as if we're one body and not where there's like a hierarchy where certain people's voices or votes are going to be have far more influence than another and others. for the most part, so I also agree. I think it's better to try to be as impartial in our communication as possible while also being respectful to people's titles and things like that. OK.
[Aaron Olapade]: Um, do we have any, um, like when it comes to like meeting, meeting minutes and like accurate minutes being taken, you know, these are all going to be recorded and we'd understand that. But have we decided if we're going to, like how we're going to go about having them running down, like who's going to be doing that?
[Aaron Olapade]: It's been pretty, has done a pretty good job, I think, at keeping their like website, for example, really up to date, I think really detailed.
[Aaron Olapade]: Belmont.
[Aaron Olapade]: I'll actually yield my time to our student representative if they have a question briefly.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you and thank you Mister McHugh for being here and being as I think transparent as we've all like you to be. I'm only go through this process. So I, like my colleagues, have a handful of questions. So on slide 14, the question about special education in district programming that we do, do we have an idea or data on our neighbors and how they deal with in-program versus out-of-city program and what that looks like for us?
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. And then on slide 18, one of the proposed savings initiatives. When I'm looking at the positions that are being reduced in the McGlynn, Missittuck, and the Roberts, for example, I think what I'm trying to understand is When we're analyzing costs and we're comparing it to student and teacher preferences, you mentioned that earlier that you were deciding how we're going to kind of reduce some positions in other vocational arts, science, arts programs. What takes priority? How do we determine where we need to move money around or where we need to improve our costs, if that makes sense? Yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: Another follow up question on slide 22 when we're talking about the administrative assistance and consolidation for a handful of those roles. And member really mentioned this and I'm going to follow up saying when we're deciding how we're going to consolidate rules or how we're going to go through job descriptions for example are we speaking to the people in those positions currently to determine how we're going to consolidate if that's what we need to do or is it more so we're determining that based off of our expectation of what they're already doing and what we believe them to need to be doing.
[Aaron Olapade]: And I think my.
[Aaron Olapade]: I think my final comment would be to the end. I think that the voices of our educators here in the district are central in deciding these big decisions that we have. And I think that it's not, It's not that that's not happening, it's not happening enough. I think that we have an opportunity here to have a real conversation with each individual that's willing to speak with us as soon as possible, realistically, to decide how we're going to find the money that we need and how we're going to consolidate positions if that's what we need to do. I don't think anyone in here wants to do that, obviously. That being said, If we're not talking to them before making assumptions, or we can do at the same time, let's say, I think we're not doing that we're starting we're starting off wrong. and we're not opening up the conversation, I think properly so I would implore you and the rest of your team and I think the central administration to do that going forward so that when we have the final conversation about the budget and we vote, both as a city council and a school committee that we feel as though we've actually been informed from the people that are going to be filling up these roles and consolidate into them potentially.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you for that. And I believe the work that you've been doing, and I believe that you'll continue to do that. And I want to say thank you for this, because this has been incredibly informative.
[Aaron Olapade]: Hi everybody, my name is Aaron Olapade. I'm also on the school committee here in Medford. I'm a 2018 class graduate of Medford High, so you know a couple years ago and I just graduated college from BC this past May. A lot of the work that I've done the past couple years has been mostly community engagement, youth engagement primarily. I took a gap year and worked for City Year Boston, so I was working in class teaching in the Charlestown school system. and then doing a lot of community work through that as well while I was at university. Since then, I've just been named the new program director for City of Malden's Youth Employment Program. So I'm working in the mayor's office trying to get kids access to job opportunities. So if you have kids that are interested, let me know. I'll try to get them a job for the summer and for the school year. So I'm just really excited to be here. I think a lot of the things that I'm focusing on are, I think, just youth engagement, making sure our students actually have access to what they deserve. And I think that's what we're all here to do. So I'm just excited for all of us. Sarah.
[Aaron Olapade]: Okay, great. Well, I was going to say finance, but I definitely don't have as much experience in that. OK.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: No.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: All right, we are ready to go.
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor, I'm actually acting as the secretary while member Ruseau is in transit. So I will call the roll really quick. If that's okay with everybody. Member Bramley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: All right. Here. Oh, there we are. Member Intoppa.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Olapade, present. Member Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau? Present. and Mayor Lungo-Koehn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Branley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ansapa?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Alpada? Yes. Member Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau? Yes. Mayor Lungo-Koehn?
[Aaron Olapade]: Breakout rooms are open.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Bradley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ansapa.
[Aaron Olapade]: Uh, remember all parties? Yes. Remember, Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Uh, the Russo? Yes. Mayor Lungo-Koehn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Barrelli.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa.
[Aaron Olapade]: Uh, member Olapade. Yes. And thank you again. Member Reinfeld.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau.
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor Lungo-Koehn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes. Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa. Yes, with thanks. Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Russo.
[Aaron Olapade]: Maryland occur.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Bradley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Uh, member Graham?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa? Yes, with thanks. Uh, member Olapade? Yes. Member Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Uh, member Rousseau? Yes. Mayor Lungo-Kirsch?
