[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, mayor and members of the school committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm very excited for this first report of the night.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just as you were announcing, the cameras just miraculously came on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So with us tonight we have Dr. Kimberly Talbot and we have Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Chelsea McNiff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First I'm just going to say a few words about Dr. Talbot before I turn it over to her and then I'll say a few words about Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: McNiff and then turn it over to her.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Talbot is going to be the next Assistant Superintendent for Academics and Instruction for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She was confirmed by this body on June 3rd.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She brings 30 years of educational experience to Medford and most currently is serving as the Executive Director for Academics and Instruction for Salem Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She has a wonderful background.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She also has earned her educational doctorate degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And through every phase of the interview process, she unanimously impressed all the stakeholders from the initial search committee round to interviews with school leaders and directors through the completion of a performance task.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She comes with a deep professional knowledge, closely aligned core values, and a welcoming demeanor really made her an ideal addition for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're so confident in her leadership that it will greatly enhance our academic programs and our instructional practices, and we really look forward to the positive impact that she's going to have for us across the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'd like to just have her introduce herself, and we really look forward to partnering with her next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Should I move on to Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: McNiff?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I didn't know if I'm pausing for... Okay, I'll move on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Chelsea McNiff is going to be the next director of English Learners Department for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Her appointment was also confirmed by this body on June 3rd.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She comes to us after serving as an EL department lead for Everett High School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In addition to that, she has great experience as an EL teacher, working with level one newcomer students, and an extensive background leading professional development for the districts that she's worked in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's also fluent in Spanish and French.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She holds a master's degree in ESL.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and a bachelor's degree for French and literature and applied linguistics from Boston University.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She also has a certificate in trauma and learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She impressed, through her rounds, she impressed the search committee with her skill set, her experience, and her optimism for the role.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Her values also align very closely to that of Medford Public Schools, and we are eager to benefit from her instructional leadership and her strategic thinking.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're really excited to bring her forward and see the positive impact that she's going to have on our students, our staff, and our broad Medford community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Chelsea.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And thank you for joining us here tonight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: May I just make one comment before that happens?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do want to just say this is a long agenda for this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do want to just say for Dr. Talbot and Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: McNiff,

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's up to you, but don't feel you need to remain on the call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know that you have things that you're finishing up in your districts before you transition to us here in the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Mr. Trotto is on the line and he will be giving an overview this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do wanna say moving forward, there has been a lot as we all know, as we're trying to finish up ending this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And a lot has gone into the meetings for

[Suzanne Galusi]: for the last few school committee meetings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is our intention that the CCSR report has student representatives with them, little difficult to do that virtually and on the last day of school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mr. Trotta will talk through the overview of the work that's happened this year, as well as a video of students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next year, we'll make sure that these reports have our student representatives in person.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So with that, Mr. Trotta, is he able to unmute?

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK, good.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, I don't want people to think that there was narrative.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We just wanna make sure we have the audio for the next video, which is from the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I didn't want people to think they were missing audio.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Nicely done.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, and I do know that we have Director Megan Fidler-Carey on the call, and she, I'll just give a brief overview, and then if we have questions, I know she's here as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, we've come before the body before.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We, you approved the rate card for the tuition for the afterschool program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the things that we did discuss when we came to talk about the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: enhancement of the afterschool program in our

[Suzanne Galusi]: work to increase capacity, one of the ways in which we're hoping that that can be done is with this early pickup time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as we presented to this body before, on the April 14th meeting, we are here to talk about what the rate would be for that early pickup time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So through survey results from families, it was

[Suzanne Galusi]: The survey data showed that people would be more open to the early pickup time of 4 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that would be about 75 minutes after the new dismissal time for elementary schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there'd be a 4 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: pickup time and then a 6 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: pickup time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You have, excuse me, approved the rates for the 6 p.m., so it's the yearly rate of 500, 5,000, no,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, $533 for a monthly rate, daily rate of $29.64.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so just the prorated option for that, 4 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: pickup time would be $205.20 for a monthly rate, and that's $11.40 for a daily rate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they just took the

[Suzanne Galusi]: 6 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: time and prorated it to the 4 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're looking for approval for that, but if you have any questions prior to approval, please let us know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, I don't want to just have a careless answer to say that I don't think that that will be happening, but the way that

[Suzanne Galusi]: director Fiddler Carey went about this was she surveyed the current enrolled families she surveyed the families that are on the waiting list and so she's going to take that tiered approach to rolling this out with families as well so

[Suzanne Galusi]: the first option will be families that are currently enrolled.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that will, she'll give a window of time for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then she'll move to families that are on the wait list before we kind of open it up broadly to newer families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I don't, yeah, I don't know if that answers my question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to defer to Director Fidler-Carey.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I didn't know if you were going to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that that is fair, and I think that's a pretty accurate summary of what we have been having internal conversations about as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what I'm hearing is to raise it to $15.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For a daily rate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, for a daily rate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A daily rate of $15.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not seeing her.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know she was on earlier.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Click the button.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, and I believe that that is the purchase price.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Their request is for the lease.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Am I also saying that?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is for Mr. McHugh, who has been working with us for the past two years, helping in the finance department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's been well documented on many of these meetings, the exorbitant amount of work that we have had to do in the finance office to get

[Suzanne Galusi]: out from underneath loads and loads of water and working on systems and structures so that we are compliant and that we are operating in a way in which we should be as a public school district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So he has definitely taken charge on a lot of the budget build with Noel's partnership and assistance.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next year we have him

[Suzanne Galusi]: working on a lot of other projects, doing some auditing of our revolving accounts, and again working with Noel who will be taking lead in the budget build for the next school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In the subcommittee meeting that or the other school committee meeting we had, we discussed his daily rate of $75 an hour or a day, excuse me, for doing this work with us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and that is the approval for this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there's additional pieces that school committee members in attendance would like to, or Director Velez would like to add on, please feel free.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I believe so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Was that 60?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Noel can confirm that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This was the other piece that was discussed at the previous meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The attached document there lists the non-unit positions that we discussed having an increase in a range of like 2% to 3%.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are two

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are two non-unit positions that have a note in terms of a salary adjustment due to an assignment of new duties.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of those positions is our communications director, Mr. Pippicelli, and the other one is new duties for the

[Suzanne Galusi]: current registration specialist position, the one full-time position that is in the Parent Information Center, moving that to a senior registration specialist position, and Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Gabby DaCosta taking on

[Suzanne Galusi]: more management responsibilities for the overall functioning of the registration office and some additional responsibilities with reporting through the Department of Education around registration-related activities and compliance.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Happy to answer any questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Motion to approve?

[Suzanne Galusi]: To those two positions?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hold on one second.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you could give me a moment, I'm really sorry, I'm gonna have to pull that up because I don't have it at the ready.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll pull it up for you right now, Superintendent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, for... And while Mr. Velez is looking for that, I did talk about the increased responsibilities for Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: DaCosta.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In this meeting, I did not talk about the increased responsibilities for Mr. Pipiselli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think it's important to note with, as you see tonight, with Mr. Cushing, Dr. Cushing leaving, there are a lot of responsibilities around the MPS,

[Suzanne Galusi]: pieces for this meeting around Zoom, increased responsibilities around our Google suite.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are confidentially, I'm sorry, I'm stumbling on my words, but there are pieces of

[Suzanne Galusi]: management district-wide for our Google suite of applications, for our Zoom applications, and those are going to be transferred from Dr. Cushing to Mr. Pipiselli, as well as some other responsibilities in increasing his day-to-day tasks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Director Velez.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Gabby, so just a few things with the functioning of that office.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the second position is a part-time position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is a position where, so Gabby has been, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: DaCosta has been the central person of that department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Within her stay there, she has created a manual.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I don't know if we talk about the functioning of that department prior to Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: DaCosta coming in, there were significant errors made in the registration and the onboarding of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There wasn't a lot of communication necessarily between the schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so she has come in and she has put in systems and structures for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She has streamlined that, created manuals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She also is fluent in four languages.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is very welcoming to our families that we are bringing into our system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we also see that she has, through her work, been able to take on more.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And with our

[Suzanne Galusi]: our data analyst position also switching over.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Gabby has worked in partnership with that new person and has taken on some new responsibilities for the Department of Education in the way that we are doing our assignments of our SASIDS, the way we're doing some data reporting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we also have found with that part-time position that has turned over now twice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That position has required just some oversight in compliance in the way that we are working within that office.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So though she will not be necessarily managing that person, she will be the one responsible and the central liaison for the principals and the overall functioning of that department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no, I appreciate the feedback and I'm always happy to take feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only other thing I would say is that,

[Suzanne Galusi]: she was also making very little.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the the pay was also to bring her.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's still much lower.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you if you look at other districts, even with a significant raise, she is also making lower than what our neighboring districts are currently paying people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in her position, but I do hear the feedback and take it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Graham, before the roll call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think on the call, we have the Director of Nursing, Jennifer Silva, and I do know that we have Shanine Peliquin, I see on the call, and she was also instrumental in this policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at this time, I think it would be great to hear from Director Silva to just provide a little bit of an overview.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is that okay?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is that okay, Mayor?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Actually, yes, Director Silva probably knows more about this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To my knowledge, this is an update from our existing field trip policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I know that Dr. Cushing worked extensively with Director Silva and Director Smith on this field trip policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Were there other people involved, Jen?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to make that a point of clarification.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was actually going to say that I do feel that a lot of this is outdated, I think, and I don't feel we do need this policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would say, though, to your point, Member Reinfeld, I mean, even the language in this is a little outdated to some of those awards that students can't and scholarships that students can receive.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Through MCAS, I'm happy to maybe

[Suzanne Galusi]: update that policy again with more explanation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, five times the charm, but I do think that a lot of this language is not what's happening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's very outdated, and I think it might just be more confusing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't have much to say.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think a lot of what I was going to say, member Ruseau, member Graham covered because there has been ongoing work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So my only two cents was going to be that we can provide what we currently know in a timeline, but that the first day of class would probably be a little bit too tight of a timeline because a lot of this is already ongoing work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but I can get you the update of what's been going on so far.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, I think there are ongoing projects.

[Suzanne Galusi]: right now around the facilities of our buildings as well as like the space utilization that's happening also this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just think like giving us a little bit of time to see the ongoing like consultancy work that's already happening and then being able to synthesize all of that and provide you with

[Suzanne Galusi]: a report early fall is just a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I want to make sure that the assessments that are ongoing right now, we have enough time to like read the reports, figure out what we're going to do about the recommendations and the findings, and then be able to report.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't think I would be able to do all of that by the end of August, September.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I appreciate that question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's not to minimize this work because it is very important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just to highlight too, I mean, with my broken ankle, I was scooting on in this morning and

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was not easy through the potholes of Medford High School and the ramp that Member Ruseau spoke about, as well as the entry with the doorway.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I relate to it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't want anyone listening to think it's a lack of prioritization or importance, because it's not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's also bandwidth, and to the point that Member Reinfeld just mentioned, bringing on new staff to be a part of the work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are actively in the middle of the hiring process for the chief operation officer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Excuse me, round one is just concluding, and then finalists will move on to a round two, but we're just actively in the middle of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Best case scenario, that person would be starting probably in around three weeks, but that's not knowing the specific situation, so having someone

[Suzanne Galusi]: be able to come on board this summer, get caught up to speed before throwing some of this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would probably say, because we have the two already ongoing, I would probably realistically say end of October.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Emily?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, I love the idea of playing something out for the public.

[Suzanne Galusi]: On city council, we've had a lot of conversations around zoning, where when we move to the next phase of zoning and it starts to affect a new neighborhood, a lot of people will say, this is going too fast.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Why did this just start?

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is out of nowhere.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You just came out with this all of a sudden.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we have to say, well, we've actually been doing this for quite some time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It just hasn't started to affect you until now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we can then go back and say,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Here's the website where, you know, so I think that's a great call with, like, maybe 1 version that's highly detailed 1 version that's very visual and simple.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Maybe with, like, I don't have to tell you guys.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the 2nd thing I wanted to ask about is, I understand that the pool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Will not be part of the project at all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Do you speak or or could you speak to that a little bit more?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm I'm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think I don't have full clarity on it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, if the building stays here and the desire is to keep the pool, yeah, I think

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do apologize.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do apologize if this was already discussed, but, and I was not at that meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But Columbus Park, was there a discussion about what would happen to the mistletoe?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because I think it's important to know if you don't know the Mistletoe that there are stairs in the playground of the Mistletoe that lead to Columbus Park.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, you would be taking the field, that adjacent field that the school does use regularly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think just also having a high school right attached.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If we're keeping them, it's the top where it is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't know then where you would put parking.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because it is in the middle of a neighborhood.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Create the chart about the spaces that we looked at and why we decided that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry, Aaron's surprised, but he did it wrong.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that I understand this, the MSBA chooses 13 people from wherever, like from a different, what?

[Suzanne Galusi]: They choose 10.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Whatever.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the way it's played.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And can everybody hear me?

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, I just want to make sure I'm going to share some audio with member Graham.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think is so Megan fiddle carries on the call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think between Megan, myself and will, we definitely moved up the timeline for kindergarten registration significantly and moved it even earlier this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, Megan, I don't know if you want to start from the very beginning of where we're generating.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The list from, but our timeline, the list part.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Starts in the fall and then we're usually reaching out to families come.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, specifically, I would say we, you know, historically, a school like the Missituk,

[Suzanne Galusi]: We, at this point, at this time of year for the, since I've been up at central administration for the, since 2020, we typically have only about 30 students enrolled by this time of year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And August is very, very active for the Missittuck school, but this year we're already at 60.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think maybe 60, well, at least 60.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's a significant change.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's almost double than what we usually see.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other schools are showing similar patterns.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Roberts is a little less.

[Suzanne Galusi]: than what I've seen the past five years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I don't wanna make any assumptions to what that might mean, but the Brooks and the McGlynn are trending as typical.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We offer 3 building bridges, 2 in person, 1 virtual.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We usually do the zoom 1 in February.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's January, February, March.

[Suzanne Galusi]: because the open house for all the schools is the first Wednesday in May.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the screenings are usually, they roll a little differently from school to school, but they begin at the end of May and conclude in September.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's a slightly different schedule for each family.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think if anything from, for my perspective would be once the registration is complete and we have all the documentation we need, the medical, the district sends out, um, another kind of welcome email.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And with that is attached the home to school transition form.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because the enrollment for students is different if they're our own meet and Megan, you can talk about how we've shifted the meet registration this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But if they're our own, we have a lot of data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In terms of in terms of transition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If it's a local Medford preschool program that they came from, we typically get their transition form.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But if students are coming to us without preschool experience or from a home-based preschool experience or a preschool experience outside of Medford, a lot of families, their business, where they work may have a preschool program, we don't often get transitional data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in instances like that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we do push out a home to school transition form, because the most information we can ascertain about a student helps us with class assignments and just to ease the transition process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is an area that I think I would welcome a conversation about how to do that better.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and how to make sure we're connecting with all families to get some transitional data on their child.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I think so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would be combining what we have into one, one pager.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first Wednesday, yeah, we can easily do something like that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And of course, I was, oh, do we want to wait?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just going to say that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, I think, um.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think this might be an area of improvement for sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, I think we do more for the transition from 8th to 9th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Then we do from 5th to 6th, with the exception of Joan Bowen and her wonderful department, who does a nice job with that transition, but I don't think there's an awful lot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Jen skein in terms of, like, the transition from grade 5 to grade 6, I think that is a growth area for metro public schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I defer to your sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you Jen.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I appreciate that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's such a nice long list.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing for me would be an advance to that like student panel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Where you know how you

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the middle school level, there are eighth grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The high school will send students to the middle schools to kind of talk about the course assignments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that something like that might be nice that we can do where we can have some sixth or seventh graders visit somehow, try to figure out a way to kind of just maybe give some fifth grade students a little bit more information ahead of the open house.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a legitimate concern and that's the 1 we hear over and over again.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I agree.