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, thank you so much for this. A couple of questions on the way way end of the of the presentation. So when it comes to the feasibility of working with like ESS or like swing education, for example, is there a timeline that they would require us to, you know, put forth our want to work with them in partnership so that we have an idea about if we want to implement that, let's say, for the beginning of next year? Is there a timeline on that? We haven't really started the conversation.
[Aaron Olapade]: Okay. And then when it comes to the cost, does that fluctuate depending on how much we're, you know, sourcing out for their, for their aid for us? Or is that just a flat kind of fee, um, because we're in partnership with them or was that again, part of the conversation with them in general?
[Aaron Olapade]: Okay, thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Moranly.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa. Yes. Member Olapade. Yes. Member Reinfeld.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau.
[Aaron Olapade]: And Mayor Lungo-Koehn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Moranle.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa. Yes. Member Lopate, yes. Member Reinfeld.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau.
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor Lungo-Koehn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Branley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Atapa?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Olapade? Yes. Member Reinfeld? Yes. Member Ruseau? Yes. Mayor Lungo-Koehn?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Bradley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa? Yes. Member Olapade? Yes. Member Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau?
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor Lungo-Koehn?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Branley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Uh, member Graham?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Olapade? Yes. Member Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau?
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor Lungo-Koehn?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Branley?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Olapade? Yes. Member Reinfeld?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau?
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor Langenkern?
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Branley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Intoppa. Yes. Real party. Yes. Member Reinfeld.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau.
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor Lungo-Koehn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Branley.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Graham.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ansaba.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Olapote is a yes. Member Reinfeld.
[Aaron Olapade]: Member Ruseau.
[Aaron Olapade]: Mayor Lungo-Koehn.
[Aaron Olapade]: Uh, I can't tell if they can hear us because they were waving their hands. Can you hear us? All right, cool. I think I can see a thumbs up. Hi, everybody. My name is Aaron Olapade. I'm newly elected as like, like, uh, the thumb was down.
[Aaron Olapade]: Hi, everybody. My name is Aaron Olapade. Like the superintendent mentioned, we are all newly elected. So I'm really excited to be here. I'm a Medford High graduate of 2018. So about five years ago, and I'm a recent graduate of Boston College this past May, studying political science. So law, politics, government are my main focuses when it comes to academics, but I have interest in a majority of the subjects as well. So I'm excited to kind of get involved and be invested in your success. And thank you so much for having me here.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes.
[Aaron Olapade]: Present.
[Aaron Olapade]: It was a question about the maximum of eight students. Is there an expectation by the organizers that you have to have eight students for a team or is that a decision you two made?
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. And thank you so much for being here. A question, actually, after what Member Branley said about the lottery system. For parents that have multiple kids, when they're slotted into the lottery, is that any children they have, or is it just one child, and is it separation between both?
[Aaron Olapade]: To follow up on that question about staffing, do we have an idea about the percentage of retention rates for our staff compared to other districts that you've talked to?
[Aaron Olapade]: The question about the, I guess, overarching overview or like the accountability. So because we're, we're doing this, this committee, I think with the overall voting power of the building creation, when it comes to actually like hitting these public input and stakeholder feedback. let's say like thresholds of actual input. Are there ways for us to actually make sure that's happening? Not to suggest that like the building committee wouldn't be doing that, but more specifically making sure that we're garnering as much input as possible, just because that's a lengthy process that some parents, some community members might not be as able to respond when, you know, let's say a survey goes out immediately. So are there ways for us to, I think, try to keep us as honest as possible by trying to get as much input as possible? That's just something that I've noticed.
[Aaron Olapade]: Motion to approve.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, a quick question when it comes to the non-voting members. For number three, Chad Fallon is the director of the vocational program. Does it not make sense to have him be involved as a voting member as if we believe that the building is going to stay in the same place and be the same composition, but the vocational program is equally involved in that process of what the needs are for that student body?
[Aaron Olapade]: This isn't so much a part of that. That is a good point, or I see the suggestion from members. So another thing I'm noticing with this section, section, you know, 0.8, you know, subsection was at six. The point about requiring an interpreter, I think that we should also be considerate of the fact that this application, is it going to be in other languages or is it only going to be English? Because I think that that will then restricts or limit the amount of people who are going to actually be able to be involved, even at the application phase, because if they may need to require an interpreter, I'm going to wager that their ability to actually read the English language might be limited as well, potentially. So I think that we should consider, do we want to try to have this translated to the most immediate next spoken languages in the community. Does that matter to us? Things like that. Just because, you know, if we're gonna have an interpreter and we say we wanna do that, I think that it also should happen, you know.
[Aaron Olapade]: Absolutely.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes, thank you so something that memory so mentioned I think is important, or something that I would consider the productive suggestion maybe is that we both have. I think this advisory committee suggestion, but also having voting members and then inclusion members. So I think because we want this to be an expedient process, not because we want to ignore communities in the community, ignore communities in the city, but we want to make sure that we're going at the speed that we should be going at so that this process completes in a timely fashion. Is it possible that we do have our building committee that are voting members, and then we also have our advisory groups? who are giving us suggestions on certain aspects of the construction or the remodeling, just because I think that, I think member Ruseau is correct that if we want, we want to include as we do parents and students and other members, other stakeholders in the city, if they're not able to attend for a variety of reasons, as we all understand that we're living in the world, it's possible that they can include their voices when applicable, but they're not stalling the voting processes of the building, if that makes sense. Just a thought.