[Suzanne Galusi]: the thread of everything we've talked about tonight, the one-pager, the roadmap, that all makes sense.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think those are things that we can internally be working on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do know that MARTA has been working very closely with guidance.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think they actually are making tremendous headway, to be honest, because I think they're very close to sharing a draft.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Of a student schedule, which is really, I have to say, like, this year to have just gone through a completely new schedule and.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Ratification of a teacher's contract that was not that long ago is like a herculean effort.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think what the communication has been this year, yes, we could provide an update and that makes sense.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that parents that have all these questions, at least to get that communication, like, this is what we're building, but this year is definitely not what is typical or what would even be at this time next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To be able to plan, I guess, is just what I... We've had some, we've definitely had some internal conversations about calendaring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and about communication, Jen Silva was concerned, very concerned around the amount of field trips that were planned, maybe, I don't know, either not communicated or planned suddenly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's a lot of kind of streamlining and aligning that we need to do to make that a little bit better.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would say,

[Suzanne Galusi]: The communication around field trips, the communication between what is a PTO event versus school-based event, that is the responsibility of a principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think having those conversations in partnership with Will to help kind of streamline that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We definitely have been talking about a better way to do our internal calendar, too, to make sure that we're cross-checking events that are already scheduled versus ones that you want to schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is definitely a work in progress that I think we can smooth out a little bit better next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It definitely seemed like there was a lot kind of packed into the end of this year for some reason.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those are done well in advance, so I think, you know, we do that was 1 of the other conversations that we had, because we do have an internal calendar for school assessment for school events for things that are happening around the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, Suzanne fee, when it comes to the, the arts month in May, those are all done in the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Will and I have had conversations around how we can make that calendar.

[Suzanne Galusi]: accessible, like, to the community in a way that doesn't overwhelm people and differentiates between, like, daytime events.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, school assessment calendars and field trips is one part that's during the school day, but events at night and whether it's PTO or whether it's our concerts and our art shows and our plays, that's another.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is an evening that just warms my heart completely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first and foremost, I want to say thank you to the students and the caregivers, to family members and friends, to Director Sophia Chang for joining us this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: While we wish that you could play for the whole entire night and before every meeting, we're gathered here to celebrate your accomplishments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that you achieved earlier this spring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this past April, the Middle School String Ensemble was awarded a gold medal at the 2025 Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association Concert Festival, a deserving award that reflects a tremendous amount of dedication of the students and staff members.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So thank you to

[Suzanne Galusi]: Fine Arts Director, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Fee, very talented Orchestra and Sing Ensemble Director, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sophia Chang, and all the other staff members for creating this pathway for our students and for making sure that we have opportunities in the arts for our students here in Medford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're very, very proud of your accomplishments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so at this time, we have so many accomplishments this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What I'm going to do is invite Director Chang,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Are they playing for us?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Would you like to?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Chang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, we do have some certificates for the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I appreciate you acknowledging them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Could we maybe pause for a picture with them?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it would be easier if we go to them for this one, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is very exciting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Round two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Here we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Congratulations to all the students, the parents, the caregivers, the two coaches, Mr. McCready, Mr. Maldonado, and everyone that was involved in the Medford High School Mario Kart team, which won the 2025 Spring Massachusetts School Administrators Association Mario Kart Championship.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which is a very big deal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the victory by our Moomoo Meadows Mustangs eSports team at Fisher College earlier this year marked the first ever MSAA state championship for our eSports team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: With our program being so new to the Medford High School community, it's really amazing to see how well they have done in such a short amount of time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So much camaraderie, spirit, teamwork, and ultimate success is really something to be acknowledged and appreciated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So a round of applause for our esports team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At this time, and we're going to do this for all of the acknowledgements this evening, we'll have the coaches come to the rail, they'll say a few words, and then they'll read the students' names.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll take a team group photo, and then certificates will go to the coaches for dissemination to the team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so at this moment, I'd like to ask Mr. McCready and Mr. Maldonado to come on up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, so we're going to ask everyone to come in the center, the team and the coaches for a quick photo.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This will be a little bit of a longer one, but I'm going to call Director Rachel Perry up to the podium I just want to introduce as she's kind of walking up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Before I pass it to you, I just do want to give a shout out to all the students, the caregivers, the coaches, everyone that is here tonight and throughout the whole two seasons that we're acknowledging this evening for your dedication to the team, to the sport, to your preparation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It takes a lot of work and we're really tremendously proud of you and your success.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tonight we are acknowledging in the fall, we acknowledge the fall sports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so tonight we are acknowledging winter and spring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There were 14 different sports, one, the GBL, which I know director Perry is going to acknowledge and or a regional event.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So tremendous accomplishments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're all very proud of you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now without further ado, same scenario.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you'll go sport by sport.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Director Perry, do we want to come on?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a very special acknowledgement for Medford public schools but also from

[Suzanne Galusi]: for myself.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know not everybody was able to be here tonight, but we really wanted to make sure to use this time to give special recognition to five Medford Public Schools employees who are retiring at the end of the school year and whom have each given at least more than 20 years of service to our students and our school communities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is very significant and really needs to be acknowledged and celebrated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So each of these five individuals have impacted hundreds, if not thousands of students during their time here and throughout their job roles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we really want to thank them for everything they have done for their school communities and making it a better place and making our students feel warm and welcomed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We know you're going to be going on to do other things, but we really wish you all the best.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And on behalf of the Metro Public Schools community, we wish you congratulations on your retirement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know not everyone was able to be here, but I still would like to acknowledge the five names, and then we'll call the two members up for their certificate from Mayor Burke.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, excuse me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm so sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mayor Langer-Kern.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I didn't know if you wanted to say anything or if you want to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we'll call you up in just one moment, but I do want to acknowledge, we also have Karen Roberto, a school nurse who gave us 25 years of service.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have Jana Ewing, a second grade classroom teacher at the McGlynn, who gave us 34 years of service.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And to Mary Hordy, who was a physical education teacher, 30 years of service.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at this time, we have, oh yeah, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You want to speak?

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's a button.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would like to have Dr. Cushing and Mr. Paul Texera come

[Suzanne Galusi]: to the podium.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just have a few words that I would like to say.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I know that there are some members of the school committee that would also like to say a few words.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know we've said this before at school committee meetings, but both Dr. Cushing and both Mr. Texera are leaving Medford Public Schools for superintendencies.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing will, yes,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing is the next superintendent for Beverly Public Schools, and Mr. Teixeira is the next superintendent for Provincetown Public School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first, I just want to acknowledge, so for Peter, Dr. Cushing, we sincerely thank you for your six years of dedicated service to Metro Public Schools, to your commitment to maintaining and upgrading our facilities, our IT infrastructure, our innovation and enrichment opportunities for students, and security, as you've played a key role in creating a safe and supportive environment for our students and our staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Dr. Cushing moves on to the next chapter of his career as the superintendent of Beverly Public Schools, we wish him success and express our deep appreciation for his contribution to Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Cushing, for the spirit you brought to the sentiment of, it's a great day to be a Mustang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We agree and know that you will bring that spirit with you as you inspire Beverly Panther community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To Mr. Teixeira, we extend our heartfelt thanks to you as our EL director for, I didn't know the exact number, Paul.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know it's over a decade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, I was wrong.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just shy of a decade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those COVID years count as 0.5.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm in your dedicated service to measure public schools, Paul's commitment to ensuring equitable instruction and opportunities for all students but specifically our English learners have made a lasting impact on our district, and in their lives.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so while he also moves on to a superintendency, and it's wonderful news for Provincetown, it's certainly a little bittersweet for Medford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Paul has pretty big shoes to fill.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We will deeply miss your partnership, your guidance, and your strategic thinking, but don't worry, because I will be reaching out and touching base with you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But in all seriousness, Mr. Texera, your skills and experience, you're ready for this new role, and though we will miss you greatly, we're confident that you're going to make a positive difference, and we're just a phone call away.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And before we kind of give something, I think there may be some school committee members that have a few words to say as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Reinfeld.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know in your, we've had conversations back and forth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know in your packets, you have the updated language for the graduation requirements for physical education and health.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will review those and just let me know if you want it displayed, but in having conversations and director Rachel Perry is still here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would invite her to the podium in case there are any questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What you have in front of you is the Medford Public Schools response to increasing flexibility for our students, which would move health one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students would either take health one in ninth grade or in 10th grade, depending on their schedule and the demands of each individual student's schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And health two would either be completed in grade 10 or grade 11.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Physical education, the requirement is eight semesters of physical education with four enrolled in Medford Public Schools, Medford High School courses.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the second four students would have a choice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They can continue taking courses offered by Medford High School, or they can participate in the independent study that Director Perry has created.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The independent study is a footnote at the bottom of the graduation requirement, as well as linked to a separate document for review.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The independent study, I don't know, would you like, I can explain it, I don't know if you want to explain the independent study.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so for the independent study students, after they've completed the four semesters of physical education courses through Medford High School, there are pathways that they can choose.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if they are current athletes, that is one way that students that are enrolled in playing a Massachusetts interscholastic athletic association sanctioned sport would qualify them for the independent study per approval

[Suzanne Galusi]: and consultation with director Perry, as well as the opportunity for students that are in an instructionally based activity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So dance, martial arts, things of that nature that would require also approval by Dr. Perry, the passing of the four previous courses and just a log from the instructor of those

[Suzanne Galusi]: fitness slash exercise programs?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Lucy?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do know that our high school administrative staff and guidance department, school counseling department has been in touch with some previous students who are looking for their diploma.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can have

[Suzanne Galusi]: a conversation about acknowledgement to your point, but I do know that we have received some requests and that those are being fulfilled as they come in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So an acknowledgement is something that I can have a conversation about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a very nice idea.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I wouldn't want to misspeak.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know of two for sure, but I can get a firm number and let you all know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The high school counseling staff appreciates the expedition of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Galusi as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, I can clarify that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First, if we're just looking at enrollment, as Member Reinfeld stated, the Mississippi is the only school right now without constraints regarding enrollment as well as programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We had moved previously.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The McGlynn School, I think it's important to note, the McGlynn School may not have the enrollment capacity issues that the Brooks or the Roberts has, but the McGlynn does have some space constraints.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is the only elementary school with three floors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the other elementary schools have four floors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So by removing a whole entire floor of options, they may not have the enrollment capacity, but they definitely have a space one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So two things have happened.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One, at the McGlynn, there is a need for an additional access classroom next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we had to increase in that area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When Mr. Teixeira created the additional strand of newcomer that also was at the McGlynn, that's five classrooms right there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At that time, or around that time, the MEEP program that was at the McGlynn was relocated to the Mesituc.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the McGlynn for the past, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen, two, three years has not had a MEEP program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it also creates a nice opportunity for a little bit more collaboration, because right now there'll just be two schools with MEEP programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other thing that we did see is our work with Mr. McHugh and Mr. Velez and Mr. Texera is that next year for our newcomer program in grade five, we don't need to

[Suzanne Galusi]: fifth grade newcomer classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it will just be at the McGlynn and that fifth grade at the Missituk also creates yet another classroom space that is available.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So right now you will, for next year, 25, 26, you will have two or three MEEP classrooms at the Brooks, two MEEP classrooms at the Brooks, and then the remaining at the Missituk, I believe it's now four, five,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I think it's important to note, so Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen did go over and have meetings with staff, there was outreach to caregivers, and I think that's very valid.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Every elementary school has specialized programming under special education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would say those vary in regard to need, those vary in regard to support and resource, as well as enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there is a need for sure at the Missituk, just as there is at the Roberts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think part of that data that I presented at the subcommittee meeting showed that, so the Roberts specialized programming, the Connections program is quite large.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and actually growing each year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I believe they're up to five classrooms, five classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the therapeutic learning program at the Missittuck definitely has student need as they all do, but there are three classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it's also just a matter of space and availability.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't believe Dr. Cushing will be joining momentarily.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't believe that there's a problem.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just believe that we have the two step authentication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Process now fully engaged.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To my knowledge, they can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is just for people with Medford email addresses.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because you're a co-host.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm sorry, Aaron, I caught I didn't catch the beginning of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Did you say someone who wants to join?

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Let me double check.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm actually, so we have some updates on some search committees that we have been conducting through the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will briefly be giving an update around the search committee for the assistant superintendent for academics and instruction, as well as the director of English learners.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to kick it to Dr. Cushing to give us an update on the posting and the search process for a new athletic director for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what I would like to just spend some time outlining for you this evening is twofold.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first part is in doing a little bit of research around some of our neighboring districts and in looking at like,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the scope of work that is happening, as well as the work that we have coming up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A lot of work to our existing buildings and the work through the MSBA on the high school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would like to reflect a small change in title right now on our website and in name, we refer to buildings and grounds as encompassing all of this work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I would just like to make a small change in referring to the department as the facilities department, both in just a formal manner, I think that changing it more accurately encompasses the work that's happening at the physical level of the buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but also the infrastructure that is needed to support the overall functioning of our schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's first and foremost.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it would also align us to our neighboring districts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think buildings and grounds is a little bit of an outdated term, and you don't see it reflected.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So right now, districts like Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Lynn, and Wakefield refer to this as the facilities department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And some of our other neighboring districts, like Malden, Winchester, Revere, and Melrose, actually, it's part of the Department of Public Works.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think just making that change in title will be reflective of the work that we're doing and aspire to do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in that previously this board approved a job description for the facilities director as well as a job description for the assistant facilities director.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I am here because I would like to propose a change in what was previously approved and do something a little different with that assistant

[Suzanne Galusi]: facilities director position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, Dr. Cushing, as has been well documented at many of these meetings, has done a lot of work to

[Suzanne Galusi]: begin a lot of projects, not only on our buildings, but well, the infrastructure and the grounds as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These projects, there's many projects that are ongoing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just first and foremost, as an example, is the HVAC one that is ongoing, but it's happening this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there are other capital projects that are about to begin this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: specifically like around the FOBs and the security systems.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what I think would be very important with Dr. Cushing's resignation and headed as a superintendent for Beverly Public Schools is instead to have a project manager position

[Suzanne Galusi]: and someone that would be a key person working under the supervision of the chief operation officer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but really just keeping an eye on all the projects that we have ongoing and ones that we have slated to begin and ones that we haven't really even envisioned yet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This, in my opinion, would be someone that would take on compliance of the timeline and the budget and report it directly to the chief operation officer, also in partnership with myself and the finance office.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm happy to talk in more specifics or detail or answer any questions that you may have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do have in the paperwork that I've given you just a reflection of how this would look in the

[Suzanne Galusi]: the organizational chart just so that you could see that this position would be under the COO, and as well as a proposed job description for the position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think I've spoken a little bit about some of the key responsibilities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are looking for this job to preferably be someone that

[Suzanne Galusi]: obtains a, that has a bachelor's degree in project management, construction management, engineering, or facilities management with proven experience, someone that has the knowledge and the skills in building systems, in HVAC systems.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we have a range set for this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This would be a full-time position at 260 days.

[Suzanne Galusi]: with a pay range anywhere from $80,000 to $110,000.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're very excited about bringing this to you this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Previously, we informed the community about the search process for this very important position, which is a K-12 position for the district overseeing

[Suzanne Galusi]: curriculum and instruction for the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we had a very healthy pool of about 50 applicants and we had a wonderful search committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Reinfeld was part of that search committee, Joan Bowen and I facilitated this search committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was comprised of caregivers, teachers, administrators, and it was a

[Suzanne Galusi]: a wonderful representation of the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we had a lot to vet out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We brought in nine out of the 50 applicants for an interview.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And of that nine, I will say

[Suzanne Galusi]: one candidate was unanimous in all phases of this search process, first and foremost with the search committee and then moving on to phase two, which brought the candidate up to central administration where principals and directors

[Suzanne Galusi]: were part of the interview process as well as a performance task.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One candidate was unanimous in every interview panel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there was one candidate in the performance task that really met

[Suzanne Galusi]: the rubric criteria quite well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: References were impeccable.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This candidate is Dr. Kimberly Lawless Talbot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is the Director of Teaching and Learning for the Salem Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is doing the job currently.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Previous to that, she was a director of teacher development under a professional development realm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is an educator.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She was a world language educator.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She was a world language director.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is an adjunct professor at Salem State.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She comes with a great skill set and a great level of expertise.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A lot of her references spoke about her systems-level thinking, which was music to my ears, because it would be very beneficial for Medford Public Schools, and we're really excited for this partnership.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think she also has a wonderful way about her, and she would just be a tremendous asset to our team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I am here because I would like your approval so that we are able to officially bring Dr. Talbot in as a Mustang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do would like to welcome

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Reinfeld and Joan Bowen for any key pieces that I may have missed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also see, at least on the Zoom, I'm sure many people are probably joining via YouTube, but I also see Jessica Parks, who was one of the caregivers on our team as well, if anybody wants to speak about the process or the candidate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so we've been very busy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen and I, in partnership with member Reinfeld, were leading this search committee for the assistant superintendent, outgoing director of the English Learner Department, Paul Texera, who will be the next superintendent in Provincetown, in partnership with Principal Nancy Sherman-Hudson of the Missituk,

[Suzanne Galusi]: led a search committee for his replacement for the director of the EL department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They went through the same similar process and also member Alipate was the school committee rep on that committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They went through the same process and through their initial search round one with the search committee brought up to central.

[Suzanne Galusi]: two candidates for us to review and one candidate definitely throughout the search process kind of rose to the top.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is currently doing a position quite similar for Everett Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is very aligned with Medford Public Schools core values and instructional vision and she brought with her a great willingness to

[Suzanne Galusi]: learn and grow.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And she had some great visionary ideas for the program that would be very helpful for us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So her name is Chelsea McNiff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we are here to do the same thing and ask for approval appointment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for Chelsea McNiff to be the next EL director for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Joan was with me in round two of her interview process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't know if member Alipati wants to say a few words, but he was an integral part in the first round of the interview process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I've seriously edited my opening remarks, because I know we're pressed for time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just am here to kind of like start the, I'm going to kick it over to Mr. Noel Velez and Mr. Jeremy Q, who have worked tirelessly on the budget, and I thank them very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for their partnership and their dedication to this work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I also just wanted to say thank you to all of you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you to the mayor and the school committee and the Medford community for the support, the ongoing and the continuous support for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is greatly appreciated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And sometimes in this work,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the needs of the district, the needs of the students, because we do work on behalf of students, can sometimes exceed what the available funding is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we have adapted a little bit of our presentation due to the time constraints.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You have the entire presentation, but I'm going to start sharing if

[Suzanne Galusi]: You've allowed me as a co host.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to start sharing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you're following along, halfway through on slide 13 so that Mr. McHugh and Mr. Velez can just get right down to the nitty gritty of your questions and why we're here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Does that seem reasonable.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, everybody.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as member Graham mentioned, the following presentation is in response to the resolution to take a closer look a little bit at enrollment across the elementary schools and areas in which there are definitely some, you know,

[Suzanne Galusi]: overcrowding areas of constraint.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we kind of chunked a little bit of this presentation by data sets.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you may see this slide again when we're breaking up how the data is going to be presented.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This first piece is going to show you some data around enrollment in general education, as well as specialized programs over the last three years, average class sizes, and projected student population in some of the out years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this first one, you can see that this is enrollment in general education, as well as specialized programs, special education, and English learner programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's important to note that what you are viewing here is data that was reflective of the October 1 SIMS data that we have to report to the Department of Education each year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That being said, there are definitely some fluctuations in all of this data probably as students are identified in need of special education throughout the year and enrollment fluctuates both in coming into the district and leaving the district throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But this was data that is reflective of the reporting that we do, so it's standard across all of our reporting areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's important to also note that the first column gives the total enrollment for the past three years in all four elementary schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It shows you what the general education population is, and the special education includes all students on IEPs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is student, which is an individualized education program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is reflective of students that are both in receiving special education services in general ed, as well as students that are in our sub-separate programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is the same for the information here for English learner.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the numbers here are reflective of all students receiving EL services, both in general education as well as in the newcomer programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which are present at the McGlynn Elementary and the Missittuck Elementary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think just some key pieces here are just, if we're focusing on this school year, we do see some wide variation between the spectrum of the Roberts, which is at 586 as of October 1.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do know that we're closer to the 610 number right about now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the Missituk at 418, those are

[Suzanne Galusi]: really like the two ends of the spectrum in terms of total enrollment for the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we can also see that though there's a newcomer program at the Missituk and at the McGlynn, there's about a hundred student difference in EL numbers from the McGlynn to the Missituk.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next slide just gets into a little bit more detail for special education services, and it just presents the data in a different way, so you can also see the overall population of special education and English learners in the total enrollment of all four elementary schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of the things for us that we are digging deeper, so I think it's important to note that

[Suzanne Galusi]: This resolution was very important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was conversations that not only I heard in the listening sessions that I did at all four elementary schools for caregivers, but it was also conversation that I heard in the listening sessions that I had with staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's also conversations that we're having as an administrative team internally.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We worked hard to get this data, but we also are having ongoing conversations to dig deeper with this data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The conversations are just beginning, I feel like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just wanted to put that out there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But some of the things that we are looking into is just making sure that we're responding to some of the numbers and digging deeper a little bit so that we can see

[Suzanne Galusi]: I guess if I go back to, we can see that the data looks to be somewhat historical.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's nothing that's earth shattering that we are seeing that we say, whoa, this is an anomaly in the data that we have to dig deeper.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we can kind of see the trends that are happening in our enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But one of the things we might want to look into is our special education and making sure what

[Suzanne Galusi]: is happening in terms of how we're identifying students, because there may be some shifts in the numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think one of the things that's, you know, the Roberts has the highest enrollment, but yet the lowest percentage of students on an IEP, whereas the Missituk has the lowest enrollment, but the highest percentage of students on an IEP.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are ways in which

[Suzanne Galusi]: we need to do a little bit further digging as to what these numbers are really reflecting and how we're getting there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This graph just shows the average, just an average for elementary class size throughout the district for the past three years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think, again,

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Roberts has the highest enrollment, but our class average sizes are pretty similar across the district, and for the most part have been, I think we can be in the end for me that would be that we are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: meeting the need in terms of the enrollment by adding additional sections.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We did collapse some sections at the Missituk, and I think that's also reflected in the average class size for this school year as opposed to what it was last school year and in fiscal year 23.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This just has some data based on projected student population.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the bulk of our data, it is reflective of October 1 reporting again for the Department of Ed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are looking at birth data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are looking at consensus data that we get through the city.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But it is important to note, and it is on our radar, that we know of, you know,

[Suzanne Galusi]: at least three projected housing developments in the city of Medford that will contribute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have some of that information where we know how many units and what the projections may be to affect Medford public schools, but we don't have some of that drilled down data, at least for what is somewhat projected for the Salem Street.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are no concrete plans, so it's hard to determine

[Suzanne Galusi]: what impact that may have on the Roberts right now at this specific time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Whereas some of the other developments, we know a little bit about the number of affordable housing units.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We know a little bit information about what those units look like in terms of how many bedrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we can make some assumptions about what that would mean to the schools and the type of people that would be moving into those areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we still don't have a lot of data on the Salem Street one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I appreciate that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I appreciate that clarification, and I'm sure people listening will appreciate that clarification.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm kind of grateful to hear that right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so this, the next slide is going to talk about space and staffing across the four elementary schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is important to note that a lot of this information that is presented here came about from ongoing conversations that we've been having specifically with me and the principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think what was important to really just get a handle on is that space is very different across the elementary schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I would say that while

[Suzanne Galusi]: After the Roberts, the Brooks School has the highest enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the McGlynn does experience a lot of space constraints.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think just on the face, the McGlynn Elementary School has only three floors, where the other four elementary schools have four floors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it does reduce the amount of classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And some of the spaces that, quite honestly,

[Suzanne Galusi]: newcomer classrooms are in are not full classrooms, because some of the spaces were originally built to be more of support spaces and smaller group spaces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the McGlynn, though their enrollment might not be at full capacity, there are some space constraints for them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: at present do not house any MEEP classrooms, but for next year, well, the special education sub-separate program that the McGlynn houses is the access program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That program is growing, and so next year they're going to need an additional classroom for the access program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thankfully, we could condense one of the double sections of the newcomer classrooms, and so

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're able to kind of figure that out for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I just think that's just an important piece for people to be aware of for the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The McGlynn enrollment, because they are not at the level of capacity that the Brooks and the Roberts are, run each year with a fluctuation of either three or four sections per grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Whereas the Brooks and the Roberts are running on average four to five sections each year per grade level based on enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Roberts school houses the special education sub

[Suzanne Galusi]: separate program for connections, and they have five classrooms currently with two MEEP, which is preschool programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's a total of five classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As opposed to the McGlynn, they have newcomer, so that is five classrooms plus access is six.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Brooks School houses the language-based program, as well as the learning group program for their special education subseparate programmings, each for two classrooms, as well as two preschool classrooms for a total of six additional classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Missituk does not have space constraints at this time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They run, based on enrollment, an average of three sections per grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: some there was one year where they needed four sections of kindergarten.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But this year, they needed two sections for second grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So enrollment does fluctuate there as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They house the newcomer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is for grades one through five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just as the McGlynn, that's five classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they house the therapeutic learning program for their special education subseparate program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have three classrooms in use for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they house three MEEP classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's also important to note that the Missituk is the only elementary school that is able to provide a dedicated classroom space for the after-school program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some staffing constraints really are

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's tied to enrollment, but it is also tied to the specialized programming that's in the buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think part of, I hate to use the word constraint, but part of the constraint at the Roberts and the Brooks is that currently their special education sub-separate programming is the largest in terms of enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The access programming at the McGlynn and the therapeutic learning program at the Mississauga

[Suzanne Galusi]: have the lower enrollment, there's only.

[Suzanne Galusi]: one to three classrooms, whereas the Roberts and the Brooks have six plus, and that's part of it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And with the need for those classrooms, there's also the need for additional staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So a lot of additional related services need to be given to the Brooks and the Roberts in order to meet the needs of the students within the building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some of that additional staffing constraint is really to just ensure that the needs are met for the students and the growing enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And each year so far since I left school leadership and have been up here since the pandemic, the Roberts has needed an additional fifth kindergarten every year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We can't say that for the other buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Brooks is right behind.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's most of the years, maybe not all, but the Roberts, it's been every single year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would also say just as a side note that

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Roberts, because of the increased enrollment and because of their programming, could use some additional support, some additional behavioral support, whether that's through a BCBA board-certified behavior analyst or a behaviorist.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're in need of some additional support in that area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the next section of the resolution talks about the average number of intra-district approvals and the impact that sibling preference may have on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So before I advance the slide to show the data, I do want to just frame what that means.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So intra-district approvals are situations in which students have been given permission to attend a school outside of their residential zoned school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, students that are in need of services, so students that may need newcomer, they are going to receive transportation to attend the McGlynn or the Missituk.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And students that, through the team decision and the needs of their IEP, if they need a special education subseparate program, then they're going to receive transportation to go there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There has been a

[Suzanne Galusi]: There has been a longstanding practice at one of the schools that there is sibling preference to allow students that attend either the learning group or the language-based programming

[Suzanne Galusi]: at the Brooks, that their siblings can go to the Brooks as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think if we just go to that FAR column, we don't see that level of sibling preference at the other three schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For this current school year, there are nine students at the Brooks that do not live in the Brooks area, but their sibling is part of the language-based or the learning group, and so their siblings have attended.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is not something that I am necessarily managing or approving, whereas if we look to the first two columns, since I came up here in 2020,

[Suzanne Galusi]: And to get a little, well, let me back up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I apologize.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Prior to 2020, there were, as we can see, 22 students attending the Brooks that did not live in the Brooks area, four students attending the McGlynn that did not live in the McGlynn area, two at the Missituk, four at the Roberts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In order to get a better handle on this, I started working with the superintendent at the time, Dr. Maurice-Edouard-Vincent, as well as Megan Fiddler-Carrie, our director for family and community engagement that also has a role in the registration office, to try and start tracking this data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the time, for intra-district approvals prior to 2020, we actually were providing transportation

[Suzanne Galusi]: to families in other parts of the city to bring them to the Brooks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that stopped around 2021.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we began really looking at the needs for inter-district approvals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think, which dovetails to our conversation at last night's school committee meeting, in an effort to where we

[Suzanne Galusi]: there was some after-school need, and we weren't really able to meet all families' needs to provide after-school care.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We developed an internal inter-district approval process, and that process was having conversations with families around their hardship and their request to attend a school outside of their residential area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those conversations really

[Suzanne Galusi]: the approvals were given just for the hardship of afterschool care, or family situations that were delicate, and they had care or transportation that otherwise needed to be handled in a different zoned area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so those approvals were given.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those approvals did not include transportation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They did not include any sort of enrollment on the wait list of afterschool programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And you can see since 2020, really 2022, 2023, these numbers that are highlighted in yellow reflect the approvals that I have approved.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Trying to also balance some of the enrollment and the needs of the families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if you want me to pause here on this slide or just keep going.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, these are students that upon, let's say upon enrollment, they are zoned for the Brooks, but they have a caretaker in the McGlynn area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for various hardship reasons, I approve the student to attend the McGlynn outside of their zoned area for the Brooks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are situations in here which may involve other delicate situations, such as where the Department of Children and Families are involved, DCF, or situations of bullying or discord, things of that nature.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's not all strictly enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I can only speak to what's in yellow.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The numbers that are in brown, I don't have data on how that came to be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK to proceed?