[Aaron Olapade]: And thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it. I had a quick question on slide 19. with the proposed course flow chart for 25-26 school year, it's the errors are pointing to integrated math three or going up towards computer programming and those types of maths and computer science principles and things like that. My question, I guess, is that if a student decides to go that way instead of integrated math three and then decides to continue on in grade 12, are they going to be missing some of the more foundational principles that we may be more used to? And I think that that's, it sounds exciting. I just, I'm a little concerned about, on misunderstanding about how a student will be able to still learn the principles that they would need, I think, to get you on into any other secondary school or any other type of thing post high school.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you so much.
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you so much for being here. A quick question about the service learning, and I think the partnership programs in the community. As someone who really benefited from service learning when I was in college, and as someone who really appreciates what it's intended for, what is the process, if there is an immediate formal process on how you develop those programming with community groups, or is there a way for community groups to, I think, reach out to the Curtiseps and offer their partnership capabilities?
[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you so much for being here.
[Aaron Olapade]: A quick question. So when it comes to the 537 students, it's a two part question. Do we have an idea of the teacher educational professional in the classroom to student ratio at this time, as well as do we feel like we're being supported with the amount of education professionals in the schools in total.
[Aaron Olapade]: Teachers, paras, aides, however you want to quantify the educational thresholds in the classroom.
[Aaron Olapade]: The other one would be partly like, do we feel like we're being supported in the school with the amount of professionals that are in the building right now? Are we feeling we're struggling to have the coverage we need and things like that?
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. My name is Aaron Olapade. I use the he series, so the he, him, his pronouns. I'm running for school committee and I'm really happy to be here, so thank you.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, it's tough because I know that this is a question that gets asked and it's always one of those things where I think it changes with the wind just because of my mood or the day of the week or who I'm with. I'm a West Medford liver, so tend to find myself down there in the West Medford Square. So, Snappy Patty's is a big place for me. I worked there a little bit during the peak COVID year. So, I kind of became accustomed to their food and their menu. So, I really enjoy that spot and I tend to choose the chicken schnitzel or the schnitty as we call it there. It's just a good piece of food and it's hearty. It's big, so it's pretty filling. And then Tasty on the Hill near Tufts is another big place for me and my family. I tend to go for the chicken and waffles. It's both a breakfast and lunch kind of thing for me. So both sweet and savory, I would say, is probably where I'm going to when I go out to eat with people.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much for asking. I think that to start, I'm a younger candidate. I'm 23. But I grew up in Medford. I kind of matured, went through the kind of experiences of younger life here in Medford and moved about 10 years ago, 2013. I started in seventh grade here at the Andrews Middle School, then I went to the high school. And so I really grew up in Medford. And I think that because of that, it makes me want to see Medford continue evolving into a progressive space for everyone. People coming here to work, to live, feel like they have a space to kind of live into themselves a little bit with themselves and their families. And I think that's partly what really is the root of my motivation running for school committee to to open up that conversation and allow people to feel like they have that safe space. And, you know, I think also partly what kind of got got me excited about local politics is like the upbringing to my mom kind of instilled in me and my older brother, you know, she's a practicing minister and a faith leader and for her, you know, being of service to other people really is how faith should be done. I would agree that my faith really does inform me and how I make decisions. And I think that that has led me to the school committee and how we as a community, as adults, can give the younger generations the opportunity and the tools that we might not have had to kind of continue improving and progressing our society, but mostly right now our community, of course. Um, I've kind of done a variety of things in the city and the greater Boston area in that pursuit, um, of working with younger folks, um, and just working with people in general, again, to really be of service. Um, you know, I volunteered a lot in high school at the, at Medford high, you need to graduate with about 60 hours of community service, um, which I think is still very much their practice. And that's, that's not a new, uh, method. A lot of schools in the area do do that. Um, and so, you know, getting 60 hours is, not a tall, tall task, but it does take a little, a little work, you know, through the four years, especially when you're, you know, 14 to 18, you might not know the different, you know, different types of programs and nonprofits in the area, for example, that offer community service hours. And I kind of had a bit of a bit of a, you know, behind the scenes connection with my mom, who just does a lot of that kind of stuff. So it was a little easier for me to get those 60 hours, freshman year. But then I found so much joy in getting to know people and helping people in any way that I could or any way that felt right to them that I kind of kept doing that and so when I graduated high school I thought, man, this is really good work and I really find myself wanting to do it more and more. was so enamored with service work and community engagement that I took gap year from high school. Once I graduated, I thought, I want to keep doing this. I want to see what this does. I applied and I worked for a non-profit in Boston for a full year, working in a school system. I was a teacher. I was a teacher's aide, teaching kids math. I was seeing what it's like to be a student in the inner city and what that looks like. I went to college and same thing. It really was service work, community engagement, uh, racial justice really were kind of things that I found myself just being drawn to, um, and- and interacting with people who might not be, um, as, uh, able- as able to advocate for themselves as you might hope. Um, and so I thought that I could be an advocate for them, um, in some situations. So that really was kind of the beginning where it was faith-based action and mission drive. And I think that finding myself just wanting to understand people's experiences more so that I can then inform myself in what I wanna do, if that makes sense.