[Suzanne Galusi]: This last piece is on transportation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this, just so that we're aware, I already spoke about how we were providing transportation, which did result in an additional two to three buses.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That no longer happens.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And these are the rationales here on the left, which I already spoke about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think it's important just in one year to see the difference in transportation costs when we look at what the yellow bus is at the top.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You almost feel like we're getting a deal that it only went up by $15.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the daily rate for one bus this year is $475.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We currently have 16 buses running, so we will maintain that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are in the middle of updating the contract for our yellow bus.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't have the exact cost of what fiscal year 26 will look like, but I think it's very reasonable to assume that it's going to be a little bit north of $475.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the most drastic change here is in specialized transportation, which is our vans.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are several reasons why we need van transportation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can see that we have it here for

[Suzanne Galusi]: MEEP, we have it for special education needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We run it in the summer for extended school year for special education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also have some vans that run for our EL students and for our homeless students under McKinney-Vento.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we right now, you can see the difference.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Last year it was about 25

[Suzanne Galusi]: ish dollars a day and now it's $75 a day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The vans run, and Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen could probably speak to this a little bit more articulately than I because this is part of her daily existence, but they're based on seats.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK, so the last piece is just a little bit of a summary and some of the things that we've talked about internally.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think very first and foremost, there were some major takeaways in

[Suzanne Galusi]: running all of this data and that we just want to make sure that we, you know, punctuate right here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's definite variation in enrollment across the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: After Medford High School, the Roberts School has the highest enrollment in the city, which is primarily due to its location.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think that is the piece a little bit about the data seemed to be mostly historical.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Roberts is situated in a part of the city that has a lot of multifamily homes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't think we've seen a lot of family turnover in South Medford, where the Missituk is situated, as much as we have at the Roberts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Space constraints are felt at three of the four elementary schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which I've already kind of talked about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The MSITUC is able to provide dedicated space for the after-school program in ways that the other three schools are unable to do at this time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The special education sub-separate programming space also varies, as we said in this presentation, due to the enrollment and the individual student needs of the programs, which definitely guides and impacts the level of staffing required.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do feel that additional conversation is needed to review the inter-district protocol.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is not a policy at this time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would welcome further conversation about that at the Rules and Policy Subcommittee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just as we talked about, there's definitely an increase in transportation costs overall that are a big impact.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some of the things we engaged in conversation about, which is not what we're necessarily bringing forward tonight, but I do want it to be known that we really had a lot of conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, one of the conversations was reassigning incoming Roberts enrollment at kindergarten.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And once they hit the capacity per the teacher contract saying,

[Suzanne Galusi]: In essence, the Roberts is closed, and anyone else that enrolls in the Roberts Kindergarten would have to be transported to, let's say, the Missituk.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll just kind of go through them and then tell you why we really didn't settle on these.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Another solution we talked about was taking all kindergarten enrollment and bringing it to a weighted lottery system so that we would, in essence, be maybe moving away from community-based schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the weighted part would, of course, be that families that have

[Suzanne Galusi]: siblings already in the school would have a higher weight or maybe need, would have a higher weight, but that was one thing we did talk about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also did talk about conducting a feasibility study on the use of the MISATUC, because there is great difference in the enrollment of the Roberts versus the enrollment of the MISATUC.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As I said, those are the two ends of the spectrum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so are there different ways that we could actually just leverage or use the MISATUC?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of that conversation led to this next bullet, which would be like a restructuring of all grade spans, potentially, meaning that one way is we could look at the elementary and have the elementaries all service pre-K to grade four.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We could have a middle school take grades five, six, and another middle school take grade seven, eight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We could also use the MISA Tuck as an early learning center and house all of pre-K

[Suzanne Galusi]: through and kindergarten and grade one at the Missituk and then look at our other elementary schools to service different grade spans, maybe grades two through four or two through five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also discussed reviewing the placement of our elementary subseparate programs that we have housed throughout the district because the highest enrollment of those programs is at the Brooks and the Missituk.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we also talked about engaging in discussions in partnership with school committee for the process of redistricting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So all of these things were discussed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of them are much longer term projects.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think it doesn't feel good to say that we are going to stop families from enrolling if they live in that neighborhood.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also would create a hardship financially, possibly, to be adding additional transportation mechanisms in order to educate students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we see the price of transportation increasing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also doesn't feel great to say that families wouldn't know, entering kindergarten, which school their child was going to and what other additional hardships that may cause or how we would kind of have conversations around after school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So all that being said,

[Suzanne Galusi]: there are some short-term solutions that we have been much more, I guess I could say, kind of like serious about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One would be to relocate the preschool MEEP programs from the Roberts to the Missituk for next school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are still looking into what that might look like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It may be a small uptick in transportation costs, but we don't 100% know that number yet, which is why we're still kind of looking into that analysis.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But that would free up classroom space at the Roberts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we are looking, the Roberts is feeling some additional constraints in just how their schedule runs in the school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so one of those areas is their specialist schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Principal Kroll is an amazing leader that is focused on equity and inclusion for all of her students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so every student at the Roberts School participates in specials.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so for the Connections students, some of those students are able to really

[Suzanne Galusi]: engage in the opportunity of going to specialist classes in the gen ed setting in a true inclusive manner.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And some students based on their need and based on their disability, that is something that they struggle with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Kroll has been able to provide a more sheltered specialist experience for her students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we don't wanna see that

[Suzanne Galusi]: stop, but one of the ways we could alleviate for next year the pressure of that is to say that we are providing additional staffing to the Roberts so that the specialist schedule isn't so constrained and that we can really actually provide all of her students with the specialist experiences that they deserve.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the other thing is that we are

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to do a space utilization study of all four elementary schools and the two middle schools this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's going to start July 1.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have contracted with HMFH Architects.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are going to do the study.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are really going to be able to go into all six of those schools and give us the information about how we're using our space.

[Suzanne Galusi]: how space was intended upon when the buildings were first opened, and give us a little bit deeper of an understanding about

[Suzanne Galusi]: how we can leverage our spaces better and what we're able to do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think this information would also inform if we are entertaining, reorganizing our structure at all, this kind of study is going to be needed to engage in those conversations about restructuring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And... Member Ruseau, did you have a question?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, let me try to do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, see, it's just going to advance me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hold on one minute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Don't mind my templates here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For some reason, I'm covered.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know, but for some reason, I have a...

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And- Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do have to say the one thing that I appreciate so much that's so wonderful about the Missituk is it's also the only elementary school that truly represents the population of Medford in one elementary school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And- Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think that's important to note too is that

[Suzanne Galusi]: in order to do the work for this resolution and to get the data and have some initial conversations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This process to lead us to this subcommittee meeting has been pretty insular.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have not engaged in conversation around solutions with staff members or with caregivers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that is one of the things that I'm happy that we're here at this subcommittee meeting to also just extend the conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: our list of solutions based on the data as a preliminary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Attempt.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think for me, and I do open up that question to beyond myself, I know we have Michelle Kroll on the call, Joan Bowen, there's caregivers, there's other admin on the call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing that I would say, and again, this is something that we've only been talking about since January.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there hasn't been a lot of time to message to kind of have a little bit more intent on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't want to overburden the Roberts, but I think this is why we are tracking the kindergarten enrollment every week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I share with school leaders where we are and what that looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the very least, I think relocating the two preschool programs will free up some space for Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Kroll.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hiring an additional teacher will free up the pressure that's currently in the specialist schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And those are band-aids for 25, 26.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I am completely open to

[Suzanne Galusi]: to your point about reaching out to incoming kindergarten families and seeing what is there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Anytime someone reaches out with inter-district approval for the Roberts, I pretty much have been approving it, but it's not much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I am definitely open to those questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Michelle can speak to the specifics of this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's been living with five kindergarten classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's not the matter of, do we have a fifth kindergarten classroom?

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's that additional section.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're not yet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: 2, I believe.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The additional fourth is in the budget.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The additional second is not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the specialist teacher is not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it would be two more FTEs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it could.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Director Joan Bowen's on the call, but I would say yes, but go ahead, Joan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think more opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the weighted does not have to be one criteria.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think their geographical location, as well as maybe siblings that are already in the school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think there are

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are several ways to construct a weighted lottery that we would have to have lots of conversation if that was one of the ways that we were thinking of going, that we would have to craft that as a community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think it's also, you know, I know I've said it before, but

[Suzanne Galusi]: in terms of like the restructuring conversation, I have not brought teachers into that conversation either.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's a very big conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a big conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thanks for that, Christina.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think that's important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the key piece of the space utilization study.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mrs. Sherman Hudson would be involved clearly in assigning all of this, but I do know myself that there are some spaces in the Missituk that could be used in a different way if needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just that they've

[Suzanne Galusi]: had the fortunate ability to use space a little bit more creatively.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I don't worry so much about the space because I do think that Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sherman-Hudson will be able to account for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, I'm sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I didn't know, Joan, if you were chiming in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think those are all conversations that we would have to have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think that if we are prioritizing, I would say that the MEEP classrooms need bathrooms more than kindergarten classrooms do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now, when we have to add that fifth section of kindergarten, mostly at the Brooks and the Roberts, but it has happened at the McGlynn as well,

[Suzanne Galusi]: there aren't, that fifth section does not have a bathroom in that kindergarten classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The need, right, the need is different.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would say that that's the prioritization for sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to add I would just want to would like to add staff to the.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Space utilization team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just, yeah, I would want, I think we can also find the data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, the McGlynn does not have a preschool program right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There is no Meep at the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And a lot of the way that the MEEP is structured is it's

[Suzanne Galusi]: there's not always the luxury of like, it's not always a community-based program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not minimizing anything.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just saying that it's presently not at the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do have the future goal of cohabitating all of the preschool programs together.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we can find that data exactly about

[Suzanne Galusi]: The makeup in terms of neighborhood families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Already engaged and ready to go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I don't believe so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, 25.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, it's important work that has to get done.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this evening I'm going to be presenting on the district's approach to expanding our after school program on behalf of Metro Public Schools students and families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do have to say that as part of my transition, I had listening sessions at all of the elementary schools well at all of the schools, but at every listening session.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The plight of the after school programming was discussed in detail, I heard a lot of concerns and a lot of like suggestions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: how we can make improvements in this area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just want to really acknowledge that we hear you and we totally understand, which is why tonight we're going to have a little conversation about how we can kind of thoughtfully expand the afterschool programming for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to, I can't really, I'll wait.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the objectives in expanding Medford Public Schools afterschool programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are five areas in where we have objectives.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first one is our program management, where we are going to be doing an ongoing evaluation of programming, curriculum, staffing structures, and our finances.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The second is a look at our enrollment to increase capacity district wide, particularly at two elementary schools that have a large wait list, look at staffing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in order to increase capacity in our afterschool programming, we really need to hire some additional staff, dedicated staff to

[Suzanne Galusi]: Increased seats.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Partnership.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So collaboration is very important in all work, but especially in this work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So partnerships with current staff, as well as new staff, partnerships with caregivers, and professional partnerships are all going to be needed in order to increase this capacity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So aligning communication methods and channels in a

[Suzanne Galusi]: programmatic approach is definitely needed to help understand and update our schedules, timelines, and our efforts of expansion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So on the next slide, key players and some oversight of responsibilities would be myself, which will have a stake in the vision of expanding this program and what Medford Public Schools Afterschool Program is, and communication with stakeholders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also are going to be working with Andrew Munford in his basic program, which I will get into a little bit more detail later on in the presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Megan Fidle-Carrie is currently the afterschool director.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is a

[Suzanne Galusi]: integral part of the program for day-to-day management, staff oversight, and key partnership with BASIC.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then communications, our communications director, Will Pippicelli will take the key role in communications for the afterschool program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He will work on developing a frequently asked questions document.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He will work on communication plans and templates, and then make sure that he's collaborating and working on a system for enrollment each year and communicating that out in a timely manner.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there's the creation and maintenance of the afterschool task force, which was really a wonderful grassroots effort from very dedicated caregivers in Metro Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that representation of caregivers at the table for ongoing feedback and input and perspective and decision-making will be key for us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide talks a little bit about the consultancy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So beginning now and for next year, we're going to engage in a consultancy with Andrew and the BASIC team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That consists of three phases.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We feel that this consultancy is really going to allow us some critical information to see how we can

[Suzanne Galusi]: maintain some local control over the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's very important for us to maintain some of that local control and build on the hiring that we have and the program that we have to serve our needs for Medford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in partnership with Andrew, this consultancy will consist of three phases.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the first phase is, yes?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Reinfeld?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I might need so Belmont after school education collected what I'm not sure if I know the entire acronym, but Andrew Munford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: started an afterschool program in two districts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It began in Belmont.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It has expanded to Maynard.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is independent of those two school districts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it is an independent afterschool program that is housed within the facilities, the school facilities in those two communities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And he has been able to

[Suzanne Galusi]: increase capacity in those two districts and decrease the wait lists.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He's, oh, Education Collaborative?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Enrichment Collaborative, thank you so much for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in saying that, to not completely remove and privatize without kind of diligent efforts,

[Suzanne Galusi]: to expand first within Metro Public Schools, but knowing that we need some help and support, and quite honestly, just a fresh kind of way of looking at things, he's going to partner with us every step of the way, starting now and through next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first phase of his consultancy is a program assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we will be working hand in hand with him, giving him all of our data, he's going to be

[Suzanne Galusi]: gathering data, doing interviews, site visits, all the things that he needs to identify capacity needs and create a plan, honestly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So phase two is that strategic development where he'll take all of that gathered data and he will create short-term goals that we could probably implement right next year, as well as long-term goals to grow the program from school year 27 and on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: his plan will include what it would cost Medford Public Schools, what the implications are, and also partner with us in the creation of associated schedules and curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those two things are the priorities for right now and for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Phase three, which we are all set to do,

[Suzanne Galusi]: but comes after those first two phases are done, is that like ongoing professional development and training that our staff need and will just enhance the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We can partner with him in the PD that he does with his current two programs in Belmont and Maynard.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It can also be tailored specifically to Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some of those conversations will be had throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Member Graham.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the next slide are our goals for the basic consultancy, which is expansion of the current elementary program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So increase enrollment capacity and decrease the waitlist, which will, which will include expansion of space within all of the schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the second is to review new and extended after school programming opportunities, create, we are looking to

[Suzanne Galusi]: part of the work with Andrew is also going to be to look at what it is to expand in a middle school program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the first priority, of course, is the expansion of the elementary program to better serve the community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the other piece of this is to dabble into what it would look like to expand to middle school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Andrew would be very excited to kind of spearhead and take on that program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So those are conversations that are going to be happening throughout the year as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the next slide talks about the Afterschool Task Force.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the purpose of the Afterschool Task Force is to provide community-rooted recommendations and oversight to ensure equitable, high-quality, and accessible afterschool programs for Metro Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The participants on this would be, as stated, MPS caregivers, afterschool program staff,

[Suzanne Galusi]: school building staff, central administration and consulting partners.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I would say consulting partners would include Andrew, and I would say that it also includes City Year that is currently in the Missittuck and the McGlynn schools and will be returning for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: as well as maybe others, but at least to start, it would be those two consulting partners.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so some of the key responsibilities for this task force would be promoting community and family engagement and decision-making, helping to align afterschool programming and policies with student and community needs, to participate in the development of monitoring of program needs and metrics, and advise on resource distribution and communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're very excited to get that set and planned.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And further details will come as we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So our next slide brings us to Medford Public Schools commitment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do want to say that we are very dedicated to growing this in a thoughtful way and making sure that we meet the needs of Medford families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we are dedicated to expanding the afterschool program with steady progress for the next year and the next three years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are committed to collaborating with the consultancy and with caregivers and with everyone involved to make this a sustainable afterschool program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we are committed to protecting and leveraging the revenue that we do bring in to the afterschool program to enhance what we're offering.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do feel that it's beneficial to the community of Medford, and we really want to make a valiant effort at trying this before we would have a conversation about outsourcing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we do recognize the critical importance of maintaining that local control, both on targeting the specific needs of our community within the program, but also to maintain some of that, you know, local hiring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the next few slides kind of break down those objectives.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just gonna talk broadly about them, but we will make sure that this slides presentation is on the Medford Public Schools website and easily accessible to you tonight or tomorrow morning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just briefly, the first slide on program management just talks about how we are going to evaluate the programming, the staffing, the curriculum, the finances,

[Suzanne Galusi]: and the space needs in collaboration with school leaders and

[Suzanne Galusi]: Andrew through his consultancy so that we are building capacity, not just for school year 26, for next year, 25, 26, but also for future years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that also includes creating a financial model, looking at the pilot for middle school academic support and implementing the strategies and the suggestions that come through the consultancy so that we are sustaining growth past fiscal year 27.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next slide talks about a staffing, our staffing overview.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we are going to assess how we're using city year in at the McGlynn and at the Mississauga, and we will partner with basic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in order to guide our staffing increases in all four elementary schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I just actually had a meeting this morning with the City Year folks in looking at what that might look like for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't have like specific details, but they're also broadening their support and really going all in on some additional

[Suzanne Galusi]: positions for after-school programming at the Missittuck and the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm very excited about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Once I kind of know what the specifics are, I will relay those, but really leveraging that support from them and really looking at our staffing structures globally, but really at the Brooks and the Roberts to see what's needed that we can increase capacity at all four schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, and we will be using the guidance that we also get from Andrew in terms of what that staffing looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we do know we will start that staffing this summer so that we are set to increase for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next slide for enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, we have a valiant effort to do all we can to increase some of this effort by June 15th so that we can communicate that to caregivers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: at all four buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Additionally, we are going to work on implementing an automated enrollment system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is something that we are working with collaboratively so that we can have a better system developed and that will meet the needs of the lottery because we know that that needs some enhancing and some communication behind it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And also the guidance that we're getting from the audit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the next slide talks about our partnership so I have spoken a little bit about this in terms of our partnerships with with basic and Andrew, our partnership with caregivers and the task force, but I also want to highlight the part

[Suzanne Galusi]: the current partnerships that need to be ongoing and extended through part of this work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is our current afterschool staff, that is our current school leaders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so Megan Fidler-Carey, who is on the call via Zoom, we have already had one meeting with school leaders about increasing space

[Suzanne Galusi]: at all of the schools because that's going to need to happen in order to increase capacity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So those conversations on the school level are already starting to happen so that we can identify spaces that are sacred and spaces that are flexible so that we can kind of grow for immediate next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next slide talks about

[Suzanne Galusi]: overall the communication plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So.

[Suzanne Galusi]: with our director, Will Pippicelli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So following this meeting, one of the things that we do want to do is send out a survey to current families that are both enrolled in Medford Public Schools actively and on the wait list.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so this survey would ask for your interest, not for you to sign up, but your interest in

[Suzanne Galusi]: offering another track to afterschool programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we would like to just get people's input, kind of dabble a little bit and see what the interest would be if we were to offer two or three pickup tracks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Megan has been looking at some data with her staff from school to school around pickup times from this past school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and to see what the interest would be if there are people that just need one hour of coverage after school so as you know our school times are changing and dismissal is going from 235 to 245 and so we we are

[Suzanne Galusi]: Between street data that the site coordinators and Megan Phila Carey gather from caregivers, as well as the pickup times.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do know that there are some families that just need care for maybe that one hour from picking up other students are getting out of their own jobs, some families may need just 90 minutes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if that's the case, that is also another way that we can increase seats and capacity for the families that need until 6 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that survey is going to go out tomorrow as another way that we can gather some data to see what is possible for implementation for next school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, and in addition,

[Suzanne Galusi]: just, I think, having a more aligned system for communication and true partnership with Will Pippicelli, Megan Fidlicari, and myself, that alignment you will see in communication moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I would just say in summary, we have a series of next steps so that first and foremost, is the support and collaboration with the task force and getting getting meeting number one on the books, because the support is appreciated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we do feel that it will help to keep momentum in progress.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it will also bring some collaboration to this ongoing conversation and be able to identify people that really want to kind of roll their sleeves up and kind of dig into the work in those ongoing conversations and decision making.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then review and analyze the basic audit results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's going to be critical to informing our work moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so looking at what the current staffing structures are what the new staffing structures are that we need to make an impact, and really looking at the data that Andrew through the basic consultancy is giving us, which I think we're, he's very excited for Andrew.

[Suzanne Galusi]: has not done a consultancy before, but he was really excited to partner with Medford in any capacity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of he has to work with his board of directors as to what exactly that will look like, but he's really excited to be partnering with us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think that's great for us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then that survey that I spoke about is an immediate next step that will happen.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the updated communication so we will update the community on this presentation make it available on our Metro Public Schools website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: carefully monitor all throughout next year as well, so that we're really looking at any shifts that are happening in enrollment so that we can keep clearing the waitlist as much as we possibly can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I do think it's important to note that we just finished a bid process

[Suzanne Galusi]: we were up for our eastern bus contract, and so we just finished that bid process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll have a little bit more information about what that looks like, but I do know that it's important to note, as part of that bid process,

[Suzanne Galusi]: that myself and other members of the committee did receive messages over the weekend or even today from community members expressing their concerns about some of the current maybe miscommunication around transportation and specifically the transport from students to RSK STEAM lab for next school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first and foremost, thank you for your emails because that allows me and my team to know exactly kind of what maybe communication you're receiving and so that we can appropriately respond.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do wanna say that, but even though we haven't completely finalized the bus contract for next year, it's critical for people to know that we're not giving up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: any of the buses we currently have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So right now, I just want people to be aware that we're making a commitment to maintain the current buses that we currently have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and then when we finalize that bus contract, we will have a communication sent out that clearly identifies that bus contract and what the process is going to be to sign up for the buses.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But at that, I would be happy to take any questions or any clarifications that may be needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, that's a great question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if there are families that just need an hour to maybe an hour and a half of coverage, that could be handled in a separate staffing configuration, which means we could remove

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't say remove, but we could shift those seats and open up those seats to families that need care until 6pm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that way, not only are we hoping to increase capacity by adding additional staffing, and maybe leveraging city year differently, but if we're also able to

[Suzanne Galusi]: use our staffing to handle just an hour to 90 minutes, then those those seats become open that we can also pull from the waitlist to fill those seats for the 6pm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have current, we do have some current staff, paraprofessionals, we do have some high school students, you know, we've also received other kind of anecdotal street data from people that would love

[Suzanne Galusi]: to, let's say, work in the afterschool program, but can't commit until 6 p.m.?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Megan's on the call, and I would have to probably tap her for that one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're still in the process of working that out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just in response to that, that is definitely part of his formula.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So he does hire full-time, full-year staff because his programs do take on the vacation weeks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: they offer programming during school vacation weeks, they offer programming in the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of that piece you're talking about, he does, he does respond to that by hiring year long staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is one of the things that we are looking at.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, the quantity of how many we can handle doing that for next school year is part of that financial puzzle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But that would be

[Suzanne Galusi]: you know, hiring a range, I don't know, of two to four full-time people is part of the discussion that we're having now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, not to that, like,

[Suzanne Galusi]: granular piece, the Latin my last conversation with Andrew we kind of talked about what those three phases of his work will be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're just in the process of sending him, I mean we had to present here, but we're just in the process of gathering the data he's requested and sending it to him.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we're first starting out with a one year consultancy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I think we will have some decisions to make.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the monitoring piece he could assist with, but the next steps would really be around training and maintenance of our growing efforts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I can kind of get to that like granular piece and ask what he's using.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing, is there anybody with a hand up?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Can I just add something?

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's slotted for one of the next.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Along with non unit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Perfect.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We already did the rate card for tuition so it will not impact families for next school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I would assume that is where it's coming out of.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I will, I have a note here to, to check in about the member all parties question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will double check with him in terms of where he stands with his board.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He's developing the contract in partnership with his board of directors, as this is something that's new for them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I will just, I have a schedule to check in with him later on this week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll find out, yep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in response to the school committee resolution, this report outlines the preliminary approach to Medford Public Schools health and physical education graduation requirements to increase flexibility and better support diverse student needs while also aligning with state and national standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the report that you have in front of you just speaks about the current requirements right now are four years of wellness.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's physical education as well as health.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are here tonight to recommend four years, so four years of physical education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what would be happening, let's say for next school year, is that the freshmen would take physical education one day per week as part of their CTE rotation if,

[Suzanne Galusi]: or their arts technology rotation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sophomore year, they would take PE two times a week as part of their regular schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do want to pause for this moment just to say as this body and maybe many people listening are aware, we did through the bargaining with the teachers,

[Suzanne Galusi]: have changed the high school schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we finally have a merged schedule that will blend the comprehensive and the career technical education side.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That schedule not only increases the day by 15 minutes, but it adds an additional period.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the things that we're kind of working on

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now on and it's in it's an ongoing process is that we are seeing that in order to work the schedule for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year, and what many families are used to, is that physical education and health requirements are half the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they do, let's say students experience physical education, if they're a freshman, quarters one and two, and then they switch, and quarters three and four, they are in health education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For next year, we're not switching.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, things may change as we kind of work this schedule and see how it's going for future school years, but this would have year long courses without flipping.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're not half year courses, they're year long courses.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as it stands right now, that's why it says once a week for physical education or twice a week as a sophomore.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Juniors and seniors, their electives.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of this flexibility would be some students may want to take an elective for physical education as a junior or a senior, but other students, if they are, well, I guess I'll get into the specifics in a minute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the other options would be to offer a wellness independent study.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'll talk about what that will look like in further detail in a minute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then to justify the three years of health right now, what we do have and you would probably notice first and foremost is that health is not listed for freshman year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there was a very robust ongoing conversation around what health would look like freshman year, specifically for students engaged in the CTE rotations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: because we would have to, that is a critical year for health one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in order to get everything into the student schedule, we would have to modify that curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is not what the educators and people that work so hard on that want to do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in order to maintain the rigor and the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: level of instruction for health one, the recommendation would be to put health one in sophomore year and junior year health two, which would mean that the electives are for health, which currently do not exist and would be created, would be in senior year or students could also opt for an independent study.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, what the independent studies would look like for the physical education independent study.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The qualifying aspects of this would be students that are currently participating in, let's say, two seasons of a sport that meet the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association sanctioned sport.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would be for students that participate in clubs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: physical activities like rugby or crew or ultimate Frisbee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it also would include students that are enrolled outside of Medford public schools in like an instructionally based activity, which is a dance program or a martial arts program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students that can demonstrate that, that's criteria number one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Criteria two would be that they have passed their physical education classes previously.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then criteria three is that they are completing a weekly log of their minutes of physical activity in these pieces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then at the end of the year, creating a reflection.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This would be monitored by current staff as well as approval

[Suzanne Galusi]: through the director of physical education and health, Rachel Perry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then similarly, to have a health education independent study would really be that the students are spending the year engaged in doing research.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To a health related topic that they would be completing a capstone project for by the end of the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so some of those examples could be For capstone project are organizing, you know, some community events.

[Suzanne Galusi]: or launching awareness campaigns or designing like peer tutoring programs, something that they have learned in health one health to that they'd like to learn a little bit more about, or an area of health that they would like to explore more dig into some research.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and focus a capstone project on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The criteria for that is that they have passed health one and health two, and that also would be monitored by existing staff and approval through Rachel Perry, the director of physical education and health.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if you have any questions, I put that forward for a discussion to the members.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Pelosi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Ruseau?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do want to note that Director Perry is not here because she's at awards night.

[Suzanne Galusi]: where she could probably answer, and Dr. Cushing is here, and I know he was involved in that committee, so he probably has much more enlightenment than I do, but the conversations that I was involved with, with Director Perry, with Principal Cabral, with Principal Fallon, the biggest conversation was around, in order for freshmen to do the rotations,

[Suzanne Galusi]: there's, which is why you see for PE, it's just once a week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the concern was taking health one and being able to do it, do justice to health one by only meeting once a week was the biggest area of concern, which is why they move, which is why they landed on really in order to maintain

[Suzanne Galusi]: the diligence and the rigor that is in HealthONE.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's why Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Perry felt like putting it in sophomore year twice a week for the whole year is going to be better for the program the way it has been written.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mm-hmm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can tell you what it is right now, but next.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it does take up two periods.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in order to get through all of the students that elect to be part of the rotation right now, it's currently periods two and periods three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know exactly what periods they're slotted for.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're still kind of building these the schedule, but it's still going to need two periods a day in order to get through the CTE rotations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So.

[Suzanne Galusi]: within that is going to be the physical education component.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So let's just say, you know, students, if they're on a five-day, for their five-day schedule, they're going to be rotating through the CTE shops four days, and then one day they're gonna go to physical education class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Not like it's not it, but, um, I don't know if I could answer that right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would have to do a little bit of research to get you your exact answer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if Dr. Cushing knows that answer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, that answer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's what's currently happening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, that is, and Director Perry, there's already electives for physical education, but she is working on expanding some of those offerings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And she is currently

[Suzanne Galusi]: involved in creating electives for health, which did not previously exist.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Lots of papers tonight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do want to begin this presentation by first expressing my sincere gratitude to Dr. Cushing, our outgoing assistant superintendent for Innovation, Enrichment and Operations and Beverly Public Schools next superintendent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm very, very excited for him, but we do thank him for his dedication to Medford Public Schools and his leadership, especially around the operational needs for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so not enough can be said for that because in his leaving, that is going to create a hole

[Suzanne Galusi]: that really we need to look at in terms of making sure we're still providing some oversight and some supervision and some planning around the operational needs of Medford public schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have been having conversations internally to thoughtfully look at what that approach could be and how to better align the supervision and the oversight of the districts

[Suzanne Galusi]: ever evolving operational needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what I have, if Dr. Cushing doesn't mind, first and foremost, what I do want to kind of frame a little bit is a restructuring of our organizational chart.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'll just give one minute, of course.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, it's there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's hard for me to see over here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what you can see in front of you is just what would be displayed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's lots of changes happening in Medford Public School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so right now, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen and I are actively involved in the hiring process with member Reinfeld of finding the next assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And what this,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Shift would be would be the creation of a chief operations officer position to fill Dr. Cushing's

[Suzanne Galusi]: roles that he oversees right now around operations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this role would directly supervise and oversee and help to facilitate all needs under buildings and grounds, all needs under our instructional technology in the IT department, and the needs of the security and safety for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Of course, this role would have a lot of cross functional support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For other departments within the school district, but the main priorities would be around facilities it and security.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do have here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, a job description that I just propose, um, in order to post for what I would like to do, which is create the chief operations officer position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, I would pause maybe for a minute if you have any questions around that proposal before we talk about the job description.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to know if you had any questions around my thought process or the needs for the position before we kind of engaged in the job description, that's all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just offering you the opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think it's, I think that that part is okay for right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is a shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So food service did fall under Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that would be one shift where