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, absolutely. I think first and foremost, like what happened last year is not new. I think that it felt like in a really, you know, incredibly scary moment for everyone. I think it was no one really knew what to do or where to go or who to look to for answers. Because in some ways we're not trained as adults or as professionals or educators or students to handle things like that. And so it's hard to not point the finger. And it's hard to not look for someone's head on a spike because you think to yourself, how can my child or how could my teacher, my educator, whoever it may be, how could they go into school each day and feel safe? And I think that When I was in schools, the issues were still there, but they looked a little different, right? You know, we have to be conscious of the fact that we're in a very different world than when I was in high school five years ago. I mean, post-COVID is an incredibly different life for all of us, right? Especially for kids who are really learning themselves for the first time. They're maturing at their own pace, in their own way. And because of that, it's a little harder or greatly harder for younger people to advocate for themselves because they might not have the language, they might not have the ability to, you know, comprehensively discuss what's going on with them. They might not even know what's happening for them quite yet. And COVID, I think, exacerbated that fact even more so or put us on notice even more. You know, we have to give students the opportunity to work through these questions they're having about themselves and about their peers recurringly. So it can't be a, you know, biannual or a once a month kind of thing. It has to be a daily conversation. Because as we kind of may or may not remember, when we were at that age, we were having those daily questions about who we were, how we identify, who we identify with. Right. And so, you know, I remember when I was in high school, there was an incident with a with a gun clip that was found. And that was a really, you know, 2018. And that was a really big moment for the city where people were recognizing that safety is not always a given. Right, even in cities where we might have a low crime rate or we feel as though there aren't big incidents like that in the schools or or outwardly right we might not hear about them at the very least. Safety is not a given all the time, unfortunately, as much as we would hope it to be, and so we need to again open up a conversation, not just with our students with ourselves with each other. so that we can start discussing what safety really looks like for the majority. Of course, I'm not disassociated from the fact that whatever I were to do as a school committee member or someone to do in a different position, I can't make everyone happy, unfortunately. That's just the reality. But I think that there is a way to find a form of bipartisan agreement where everyone feels they've been heard at the very least. That misunderstanding between one another really is, I think, a root of a majority of the problems that local municipalities are feeling. There's more agreement to be had. I think that it's a miscommunication or a disagreement on the way to accomplish a set goal. But we all want our kids to be safe, for example, right, we want the younger people, even if you don't have kids, right, we want the younger people in our city to feel safe, like they can go to school, and they're not worried about their safety, whether it's from their peers, from an outside source, and not just physical safety, but emotional safety to intellectual safety, these are real things that we're working through. And again, COVID really changed the change the narrative. And so None of us know how to navigate this quite yet because none of us have the training, no one's prepared quite, quite, quite yet. And so I think acknowledgement that we're in a really, really turning point as a city, right, I think it's the first step. And so, you know, being a high schooler more recently, than some maybe some other people on the you know that have run in the past for example I think does give me a lived experience perspective that others might not have not to suggest or leverage the fact that you know because you weren't in high school more recently that you don't have really really useful advice or suggestions or platform to run on but I think that representation is crucial, right? And so I can at least say that I know what it was like to feel unsafe for a period of time in the school system. And it's not necessarily a fault of anyone in particular, right? Again, it's this finger pointing phenomenon that happens all the time when something like this happens, but it's acknowledgement that these issues are not new. They just look a little differently. So I think when I was in high school, I think every year. Again, I was questioning myself questioning how I fit in. And I think that came out differently, whether I was not focusing on my grades, I was having, you know, problems, maybe with other peers of mine. I wasn't respecting teachers, like whatever that whatever way that kind of manifested outwardly, I think comes up and I think with post COVID kind of responses we're having, the kids aren't feeling as safe with themselves and with each other. So that comes up a little bit more, um, uh, notably, I guess is probably the best term I would use, you know, given a couple of months ago, right. Versus it's happening behind closed doors or it's happening in the homes. You're not hearing about it as much, um, because there was a way to kind of keep a lid on it, you know, if that makes sense. So for me, I really want to, Again, as I mentioned earlier, open up that conversation. I wanna give the students first the platform, like a daily platform to discuss what they're working through. And again, it's not gonna be an immediate, well, now that I'm saying on Monday, you can tell me how you're feeling that it's gonna fix everything, right? It's gonna be a working experience because again, we understand that younger folks aren't quite there yet sometimes with their ability to articulate what's going on for them. But if they don't feel like they have the space to do that, then they're never going to. Not really, at least, or not honestly. So it's up to us as adults to, again, give them the tools, give them the system so that they can feel like they can work through it. So that ideally, or hopefully, in the best case scenario, a situation like that happened five years ago or last year doesn't happen again. And kids feel safe amongst themselves, amongst their own person, and amongst the city that we're in.