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm, I'm putting food service under the finance department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's, I'm sure you're aware, like great overlay in a lot of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would also be in communication with Director Smith, maybe around programming and communication where, you know, will also takes an active role.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But in terms of

[Suzanne Galusi]: The oversight, I have that department under finance.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's an understatement to also just, we don't know where we're headed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now, our breakfast and our lunch is

[Suzanne Galusi]: provided by funding that we just don't know if it's going to be there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think there's going to be a lot of conversations that Director Smith is going to have directly with Director Velez.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So those, I mean, in full transparency for people at home that may not see the org chart, those are the other two pieces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing had oversight of Rachel Perry for physical education and health, as well as Molly Layden for instructional technology, which would shift to the assistant superintendent for academics and instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the instructional component that weighs more predominantly for students will be the assistant superintendent for academics and instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but any pieces that kind of go into the technology aspects of like devices and things would be part of this COO position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm aware.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, no, thank you, because I did note it is listed there in the last bullet for the IT.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Graham made a recommendation to change some of that language, but I am noticing that we need some tightening up under the safety and security.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We did not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you're asking, do we have that answer?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would say yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, right now, in the conversations that we've had internally, that range would be about 100 to 150.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Transportation right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Transportation is still a very, we are still having internal conversations around transportation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Transportation right now lives with Megan Fidle-Carrie.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It has had oversight by Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is still an ongoing conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think... Sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Megan Fidler-Carey right now reports to me as the superintendent, but I would say that part of her role... Right now, Megan Fidler-Carey has reported to myself, Dr. Cushing,

[Suzanne Galusi]: previously, you know, Dr. Edouard-Vincent, because she wears so many hats.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think part of the ongoing conversations we're having around transportation is kind of what makes the most sense, because Megan Fidlicari is the administrator that is over transportation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She clearly needs support in that role, but I also don't want to

[Suzanne Galusi]: pile so much on the COO position, because I think with the ongoing projects that Dr. Cushing has been very instrumental in starting and initiating and overseeing, those are still going to keep going on, as well as we're in the middle of the MSBA process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I'm hesitant to put too much

[Suzanne Galusi]: in that position where facilities and IT and honestly, security are very critical.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in response to feedback from families in our four district run after school programs, as well as caregivers involved in the Medford Public Schools literacy acceleration programming that we've been able to offer each summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I, which I have kind of in my previous role had oversight and facilitation of the literacy program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we've kept ongoing survey data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have tried different formats for that program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've offered half day offerings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've done full day offerings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in all of the feedback that we gather from families, the need for a full day program

[Suzanne Galusi]: to allow for their work is critical.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think in where we're situated this year, we have, there has not been any grants offered right now through the Department of Education to help offset the costs of what a full day program is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in that data that I have collected in my previous role and in the data that Megan Fidelicari is,

[Suzanne Galusi]: gathering continuously from the afterschool families, Medford Afterschool and Megan has designed a summer experience that will balance the needs of both families that are reflected in these survey results and to create a meaningful academic enrichment for the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what we have here for you this evening is a proposal for what we would like to do for an afterschool program to kind of fit all of these needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what MAPS would offer is both a full day option for

[Suzanne Galusi]: families that are in Medford and a half day option for families that are enrolled in the literacy program that is just being finalized right now to help make sure that

[Suzanne Galusi]: not only are we creating ways to kind of be fiscally responsible, but also be able to provide families with extended care if they so need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of what is being developed is this program would prevent summer slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because students would be engaged in weekly thematic activities and projects that would enhance academics and exploration.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this program is being developed, Megan is having some ongoing conversations with

[Suzanne Galusi]: district administration, specifically curriculum directors, and she is also in collaboration with Medford Public Library, so that this program would offer, especially in the morning, opportunity for students that are not part of the literacy program to be engaged in summer reading activities, to be engaged in

[Suzanne Galusi]: Math Director Faiza Khan's math calendar activities as well as some extended academic opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this program would be so due to a lot of the work that is happening HVAC related at the McGlynn and the Andrews

[Suzanne Galusi]: This camp would be housed at the Brooks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In the previous years, the literacy program has been housed at the McGlynn, but we would need to shift everything over to the Brooks because they have space for both of those programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These sessions would, the MAPS program would run for the month of July from July 7th to August 1st.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the literacy program will run from July 7th

[Suzanne Galusi]: to July 18.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Lunch, of course, is provided and breakfast for families if they so choose.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we have here the breakdown of what that would look like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the full day program would be from 9 to 3 with the option of extended time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So families could drop off at 8 and families could stay till 4.

[Suzanne Galusi]: of course, financial assistance is available.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The literacy program is free.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if families choose to extend the day for their children and want them to participate in the enrichment project based activities in the afternoon, then there's a separate scale for what that would look like from 12 to three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And what the extended hours would look like if families are opting for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just in lieu of any possible questions that you may have on the top of your brain, we are in the process right now and we'll be getting out communication around the literacy program to invited families this week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right, so I would probably.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the difference is the the Medford public schools literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: is to just, it's what it has been for the past several years, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's invite only because we are using district data in order to target the students that need that continual emphasis on literacy development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're looking at DIBLS data, we're looking at MAP data in order to craft the invitation list.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If I would much, I would really love to be able to be developing a math camp, a STEM camp.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now there are not a lot of grants out there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: True.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To offset any of this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think these are things that we have to have conversations about building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do think that was Megan's earnest attempt here in a lot of conversations that she had with

[Suzanne Galusi]: after school families and in the ongoing conversations she's had with her staff, she very much wanted to create a program that could not only target some of those areas in an academic way, but in an exploration enrichment way, but also to assist families and maybe take that piece off their plate so that if they are working all day, they don't have to fight with their

[Suzanne Galusi]: children about doing their summer reading and working on some of the math calendars that Director Kahn puts out, while also creating a theme for each week and having some kind of project-based opportunities for students to engage in, and maybe some walking field trips to continue that exploration.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's in my, if I had a gene in a bottle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first I would say that some of the delay is on me completely because I'm always so far in order to provide the literacy programs in the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have we have been using and relying on some desi grant funding to offset that and they're typically around this time of year that they're offering them and so I.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have to get better at like moving up that timeline, even despite.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this year I was hoping that that would still be the case.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think we have to just make a better effort to be more time efficient with with rolling these out, but knowing that

[Suzanne Galusi]: that the grants weren't a possibility and having conversations ongoing with Megan, this seemed to be an opportunity to, A, not overtax Summer Fun.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's a lot happening at the Missituk.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Summer Fun is housed there, the EL program is housed there, there is some ESY housed there, and much how

[Suzanne Galusi]: our EL students and our students with disabilities are able to have their services, but also have some social time in summer fun without overtaxing that program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This was a way to maybe infuse some more academic focused explorations in a camp.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but also be able to provide families that are attending the reading, the literacy camp with childcare opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it kind of evolved from both need and the desire to maybe help with

[Suzanne Galusi]: like the reduction of summer slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the difference in price is $100 more.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So summer fund is 250 a week, this is 350 a week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There is an increase in that and that is really to just account for staffing needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: cannot maybe sit here and go through all of the staffing needs of summer fun.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, verse this maps program, but a lot of the staffing that Megan Fidler Carrie is using to support this initiative is her existing staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, and I think that accounts for for for some of the increase as well as the supplies because of the

[Suzanne Galusi]: because of the thematic nature and the academic component in order to do some of the STEM related activities, the materials.

[Suzanne Galusi]: are, I don't want to say pricey, but they're just probably, they cost a certain amount of money that we have to make sure that we are accounting for.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The same one-on-one support that we needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the sliding scale that's used for the afterschool program would be in place for this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I agree.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Very fair.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, I would request that I can get back to this body because I do think that I did reach out to Principal Tucci, who may be working to change that date.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So under current school law, a school district is assumed to be accepting school choice for school year 25-26 unless the school committee votes otherwise.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm here tonight to discuss and have you make a recommendation to approve the no school choice, Medford Public Schools as a no school choice district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I need to report this decision to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by June or within June of 2025.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So after careful consideration, this has kind of also been our plan for the past several years, but it is my recommendation that we continue to not be a school choice district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it was in my transition plan, we are,

[Suzanne Galusi]: having a lot of conversations around enrollment and capacity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have three out of our four elementary schools that are having some spacing and some enrollment capacity issues, as well as our thriving CTE program, which is wonderful, but there is a wait list for the CTE program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this school committee has also expressly

[Suzanne Galusi]: made their priorities and goals well known about serving the needs of our Medford families to the fullest.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is just my request that we make a recommendation to continue that Medford is a no school choice district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is just a draft of the school committee dates for next school year, keeping with the same kind of frequent schedule that we have now, which is the first and third Monday of the month, maybe with some careful tweaking around vacations, but I don't think it was that difficult this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there are some dates for

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mr. McHugh and Mr. Velez's budget times, which will be fully developed, and I can get that to you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I'm not, if you have any questions or if there are dates that you'd like to discuss, please let me know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Galusi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, Dr. Galusi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think I know that I have reported and spoke about to this board, spoke about my meet and greets that I had at all of the elementary, well, at all of the schools, but at every single elementary school and at some of the middle schools, this topic came up a lot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I would welcome the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: opportunity to have continued conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we are trying internally to really look at our current afterschool, what we're able to offer for opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think that it's important to keep the lines of communication open.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Will does an exceptional job with communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think it would be positive and beneficial.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is that okay?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Did you?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just, I do want to make sure I know one quick thing or just a few quick things.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One student, we can work to get the student supply lists.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They may fluctuate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the harder piece would be checking in with secondary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to handle that right there are core supplies that are needed and with the disclaimer that we cannot give this these elective sorry i cut you off no no no no no no but yes i did mean to mention that no i appreciate that because that would be the bigger lift right now because of the the middle school and high school builds with the passing of the new contract that's all still very fluid right now and some of the supplies are really

[Suzanne Galusi]: kind of positioned at that level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When we're talking supplies at elementary, they're all suggested, none of it is like required, but we can work to do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think our meeting, so you would like this by the June 2nd meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, and I think secondary is more when the students receive their schedules in the middle of the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we can try our best.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just don't know if I can sit here and tell you we're going to have a complete full list by June 2nd.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That seems fair to me, and I think some is absolutely better than none here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If it's in draft mode, I can show you one in draft mode.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the other piece I did wanna say, and if you have like specific questions, I know that Noel can answer some of them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He's been keeping in constant communication with his Masbo network and other financial directors across the Commonwealth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so they are definitely tracking

[Suzanne Galusi]: a lot of this piece for you and has, you know, given me a lot of information pertaining to this subject.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because I know a lot of the conversations that have been happening that Noel has been having, and I don't necessarily want to speak for him, but you know, the anticipated piece would probably fall heavy on technology and CTE.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A lot of what people are feeling right now is that we'll be okay with consumables.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A lot of them are made in this

[Suzanne Galusi]: country, but some of the materials that CTE may need and things around technology devices would be the pieces that are being tracked a little bit more closely with this uncertain time right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I welcome if you have specific questions, Noel might be able to answer them a little bit in more detail than myself.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much for this resolution.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is very important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I too am an adult with food allergies and I carry my EpiPen around with me always.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But our director of nursing Jen Silva has

[Suzanne Galusi]: just consistently been an advocate and a champion for this work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She and her whole entire department, especially with a lot of information and a lot of training for staff around the use of proper EpiPen if need be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She is on via Zoom and has some things to share about the work of the district and her department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So on Tuesday, last Tuesday, April 8th, the members of the Medford Teachers Association voted to ratify their contract proposal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we have before this body a vote of the Medford School Committee to accept the contract.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also want to just also say a thank you to you, Vice Chair Graham and Member Ruseau for your leadership in this negotiation process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There was a true partnership for the Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: as well as our work with you on the school committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was a very collaborative collegial process that we had with Medford Teachers Association.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You spoke about all the highlights, I thank you very much, but I want to say that

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do have a lot of work ahead but it is a very exciting time for the students of the Medford Public Schools and we are excited to get that work done with teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There'll be a lot to do the rest of this school year as well as throughout the summer to make sure that we are prepared with new schedules at all the levels and a lot of increased opportunity and access for our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We did put something out

[Suzanne Galusi]: to the greater community in terms of a press release.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For families to have a little bit more detail, they can kind of search their emails and also look at the Medford Public Schools website for a little bit more information if so needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But just wanted to also extend that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Turn it over to you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You literally took the words out of my mouth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for framing that so nicely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Cushing now that that kind of foundation has been set.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's exactly what I was going to say just to frame.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He's going to walk through the school calendar and the work that he did in collaboration with our communications director, Will Papaselli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So heard.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think this

[Suzanne Galusi]: will require a lot of kind of conversation and planning, both with our teachers union and with school leaders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we will ensure that we have those conversations around planning moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this evening, we're here for an approval request from the Medford School Committee, as Vice Chair Member Graham mentioned, for the before and after school care, the MEEP, which is our preschool program, and Kids' Corner, which is our municipal daycare program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, during an annual review of all of our care programs throughout Metro Public Schools, we've observed rise in expenses, salaries and operational costs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in order to maintain the quality of the education that we pride ourselves on, we're here to request a very modest adjustment to tuition in

[Suzanne Galusi]: the three programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll talk through those in a brief moment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is going to allow us to strengthen our investment in staff and resources and in accessibility that is currently there, which will ultimately enhance the educational programming and experience for our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first one that I'd like to discuss this kids corner.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, last year the families that use kids corner, as our municipal daycare did receive a memo highlighting the three years of a kind of tiered increase to the tuition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But unfortunately, I don't think it went before this board in a formal manner as part of the rate increases.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you will see here what the current increases for this school year as well as the next two school years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: this accounts for an increase in tuition and a reflection of the increase that was given to the salaries of the employees of Kids Corner so that we're giving them an increase that's more of a living wage for what they deserve.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that was done last year through the bargaining team and the ratified contract.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we adjusted the tuition

[Suzanne Galusi]: as you see here in the charts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if you want to ask questions for each program as we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just for your, the, I also linked the memo that went to families for your, you know, reference.

[Suzanne Galusi]: On to MEEP.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So similar with MEEP and maybe some of the talking points I'll also be giving for before and after school care.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The consideration for MEEP, so the increase in tuition also will allow us to

[Suzanne Galusi]: look at our resources in terms of staffing needs that are needed for the program at each of the schools, as well as increase some access opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For MEEP, some of the uncertainty that's in the world today, where it's hard to necessarily determine where we'll be with some of the grant funding that is also used for

[Suzanne Galusi]: for MEEP purposes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what you have here, you have the current tuition rates for 24-25 this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then for next year, 25-26, we have shown an increase of what a 2% tuition increase would be and what a 3% tuition increase would be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are here tonight requesting the 3% based on some of the uncertainty and the coverage that we want to have for resource staff as well as increasing access for families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that would be the second number that's listed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Happy to answer any questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'll, yes, I'm going to ask our Director of Student Services, Joan Bowen, to come and answer some of the specific questions regarding each individual school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm gonna have to double check those numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the yearly may be an error that we can look into.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, so the 3% is 550, which is an increase right now from what it is, which is 525.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, I see what you're saying.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it says 552.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also think it's important to note that Joan, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen and her department has also done a lot of comparison research data and our prices for MEEP are quite affordable and lower than the surrounding preschool programs within the city of Medford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK, so similarly to what we've been discussing for the other two programs, we would like to make a modest increase to the tuition for the before school and the after school programs to increase the accessibility that we have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And with the uncertainty of not totally knowing, we've already seen

[Suzanne Galusi]: some increases in the materials and the supplies in order to run after school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so without really knowing what's fully ahead, we're asking again, similarly, you will see on these charts, you will see the rates for this current year for before school and after school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then you will see for next year, what 2% looks like versus a 3% increase.

[Suzanne Galusi]: you know, we defer and welcome any questions of conversation from the committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we would like to see 3%, but happy to discuss what that would look like in order to cover the increase in cost and, you know, access for our families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do have Megan Fiddler-Carrie on the call if there are also some specific questions for her.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what I think what?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Could I ask Will to just enlarge Dr. Cushing's screen in his absence, just to make it a little bit larger for the community in case people are watching.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I'm going to ask, so Director Megan Fidlecari is on the call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So she's unmuted just to give us a little bit more of a history here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think what we're, I would probably defer to him for a more detailed, you know, accurate answer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think for the purposes here, for us, what we're looking at is, yes, a modest increase to some of the wages, but it's also to increase some of that staffing capability and also for the increases that we've seen in some of the supplies and the materials.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, I can get you some like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry, I should have asked for this when I got my packet on Friday, and I apologize.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no, no, that's okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I can get that to you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can get that to you more specifically in terms of what you're talking about with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm so sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have like a

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a needed piece of information to look into.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was an ongoing thread in conversation at a lot of my meet and greets at the elementary level as well as at the middle school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we have in earnest started a lot of some of this background information that you have outlined here, but it definitely needs to be a greater conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I welcome the opportunity to gather this data with my team and come to you by May 19 with a further conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm also very interested

[Suzanne Galusi]: in continuing this conversation with varied stakeholders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm really glad to see that one of the pieces here is ongoing conversation with community members.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would say just because of the timing of the year, it may need to come here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I think we could make a decision if we feel that further conversation is needed at that subcommittee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, I think clearly the piece here in terms of your talking about overcrowding for the next school year is for the Roberts Elementary School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we have seen since COVID a need for a fifth kindergarten every year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the pressure is most acutely seen there in terms of what the needs are going to be for school year 25, 26.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I guess that would depend maybe on the scheduling of when we're doing this because

[Suzanne Galusi]: we really, in essence, really have about a month left, month and a half to make a lot of these decisions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I believe we have two school committees left.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think it would maybe depend on the timing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I would agree with that because then we can schedule that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, everyone.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For, I would like to

[Suzanne Galusi]: ask Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Skane to just come to the podium.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to give just a brief overview as to why we are honoring Principal Skane here this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So on the morning of Tuesday, February 11th, a small fire broke out in one of the first floor bathrooms of her middle school, the Andrews Middle School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When alerted of the situation, she quickly

[Suzanne Galusi]: After the fire started miss gain quickly grabbed the nearby fire extinguisher and immediately entered the bathroom to extinguish the flames without even knowing the size of the fire simultaneously.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She also ordered the safe evacuation of her building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: by giving her staff very clear directions and staff and students proceeded to the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No one was hurt or affected by that incident.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She remained on scene.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She sent her school with the assistant principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She remained on scene to handle the situation that was ongoing and the subsequent investigation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She also ordered

[Suzanne Galusi]: And worked very collaboratively with myself and our communications director will pitch Ellie for all communication to caregivers and the community, as well as her staff, everybody was completely notified about their child's safety and the situation at hand.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And she very well and professionally collaborated with the Medford Fire Department, the Medford Police Department, the Board of Health, as well as central leadership that was there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there really was, the students were safe all day and there was very minimal disruption, not just that day, but also that week to the learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so Dr. Cushing and myself worked on the citation through the governor's office, Governor Healey.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so before we kind of go through the citation, I would like to give Principal Skane the opportunity to maybe just say a few words about that day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, thank you Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So many of you may have seen in last Friday's memo I did highlight a lot of this work that we have in the district but I felt it was very important to also make sure that we mentioned it at this meeting here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for the greater community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have two very key pivotal roles at central office that need to be filled.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of course was the one that I sat in for the assistant superintendent of academics and instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the other one is for the director of the English learner department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Paul Texera has held that position for a number of years, but he was most recently named as the next superintendent for the Provincetown school department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so he will, his employment with Medford Public Schools will be sadly coming to an end on June 30th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it's very important that we just highlight what that process is going to look like for both of these key roles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just to make sure,

[Suzanne Galusi]: There is a greater understanding the position of the assistant superintendent for academics and instruction has that vertical view of teaching and learning for the district from pre-K to grade 12 and beyond.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They play an important role in shaping curriculum decisions, instructional decisions, and works very, very closely with our department leads as well as school leadership and central administration.

[Suzanne Galusi]: making sure that we are grounded by our instructional vision and that our students are given the high quality education they deserve.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our director of English learners supports the diverse population of all of our students where English is their second language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They work in planning and developing and coordinating their delivery of educational instruction that supports the EL needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a key position that works closely pretty much with all administrative positions and educator types positions across the district, as well as building strong family community partnerships within that population and broadly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we want to make sure that the process is thorough and that we're reaching out to a varied number of stakeholders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the importance of collaboration is key in this process and with the school and district communities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are, as you saw in the Friday memo, we have sent out a letter and we have sent out two surveys.

[Suzanne Galusi]: one for each role.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are hoping to have two things for that initial outreach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are looking for interest,

[Suzanne Galusi]: in people to serve on the search committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are looking for, again, varied stakeholders from students to caregivers, to staff, to administration.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's one for the assistant superintendent and one for the EL director.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And within that survey, we also pose some questions to get some initial feedback regarding the qualities that they feel are critical for a candidate to possess for each role.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also will be following up with a greater level of input pertaining to discussions or roundtables or targeted surveys for each particular role.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for the assistant superintendent for academics and instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That will be co-facilitated by myself and Joan Bowen, director of student services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are just starting to look now through the survey so that we can build what the search committee will look like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for the director of EL, that will be co-facilitated by Paul Texera and Nancy Sherman-Hudson, principal of the Missituk Elementary School, that houses one of our newcomer programs and has for the past several years since we implemented the newcomer programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And day two, you can see we have a very similar time frame that we are going to conduct for this search process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have sent out the survey.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are monitoring it closely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We will be creating the search committees.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is that better?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, and then we will start the interview cycle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The key piece of creating a search committee is for that first round of going through the qualified candidates and doing the first round of interviews before we move on to the final round of interviews.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will make sure that we are keeping the community well-informed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Once the committee has been formed,

[Suzanne Galusi]: we will communicate that to the district so that you are aware of the composition of each search committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there are any questions at this time before I move on to my next item.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as all of our search processes that we've had to date, there's been a school committee representative on each of the search committees.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it is my intention that that is still going to happen for the assistant superintendent, as well as the director of EL.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, thank you for that feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know that there was, so the original letter that went along with that for both surveys did say that we're looking for interest and input.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, but to be more targeted and clear, we'll follow up with another vehicle for input and feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK, do you want me to go to the next one?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, OK.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK, so the last report that I have this evening is I've brought forward an update to the policy language for policy IKF regarding the graduation requirements at Medford High School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in an effort to add some additional context and or clarity to the IKF policy, Medford Public Schools would like to update the following language based on stakeholder input and feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have received some feedback from stakeholders regarding some areas of the current policy that would be most beneficial to add a little bit

[Suzanne Galusi]: of clarity to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first one is around the introductory language, which I will speak to in a following slide, but that specifically targets the participating students in graduation in the graduation ceremony.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A little bit more clarity to the math requirements, since the implementation of the pathways just to be very clear by class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: what the requirements are, and then a little more specificity to students with significant needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if we go to the next slide that talks about introductory language, one more.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you'll see I have highlighted where we've built out a little bit more of the of the clarity, so that we're very clear in who's participating in the graduation, which is all Medford high school students that have received a diploma or a certificate of completion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just want to make sure that

[Suzanne Galusi]: we're very clear there's an asterisk there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So one of the pieces is that at the bottom where we've kind of had our footnotes, I wanna be clear that we're mentioning that the decisions regarding students in our substantially separate programs are made through the individualized education program process, which is the IEP process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So all students that receive a diploma or a certificate of completion will absolutely participate in graduation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And more specifically, the following outlines the requirements that must be met to receive a diploma, which include a total of 112 required credits and the completion of the competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if it's best for me to keep going, or if you would like to ask questions with each

[Suzanne Galusi]: clarity, which with each clarification.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I'll let you know, just the next section, where we were receiving a lot of questions and rightfully so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we have implemented integrated math pathways at the high school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this just breaks out what the requirements are by class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for this current class of 2025, next year's class of 2026, and the following year's class of 2027, for our local graduation requirements, they have to pass geometry or integrated math one,

[Suzanne Galusi]: in ninth grade and they have to pass algebra two or integrated math two in grade 10.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just as a side note, this was the first year where freshmen entered the integrated math one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which is why you'll see for class of 2028 and beyond, it would be that as freshmen, they have to pass integrated math one, CP or honors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in grade 10, they need to pass integrated math two, CP or honors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then it's a little redundant, but following,

[Suzanne Galusi]: In the further consideration section within the IKF policy, we just added specifically that students with significant needs, that decisions regarding students in our substantially separate programming are made through the IEP process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is my recommendation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have any questions, please let me know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Ideally, but every student has kind of their own course.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, I think to make it more manageable, that's a great way to do it but by the end of the 4 years, they have to have done at least 60 hours.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, it's not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, but I think that's why it is repetitive right now, because we made sure that we added this statement to the footnotes that is reflected in the policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can double check on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know that the original was linked into my letter, but I will double check what is actually posted on the website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Without the title?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm fine with that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So these are for the students who did not pass MCAS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they got a certificate of completion and not a diploma.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so if they would like to go through the steps of getting a diploma, which is just really having us

[Suzanne Galusi]: look into their transcripts on an individual basis.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If they pass the proper coursework that now applies to our CD, our competency determination, then we can go through the process to kind of fix that for them and issue them a diploma.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If they did not,

[Suzanne Galusi]: let's say pass the coursework, then it also allows us on an individual basis to have a conversation with them about what they could do to accrue those credits and earn a diploma.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, I will.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just have a quick question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Would how you approach the roofing contingency or the refurbishment of the roof have anything to do with this decision?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, everybody.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just going to give it a few minutes as people are coming in and connecting to audio.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, everybody.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to give it a minute or two as people are logging on and connecting to audio.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, good evening, everybody.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to try and be mindful of time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we'll just start as some people are still kind of coming into the meeting and connecting to audio.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll just start with the agenda and some introductions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just want to say thank you for being here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, but I'm sorry, I advanced a slide before.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hold on one second, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is what I get for trying to do too many things at once.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll just do a reset as we're just kind of...

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, well, here we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you everybody for being here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oops, sorry about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, we're going to get started.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry for that little brief tech tech issue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: My name is Suzanne Galusi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm the interim superintendent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I thank you very much for joining us tonight so we can discuss the middle school lottery assignment and process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: On the call tonight with us, we have some of our team members, and I just want to make sure that we introduce them before I get started.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have assistant superintendent Dr. Peter Cushing on the call, both middle school principals Jennifer Skane and Nick Tucci, and we have our communications director Will Pippicelli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we thank all of you for joining us tonight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to just go through a very brief slide presentation to give a little bit of context to this process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're going to end with some questions and answers at the end.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if you could just hold your questions till the end, I'll stop the slide share and we'll have more of an opportunity for you to ask some questions and get some responses.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So without further ado, I'm going to start with a little bit of the background.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So before the spring of 2019, in Medford Public Schools, the middle school families used to have choice in the assignment of their child for grade six.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This posed a lot of issues, especially over time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what we started to see in Medford Public Schools was the enrollment totals were not the same from both middle schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There was an issue because of that for overcrowding, which could also have some increased burdens on families and administration and just the functioning of the buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First and foremost, though, there were some equity issues that were created when we also looked at the enrollment for both buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when Dr. Maurice-Edouard Vincent came in as superintendent of schools, she created the lottery process to resolve a lot of these issues.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what we have in place right now was that policy that was created under her.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That policy is as follows.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So 50% of the fifth grade of each elementary school will go to the Andrews, and 50% of the fifth grade will go to the McGlynn Elementary School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there is a student that is an English learner in need of English learner services or special education services at a program level, which I'll talk a little bit more specifically about in an upcoming slide, based on their needs, they will be placed at the middle school that offers that program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students on IEPs that do not require

[Suzanne Galusi]: program to meet the needs of their IEP will be distributed evenly between the Andrews and the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sibling preference is also something that we take into consideration when assigning students, but it does only apply to 5th grade students with a current sibling in grade 6 or 7.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we do build in some buffer seats through this lottery process, which I'll talk a little bit more about for the McGlynn Elementary School because of the needs of the EL program that's housed there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in terms of running the lottery process, there are going to be four exemptions that I just briefly highlighted.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first exemption in terms of placing students, or I should say maybe not having them part of the lottery, is any student that requires English learner services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The entire English learner program is housed at the McGlynn Middle School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so any students requiring those services will automatically be assigned to the McGlynn Middle School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And therefore they will not be run in the lottery.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The second exemption is for students that are on an IEP but require a specialized program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Many of you may know, and if you don't, a lot of our special education specialized programs are housed at the elementary level in different schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the middle school level, that is still the case.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for example,

[Suzanne Galusi]: language-based programming, one of the classes is at the Andrews, one may be at the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Connections, I believe, is at the McGlynn, but the therapeutic learning program is at the Andrews.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If your child requires one of those specialized programs per their IEP, they will be placed at the middle school that offers that program or that houses that program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is something that would be discussed at your team meeting with your special education team, which is facilitated by the ETL.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Every student on an IEP, whether it's specialized programming

[Suzanne Galusi]: or an IEP, will have a transitional meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have not had one already, there will be one that will be coming up before the end of the school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at that meeting will be the ETL, as well as maybe a coordinator, as well as the ETL of one of the middle schools to help talk through that process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can answer more specific questions in the Q&A, but wanted you to be aware of

[Suzanne Galusi]: If your child through IEP needs, requires a specialized program, that will be discussed and will not be run in the lottery.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They will be placed at the school that houses that program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The third exemption is for students on IEPs that are not tied to a specialized program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only exemption here is that students who are on an IEP to ensure equity

[Suzanne Galusi]: in the assignment, we run a separate lottery for students on an IEP, because the needs of students on IEPs that are not tied to a specific program can be met at both middle schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They can be met at the Andrews and they can be met at the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so to ensure equity in our assignment process, we run a separate lottery for students on an IEP to ensure that there's equal distribution.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the last exemption is sibling preference.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so parents do have the right

[Suzanne Galusi]: to opt their fifth grade student into a sibling preference if you have a child or if they have a sibling that is a current grade six or seven student, which means next year they would be in middle school with their sibling because they would be in grades seven or eight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think it's important to note that there are some

[Suzanne Galusi]: clarifications to the sibling preference.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One is that I just spoke about the specialized program needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If your child requires a specialized program, that supersedes sibling preference.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sibling preference does not apply to younger siblings that are in McGlynn Elementary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And sibling preference does not include current eighth grade students as they will not be on the same campus for the school year 25-26.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Here is a link, it will be sent out to you separately, but we've also included here because we will make sure that the slide deck is on our website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so if there is a Google form here, if you would like to opt into this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just to kind of explain a little bit more the lottery process, we have a sample elementary school here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if we are just going on the basis that an elementary school has 103 fifth grade students, just to give you a breakdown of how the lottery may go and what it may look like, if there are 20 students in that current fifth grade class that are EL,

[Suzanne Galusi]: then they will automatically be going to middle school A. If eight of those students have sibling preference, then let's say one is going to middle school A and seven are going to middle school B because that's where their sibling preference lies.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Three, require special education programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Two of them require the program that's housed at middle school A, and so they are assigned to middle school A. One of those students requires a program that's housed in middle school B and will therefore be assigned to middle school B.