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, so I think that, you know, education, um, you know, is, is important, right, of course, and I think that, you know, first and foremost, education looks differently for different people. So it's not just in the classroom or in the, you know, the, in the, the, how we identify education, like in the textbook, in the classroom, lecturing, right, education, it comes up in different ways in different places in the day. You know, when you're a toddler, or a young young child like of course you're you're not going to class really you're learning just from everything you're seeing day to day right and as you get older, then it becomes a little bit more uniform and a little bit more. As we understand by the book right so you're learning a lot of the content that you're being taught by your teacher or by your professor if you decide to go to college. But then we, in some ways, forget that once you leave school, kind of at whatever level that is, your education doesn't stop, right? The way you learn isn't stopping. If anything, it's opening up again because you're not in a controlled space anymore, right? There's a lot more opportunity to learn a lot more. And so to be educated, I think, is like the first, is really how you become a more holistic person. And again, it's not just about the four core classes in a language, right? There is education and learning that comes from every walk of life, from different cultures, different religions, different perspectives, different sexual identities, different religions. There is learning in all facets of life. And I think that we, as humans, I think naturally want to learn more. And so, When it comes to why I value education, I think that it goes to what I just mentioned, where to be a holistic person, to be a multifaceted person, I think you have to be conscientious of the fact that education doesn't stop once you stop going to, you know, eight to three school. Right. You know, for some people, as I mentioned, don't want to go to college, or don't feel like that's a need for them they're not they're not that isn't their that isn't their path and that's completely okay, we should, if, for one thing we should be more, you know, supportive of that endeavor because again there are lots of people who find that. post-secondary, you know, higher education, post-secondary education isn't for them. But again, those people aren't any lesser or aren't learning still. They're learning so much, just in a different way. And so we need to acknowledge that education comes differently and people learn differently. And so, for example, something that I really am empowered by, something that I really want to start pushing for, if elected, is comprehensive-based learning initiatives, where it really discusses the importance of equipping students at any age the tools necessary to be a productive member of their own life, of their families, of society. It's not just about if you can check off a box and get a high score on an exam. It's about having the skills necessary to live a fully functioning life Any, any life you may choose. But, you know, unfortunately, that's not that's not as easy as I'm suggesting it to be that requires a lot of hard work and a lot of as you kind of mentioned your question. Adults participating in the conversation because they're the ones that make those decisions about the type of education, the type of learning we're giving our students in the, in the community. So I can think back, again, when I was in high school or even in middle school, where what I was learning, I don't know if I was even cognizant of the fact that I thought I was missing out, for example, on certain perspectives or certain authors or engineers or people who did really groundbreaking work in different of the four core classes, for example. At that age, you're not really as thoughtful about that. Usually, on average, you're not as thoughtful about it because you don't know to ask the question quite yet. It's until, for me at least, when I was in college where I started recognizing there are so many stories out there about these types of things that I'm focusing on, you know, regardless of its economic, political science, engineering, medicine, law, whatever the thing I was kind of pursuing at that point in school where I was realizing there are so many stories and so many, you know, iconic people in that industry that I had never heard of before. And I think to myself, well, why is that? They did really groundbreaking work, really life-changing stuff. But there's stuff that they change really would have been nice to know earlier on. Right. And so I think, you know, if we as adults are capable of considering changing the curricula, right, you know, it doesn't have to be an insane overhaul right out the gate right there can be, you know, step by step changes. right? So we start introducing more, you know, of color authors, for example, in English class, we start considering the possibility of opening up a little bit more historical context to different events that happened throughout our American history or, you know, or a broad history, right? Thinking about the types of people that, you know, improve the sciences, right? There's opportunities start slowly. It doesn't have to be, again, rapid change is good sometimes, but for some people it's a little too quick. Right, so we want to again we want to try to include people every walk of life as quickly as much as possible. So if there's a way to slowly but but progressively start introducing more educational experiences or more learning into the day to day teaching. For the students, I think that would really start to give students again that competency based learning right you start giving them more information sooner, so that when they make those decisions about going to college or pursuing a trade or whatever may be post high school, right, they feel like they have a little bit more world experience a little bit more cultural experience. just experience is the term really I would say more experience to make decisions for themselves they don't feel as though they're haphazardly deciding things because they feel like they're being told to. I know when I again when I was kind of thinking about college or post high school. Most of my friends, I think, would say, I'm kind of going to college or I'm doing this thing because I don't really know what else to do. And I feel like that's what my parents want me to do. Or that's what society tells me to do. And I think that, you know, adults have more experience, right, more often than not. So I think that it's not unreasonable to assume that your parents might supposedly know best. But I think that Giving kids some independence earlier isn't a bad thing, right, but you can only really do that if they have all the facts right or they have more facts, and I think that that comes from introducing more education. or different educational styles and educational pieces over time at younger ages, for example, to give kids that slow independence to feel like they know a little bit more about themselves, about their culture, their identity, about the world, to make decisions a little sooner. Because I know that, you know, a lot of people that I went to college with who graduated with a degree are saying, I don't really know what I'm going to do. And I'm 22, 23 years old with a full degree and a lot of debt. I pursued this subject matter, and I found myself saying, why did I do this? Is it possible, had I had a little bit more experience or had a little bit more independence earlier on, even if that was freshman year, sophomore year of college, or first, second year of a trade, or just a regular 9 to 5 job, would you have been able to make a decision sooner to shift what you were doing. So you didn't feel so stuck where you were. But that starts again from education, from learning, from just soaking up what's going on in the world. In a weird way, let's revert back to infancy. That's what kids do. They take in, they just absorb that information. And why can't we keep doing that? Why can't we give that opportunity and that option to the younger folks? So yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: It's a good question. I was just talking to my mom about this actually. I think Medford does a lot of things really right. I think that that's You know, that's kind of what keeps me keep coming to conversation that keeps me invested I think that keeps a lot of people in the community invested is that there are those changes we're seeing I think that there is a want from a lot of people in the community for change. In change at every every level I think we there is a lot of push for like more greenery in the city, more, you know, more city wide events, more, you know, Medford Recreation Department events during the summertime or just during the school year, I think that there's a intentional choice to. discuss the question about diversity, equity, inclusion, right? What that looks like, what that looks like for different communities in Medford, right? You know, we've had a lot of different nonprofits kind of pop up over the last five, 10 years who are doing really solid work, really intentional work about these questions about inclusion and equity. I think the thing that I would say, the blanket statement is that Medford is intentional. I think that people in the city, not just in the city hall, not just in the office, but people in the community that live in West, North, South Medford, in the center, want to see certain things happen for themselves, for their families, for their children, for the next generation to come after them of a progressive mission. And that comes up differently, as I mentioned. There's so many different... platforms and issues, not issues, platforms and different types of motivations for different groups. And it is intentional work. It's hard work. And it takes time. Again, I've said this a couple of times. It's not quick fixes. It's not knee-jerk responses to fixing an issue. These are, for real, comprehensive change. It will take time. And I think that a lot of people in the city want to see those and are willing to take the time. They have the temperament and the patience to see that happen. But I will also say that in the same side, I think, again, post COVID has really, I think, the burnout is a little bit is seeping through a little bit in some cases where you're seeing the conversation start to die down a little bit, unfortunately. Or it starts to level, you know, I don't say die down, it's the wrong term, it starts to level out a little bit. just because I think we're all trying to kind of recuperate from the three-year still ongoing blur of what kind of COVID did for us as individuals and as a community. But again that intentionality I think really is what makes Medford special for me as someone who's lived in a couple different places over my life. I mentioned that I'm not a religion from Medford but as a younger person who grew up here that really has kept me wanting to come back here even after graduation is to set roots here and call this place my home, so.
[Aaron Olapade]: That's a good question. It's not something that's, it's obvious about my appearance, I would say, but I'm a very organized person. It's like not really, you know, anything crazy or super cool, but I'm a very space picky guy. So I like, I like, especially my own personal spaces. I like things very uniform just because it gives me, you know, a sense of some semblance of control. uh, not to suggest I'm a control freak, definitely not that, but I think that with how life kind of comes at us both fast and slow day to day, I think having certain, um, things feel very, uh, controlled, I think really grounds me. And so like I do, I have a very set structure to my day. I do the same thing every morning and I've been doing it kind of for the last four years of college. I will, you know, I'll get up in the morning, I'll make my bed. That's the first thing I do pretty much just because, you know, there was an army general, I think, who had this really famous graduation speech years ago. And he talked about the importance of making your bed. And I watched it probably when I was like 14. I was like, oh, that's super, that's super on point. I'm gonna start making my bed. So I make my bed every morning, you know, and the motive or the moral of that general speech, I think, was if you've had the worst day ever, right, nothing went the way you thought it would, you know, you at least accomplished one thing, which was making your bed, right? So these little accomplishments really are, they start to stack up. And so, you know, I think that, Again, you know that uniformness of things that I have control over does ground me in the type of work that I want to do that isn't as controllable or isn't quick. So I think, you know, I really like setting things up a certain way. So I make my bed every morning. I go, I was a collegiate rower. uh, in, in college. So I, I, I wrote crew and I still do that. So every morning I will make my bed and then I'll go row. And I do that pretty much every day. If I can help myself, I'll make my bed no matter what I do. I can row. If I can get in the morning, I'll go do that. And that again, sets me up and get the physical activity out of the way. It catches me just in a, in a, in a productive mood because I do this really early. I do this at about five 30 in the morning. because I had to do that for school and I still do it now. So I think that that's probably something you wouldn't know is like really early and I make my bed and I row and that's what sets me up for the rest of my day.
[Aaron Olapade]: I did, yeah. So Medford High, surprisingly, had a rowing team. They still do. And I started freshman year, or I technically started in middle school. Um, my brother, uh, went to college and he had a couple of buddies that were on the rowing team at his school. And he, when we moved to Medford, when we were looking to Medford rec department, trying to find like camp to do, my mom was like, Oh, you would row. That'd be a great thing to do. And when I was, you know, in the middle school, I was a smaller, more lengthy, uh, lengthy guy. So it didn't really fit in my brain. I also didn't know anything about it, but my brother thought, you know, that's a great physical activity. You'll get in great shape. You should do that. And I, uh, I did it and it was the worst thing ever. And I didn't want to do it anymore. And I stuck, I maintained that opinion for like three years. I just was like, this is the worst activity. I don't want to do it. I'd rather do anything else. And it wasn't until probably sophomore year of high school where I thought, you know, this is a really cool activity. It's a really cool sport. Um, and I think it was more acceptance that I can't do any other sport more than actual want to row. It was kind of like a, if you can't get out of it, get into it type mentality. And I think that I just was like, you know what, I was able to keep it going. I'm kind of good at it. I'm taller now. It kind of works out. And I did it through high school. And I thought, all right, I'm not that bad. And then I kept doing it in college. And yeah, I was a captain, both high school and college, which was really, you know, I felt really proud of. And that was really cool. And it just, yeah, again, it really does. It grounds you because it's a rowing is a very team oriented sport almost entirely team oriented. And so I think that for me it's informed a lot of the decisions I've made in my life or the mentalities I have going into different opportunities is what I would call them with other people. is that teamwork makes the dream work in a bit of a cliche way. If you want to win a race or you want to be productive in the competitive season, you have to kind of get past yourself. You have to get out of your own way and acknowledge that there might be a person in the boat with you who's faster than you, speed-wise, or has more technical capacity than you do, or someone who you may feel, though, is a little behind you in those you know, those, uh, ways of gauging your overall rowing success, you still need to lead them. Right. And so I think that, you know, very much like setting up those little perspective changes is how I kind of keep going. So waking up really early feels like a thing I don't need to do anymore because like, I'm not in school anymore and I don't have anywhere I need to be at, you know, 8 00 AM for school, but you know, I did it all through high school and it worked out for me and I felt like I was really productive. So if I wake up at five, five 30, and I make my bed and I get out on the river and I do that for an hour and a half. I feel like if it isn't broke, again, another cliche, don't fix it. So, you know, that's kind of, that's, that's part of that. Yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yeah, so I think there's a couple things that I would say about myself that I think would be good to kind of give some people some more understanding about me is that, you know, as I mentioned, like I've been doing this for a long time. So, first and foremost, I think that at any age, you can be involved. I don't think you're too young or too old. Any, any age offers. you know, you have the opportunity to be locally engaged, communally engaged, right? It doesn't need to be in politics, it can be in different types of work, different types of non-profit stuff, different types of aid work. Those are all things that you can participate in if there's a want to, slash I think you should. I think that that's something that I really, you know, goes back to kind of my mom's upbringing that like being of service to other people really is a fulfilling endeavor. Whether it's from a faith religious perspective like it is for me or from another perspective of just like an ethical ethical moral kind of belief system. So, you know, you know, first and foremost, really understand that being of service to people being service to the community really is an enriching experience. As an individual really helps you put into perspective, the world around you. And partly for me I kept finding myself in opportunities where that was my, that was how I felt you know I, I was named the youth coordinator. for the Mystic Valley branch of the NAACP, and I still do do that. I still act in that role, and I've been doing that for a little over two years now, and so it's my job to reach out to the youth of the Mystic Valley branch, right, not just of Medford, but the surrounding cities, to see how our youth are changing. You know, you mentioned earlier a question about how has Medford shifted a little bit, or do I feel as though what happened last year, is that similar to what I was seeing when I was in high school five years ago, same kind of questions is the way we were as a youth, you know, 510 1520 years ago however long ago is that in any way different than the kids that are going to schools to this day. And again it's the answer is yes and no. I think, yes. Yes, and that it's a different world we live in now not just post coded but just in general tech technology advancements medical advancements cultural differences. The integration of different different religions like these are all things that are in there's more of this we're seeing in Massachusetts or in America, for example. But that being said, though, there are a lot of the same problems a lot of the same things we're seeing 510 15 years ago that we're still seeing today, a lack of communication, a miss mismanagement of schools, a lack of respect towards one another because we might be different supposedly different again right we might supposedly, you know, normative, right, whatever, whatever you want to suggest about being someone who might not identify with the supposed status quo causes a misunderstanding of one another that creates discrimination, segregation, racism, bigotry, right, whatever that may be, or a dislike of someone at the most basic level, you know, when you're like in kindergarten, right, because they might not look like you. And so when I outreach to the youth as an NWCP member and as a youth coordinator, that really is something I run into a lot. We're seeing that. That's still going on. I think it's hard to hear stories from students and from young people about how to navigate that, those issues that they're having, those things that they're working through. especially when they don't know if they have someone to go speak to. They don't have representation in schools, for example, or in their city council school committee, mayor's office, whatever adult position that they look to for support, and they're not sure who to talk to about it. I think I found myself so enamored with working with the young folks. I kept wanting to do it more and more, and that's really, again, another thing that led to the school committee decision of mine. to run for. I thought there's such an opportunity for me as someone who is who is motivated by these things and who wants to work with the youth and want to understand them better and then be able to be an advocate for them to the greater area to really enact that change and again be a service to a cause like you know greater than myself as much as I can. You know I so I've done that. I really pursued more engagement in the local Medford community. I was a community liaison for the Medford Health Department. I did that for over a year. The department was given a grant to fund outreach of five liaisons of different cultural communities. I was African-American and Black community liaison. We had an Arabic liaison, a Haitian Creole speaking Haitian community liaison. Different individuals that were Medford residents, who wanted to be part of the conversation, right? So in that endeavor, it was the same kind of thing, just for an older demographic. How do these different communities, these different demographics in the city feel about what's going on? Or do they know what's going on? And I found that the answer was, no, they don't, for the most part. And that's a swooping statement, of course, but I thought a majority of the people that I was running into don't know or don't know where to go to find this information, really. So there's, again, a lack of information Um, or language barrier is a big thing, right? A lot of people don't speak English as a first language. So even if they are wanting to be involved in the community or have their kids be involved, the language barrier is a big problem, right? So even the speech, the language being used on the websites, for example, is a big, a big blockade for a lot of people, you know, they're like, understand what's going on, but I can't read what's going on. So I don't know how to, I don't know who to talk to about it, because there might not be a translator in the City Hall's department, or there might not be someone who understands what I'm trying to say. My accent might be a little stronger than they're able to handle, or I might not have the language as someone who's been speaking English as a first language to articulate what I'm trying to understand is going on with like town hall meetings or different community events or whatever it may be. So For me, I've kind of recurrently found myself pursuing different opportunities in the city and the greater area to understand people better first. To understand people better, that's really then when you get the opportunity. Again, these are all opportunities, how I'm mining them in my brain. You get this opportunity to then advocate for people differently. But again, that didn't happen for me quickly, and it took time for me to kind of be able to acknowledge that that's where I was going with my life, and I wanted to pursue that wholeheartedly for my career, is being of service. And I think that the school committee offers me that opportunity to be an advocate and a voice for people who, again, who might not have the language quite yet, or feel like they have the platform or the space to do that for themselves yet. That's probably the best way I can say that of the things that I've done that I'm still doing, or things that I've done in the past, I think have informed where I'm at right now.
[Aaron Olapade]: Yes, thank you. Yes, so I have a kickoff. It's a dual kickoff with another fellow new coming school committee candidate. Her name was Erica Reinfeld, and we are both OR, Our Revolution Endorsed Candidates. And we thought that having a dual kickoff felt like a really great way to get both our names out there even more, to meet each other's bases and just people in the community. And in a two birds, one stone kind of setup, it felt like that was the right thing to do. And so we agree on a lot of different platforms, that OR as a nonprofit kind of push forward for the Medford community. And we are really in this together as progressive candidates. So that's on August 28th. So about, I think, 17 days from today, it is a... I'm gonna find out before I take a look. The 28th is a Monday. So right before school starts. So hopefully all the parents and families will be back right before school starts. They'll kind of be back from their last summer hurrah that I think most of us want to go on. So that's the 28th on Monday from 7 to 9. And so you'll see me. You'll see Erica. You'll see, I think, a lot of other candidates, both incumbents and newcomers to the event, where we really want everyone to be able to come and feel like they have a place to hear us talk about our platforms and talk to each other. It's a community event. It's not just about us. It's about us as a community. That's kind of a part of my platform is that it's not joining the Olapoday team. It's about joining our team. Use me as a person who's going to be there for you. It's not to prop me up, but it's a prop up the wants and needs of the city and what they deserve. I think Erica would agree that's the same mentality she might be going to. I don't want to speak just for her, but I think that we are in agreement that we want people to feel like they have a platform to come talk to us as candidates and in the greater community about what they're experiencing. So be there if you can be. We would love to have you to come have some food, have some nosh, have some good conversation. We're hoping that it'll be good weather. You know, it's still the end of summer, so it won't be too hot, won't be too cold. It's in the nighttime, so hopefully we'll kind of skip the sun. And if not, we'll move inside if the weather doesn't allow us to do that. So it should be great, and I hope everyone can come. Where are you having it? It is 7, so the number 7 Ronale Road in West Medford. So it's right near Oak Grove Cemetery, like the entrance of Oak Grove, near the 134 bus stop or the 95. So yeah. Well, thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. This was great. I had such a fun time. Thank you guys.
[Aaron Olapade]: I'm good. How are you?
[Aaron Olapade]: Should I say my address? Yes. All right. So I'm Aaron J. Olapade. I live on 105 Brooke Street.
[Aaron Olapade]: Oh, okay. Stand tall. So I totally understand what you're saying about like how you think that Medford is like a great place and how we are doing what we're supposed to be doing. I think so because I came from a place where I didn't really think that and I thought that we were very undiverse. And so me coming here when I was, I think 13, it was kind of interesting because I was so surprised at how diverse I felt. But it isn't a matter of how much we're doing, it's a matter of how much we can do more. So I think that because we might, let's say we're doing 80%, I think we can do 90%, 100%. I think we can do so much more that it will be like a model for other towns. So I think that, I don't understand exactly what's happening, meaning I don't understand what a resolute is, but I do know I kind of get it, but I do know that it is something that's really important to me. It's important to a lot of kids in my school and it's important to my mom and other adults in the community. So I think that it might not be, you know, it might not be as important as some people will believe, but I think it's important to a lot of other people.