[Suzanne Galusi]: 12 of the 103 students in the fifth grade are on an IEP.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in addition to the three that I just mentioned in a specialized program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those 12 will have their own lottery, and six will go to the Andrews, and six will go to the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then that would leave 60 students that would enter the general lottery, where we would poll so that those 60 students, half would go to the McGlynn, and half would go to the Andrews.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do think it's important to note that we do leave like a 3%, like three seats.

[Suzanne Galusi]: per school for the McGlynn Middle School, because the nature of the EL programming, we have to make sure that we are meeting the needs as students are entering the district throughout the school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we do keep a small buffer there to ensure the numbers stay as close to balanced as possible.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so just to review the lottery process timeline, which I know was sent out, but just so that we're all aware, the sibling opt-out, opt-in forms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: will be emailed to eligible caregivers tomorrow.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There'll be a Google form on there for you to complete electronically if you, to let us know what your option is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Would you like to opt in to sibling preference?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Or no, you would not, you'll opt out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Monday is the deadline for those forms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next Thursday,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Your fifth grade child is going to come home with a letter in their backpack.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that will have their lottery number on there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We assign every student a generic lottery number that we use like a random automized system here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they will come back.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This number is not attached to them within Medford Public Schools in any fashion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is not their school identification number that we use.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a,

[Suzanne Galusi]: randomly generated number so that we can keep some confidentiality and make sure we're being random in the process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Then on Tuesday, April 15th, we will post the results on the district-wide website by 3 p.m., and caregivers are also going to receive an email with the link to the results that day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So on that day when we run the lottery, we just use a

[Suzanne Galusi]: random, automized platform, like a website, that helps us run the numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We will pull the lottery exactly as I detailed, so we will have a separate lottery for students on IEPs that are not tied to specialized program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: programs, and then we will run a lottery for students from each school that are not tied to specialized programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then that list will be generated by student's number on the district website, and then more specifically with caregiver email on that day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the week of April 28th, you will get a hard copy letter sent to you in the mail.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that that way, caregivers are getting two ways that we're reaching out to you with the results of the lottery.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also think it's important to note that both middle schools have their orientations the week following the hard copy letter coming home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Wednesday, May 7th, will be the Andrews Middle School open house, and Thursday, May 8th, will be the Moglen School open house.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Both start at 6 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: at the respective schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know that was a lot of information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think it's important to note here we are, there is a middle school lottery email, mslottery at medford.k12.ma.us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have any questions or any follow up, please use this email.

[Suzanne Galusi]: as we're trying to keep, I want to be mindful in responding to questions and concerns and keeping this separate email is going to help us stay organized and responsive.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we will make sure that this is posted so that you're able to kind of access that link.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I am going to stop screen sharing now so that I'm able to see participant faces and we're able to change the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the settings here a little bit so that if people have questions, I believe Dr. Cushing is the chat sent just to us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we can monitor your chat.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have a question specifically in the chat, we can handle it that way.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And otherwise, you can feel free to, can we allow people to?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Great, so you can request to unmute and turn, you can request to unmute if you would like to ask a question live or you can put it in the chat and we can answer your questions directly through the chat.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To clarify, yes, the EL is the English Language Learners Program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's the English Learners Program, so students that require services and instruction in English because English is a second language to them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if while we're waiting,

[Suzanne Galusi]: for questions to come in the chat or questions for people to request to unmute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there are specific questions that maybe Mr. Tucci or Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Skane or Mr. Pippicelli, who helps me monitor the MS lottery email,

[Suzanne Galusi]: may be recurring questions we can also answer as we're waiting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is the open house only for parents?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mr. Tucci and Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Skane.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think it's important to note, as we're waiting, if more questions come into the chat, the topic of the middle school assignment process did come up at a lot of my meet and greets, especially at the elementary and the middle school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's important to note that in my transition into this role, part of my transition plan is to take a global look at enrollment at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and the assignment process at the middle school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think at the opening of this presentation, we explained kind of the historical background and the context for why this process was created.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think that process was pre-COVID, and we definitely have seen a shift in our enrollment

[Suzanne Galusi]: and the needs of our students in these past five to six years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so one of the things that I am looking at is what this process would look like moving forward because we want to make sure that the process is meeting the needs of the students and the families and the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there's some room to grow here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Rebecca would, do you have a question?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, that's a very thoughtful question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We appreciate that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can just give the highlights, but I do think that this is important for the middle school principals to kind of respond to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think everything that you just said is that that initial piece is the open house.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that's kind of why

[Suzanne Galusi]: you know, orientation, open house, it is an opportunity for students and caregivers to go to the school, yes, have a tour, but meet some of the staff and get to have a little bit more of an understanding about what middle school looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think that's an important night.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the pieces over the summer are also going to help with their transition as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I don't know

[Suzanne Galusi]: Jen or Nick want to kind of like expand on that?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Jen, did you want to?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Since you're still unmuted, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Skane, can you also talk about how students and families find out information specifically about clubs, sports, and activities?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You're welcome.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, Peter, can you check the chat?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because I think you're getting a lot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The one I'm going to say specifically, especially, you know, a lot of us are parents on this call as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know my youngest would have been the one that the letter never came home from school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that is the case for you and your child doesn't come home with a letter that has their number on it, please make sure that you reach out to the MS Lottery email and we will be able to give you your child's number so that you have that ahead of the draw if you're tracking it on the website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's one of the reasons why we made sure we set up a specialized email for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Pending enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Could you also since this pertains to you, could you just talk a little bit about the bus, the busing in terms of is there a certain mileage to all students?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just to reiterate, we're going to keep monitoring the chat, but I do want to thank you all for taking time out to be here tonight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can still put your questions in the chat.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can still ask to turn your camera on, ask to be unmuted to ask a question that way, or you could always follow up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: with a question to mslottery at medford.k12.ma.us, and we'll make sure that we get back to you in a timely manner.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just to reiterate, clubs run both at each individual middle school and some of them run jointly, collectively, so that students from the McGlynn,

[Suzanne Galusi]: and the Andrews join together in the club.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's a little bit of everything.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mr. Tucci, would you like to talk about maybe how we select what clubs and sports are run?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think like teachers can make recommendations and participation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just to reiterate, I think maybe one or two people might have popped on a little bit later.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We went through a presentation that just kind of provided a little context to the lottery process, which will be posted on our website so that you can see that information, as well as have access to any of the links that are live.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're now kind of just answering some questions you may have about the process or about middle school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't have any more questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing or everybody else, do we have any more questions in the chat?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now, the current structure at middle school, and Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Skane and Mr. Tucci can elaborate a little bit more, but there are two sides to every grade level, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if you just look at a grade six team at the Andrews, there's side A and side B. So basically you're taking the entire grade six cohort per building, and you're breaking them up into two different teams.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have the same classes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just two different teams of teachers so that we're making sure that we're meeting the needs of students and balancing enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the teams function as cohorts throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think caregivers will have a lot of communication from the team of teachers throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, well, thank you again so much for coming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We appreciate you and your thoughtful questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have any more specific questions, please reach out to the MS lottery at medford.k12.ma.us and we can answer your questions there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we look forward to thoughtful transitions for your children and hope you have a wonderful rest of the evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much for coming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: without drastic cuts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thanks to your support, we can continue to offer educational environments that are supportive, welcoming, and inclusive to our students and our staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In order to balance the immediate needs of our schools with the long-term vision of the district, this year's budget proposal does not include new school-based positions at this time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These thoughtful proposals recommended to our administrative team have been kept to a minimum in next year's budget primarily for two reasons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First, we want to understand the staffing needs for the district based on a new high school schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Additionally, given the federal uncertainty surrounding the Department of Education's administering of grants, we are closely and carefully monitoring the status of Title I, II, III, and IV, as well as IDEA and other federal grant funding.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To conclude, I want to thank our finance department and specifically our budget analyst, Gerry McCue, for their tremendous work towards creating a stable and responsible budget for our schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm appreciative for their willingness to engage in dialogue that balances both the immediate and long-term needs of Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Creating a budget rooted in transparency is critical to our values here in Medford, and I'm very grateful

[Suzanne Galusi]: that we have conducted this process with that goal in mind.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so now I think we would welcome up Mr. McHugh and Mr. Velez.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was only going to just follow up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, the title grants are the ones that fall under ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are the ones that are linked to the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the competency determination and our compliance with making sure that we are compliant to the state standards and frameworks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now for Title I in Medford, we are using it solely for early literacy and reading skills at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And to Jerry's point, Title II is a lot around professional development and learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do fund some consultancies in there, some of that

[Suzanne Galusi]: funding is used to help us continue our partnership with Hill for Literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Title III, as he said, is through Paul Teixeira.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Title IV is a lot of stipends and used to, as it's stated here, support students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And a lot of our fiscal 25 funding went to help with the High School Saturday Academy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only thing that I would say, there's definitely a lot of conversation going on, a lot of monitoring of the current situation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There has been no change, but there is definitely some rhetoric around maybe, you know, just fear.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if districts and states are not compliant with federal mandates and executive orders, you know, the threat is that this is the type of things that they will remove.

[Suzanne Galusi]: from funding districts federally.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So of course it warrants monitoring, but at this time, there's no change.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But just point, I mean, I do think that's important to also note though, because there is a difference, right, between competitive grants and non-competitive grants.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And most, not all, but like most of these grants that Jerry is highlighting, we receive an allocation based on our demographics, our enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're kind of assigned the amount that we have to work with and budget for in the various categories.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm gonna go check it out right now, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Here we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Pulled it up from the school website just now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Am I able to have like a point of clarification?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's important for the context of having the job description for an assistant facilities director to see the job description for the director position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we're able to see what the demands and the expectations and the requirements are for the director position when we're looking and viewing what's needed for an assistant director position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: if that makes sense.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so who is the facility's director?

[Suzanne Galusi]: John McLaughlin.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Reinfeld has her hand up again.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, gosh, yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As previously presented during the last school committee meeting, we put forward a proposed language to update the IKF policy regarding the requirements for high school graduation and the state and legal needs to have a competency determination measure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: as a result of the passing of ballot question number two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So here with just a few tweaks, but is the second reading for that policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do kind of yield to the committee if you would like me to read this again or how I should proceed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Lucy?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to be able to say thank you to Member Reinfeld and Member Olapade and also for mentioning the part about belonging.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a critical piece to our instructional vision for the Medford Public Schools District.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And as Member Reinfeld said, in order for students to learn, they have to feel safe.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it is

[Suzanne Galusi]: at the core of our values and beliefs that students come to the door and they feel seen, heard, valued, and welcomed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That also includes our staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just wanted to kind of just reiterate the positioning from Medford Public Schools and the support that we have with this policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Glusi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I mean, I'm happy to step up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just also wanted to kind of see if there were other people that also wanted the opportunity to participate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I'm absolutely happy to step up and be a participating member of this committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, that was one of the things.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Am I OK to speak?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was going to be one of the things that I was going to say to Peter.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I can easily get those numbers for you to fill these in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to give one minute for, Dr. Cushing's gonna help me by displaying the slide deck.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'm just going to start

[Suzanne Galusi]: by giving a little bit of historical background.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So on the agenda for this evening, I'm going to provide you with the historical context about why this proposal is coming forward to this body.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to talk a little bit about what question two on the ballot was in November, the proposal for updating the statute language for Medford Public Schools, Medford High School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: an update on MCAS participation and some further considerations regarding this updated policy proposal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, Dr. Cushing, could you please just advance to slide three?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Much appreciated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, just as a brief

[Suzanne Galusi]: To frame this a little bit, Massachusetts Education Reform Law of 1993 aimed to increase accountability across the state.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it did so by establishing a competency determination standard for all high school students to achieve in order to get their graduation from high school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That local control as part of this ed reform was given to school committees as a way to vet and adhere to this policy and deem the graduation appropriate for high school students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Beginning in the class of 2003, so 10 years later, MCAS served as the way to meet this competency determination and be the deciding factor in how students were graduating.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at that point you had, students had to meet

[Suzanne Galusi]: for grade 10 MCAS, and they also had to meet local graduation requirements.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So since then, there have been some updates to that, and between 2003 and 2009, grade 10 ELA and math scores needed to be needs improvement or higher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Between the years of 2010 and 2020,

[Suzanne Galusi]: they increased, they just upped the threshold so that they gave a score.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The scaled score had to be 240 for ELA in math and 220 or above in science.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Most recently in 2021, coming out of COVID, up until recently, which was last year, the Department of Education moved the threshold again, which is also why we saw a little bit of a dip in scores.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so for those three core subtests, ELA, mathematics, and biology for science, students had to be meeting or exceeding.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So no longer was the scaled score or the needs improvement part of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then as we know, a motion was put on ballot question two for the November election.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if we advance please Dr. Cushing to the next slide, it passed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So 59% of the Commonwealth of voters agreed that the MCAS should not serve as the competency determination for high school graduation requirement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What I have here is just a screenshot to show you how the vote turned out, and then the old language of the statute with the current new language of the statute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what you can see here is they've crossed out that it's the assessment tool, which was MCAS, and they've added the new statute, which is saying that in lieu of

[Suzanne Galusi]: the competency determination through the MCAS test, it has to be through the coursework of those aligned classes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if we, let me just, before we advance to the next slide, what that really means is that they still want the competency determination to meet the needs of state frameworks for Common Core in Massachusetts for grade 10,

[Suzanne Galusi]: in ELA, in math, which they say should be algebra and geometry, which we will talk about, and in science, algebra, excuse me, biology or chemistry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, so now we go to the next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And once this passed, and there was a whole lot of work now for districts to do, we had many meetings with a large group of people at the high school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do wanna say special thanks to those people for meeting continuously and doing not only work during these meetings, but also a lot of work outside of the meetings and with their respective departments because educators

[Suzanne Galusi]: were brought into these conversations, so I do want to thank Vilma Bobo, David Blauck, Joan Bowen, Marta Cabral, Nicole Chiesa, Rocco Sieri, Kim Clinton, Chad Fallon, Lori Hodgkin, Faiza Khan, Stacey Shulman, Paul Texera, and their respective educators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we are going to present a proposal to you that we feel aligns with our instructional vision and the requirements of the newly passed mandate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the following slides are going to kind of talk you through how we're updating and we'll meet the needs of the new mandate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the next slide shows you currently right now what our local

[Suzanne Galusi]: high school graduation requirements are along with the previous competency determination of the MCAS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you'll see in order for students to graduate from Medford High School, they have to have four years of English, four years of wellness, four years of math, including geometry and algebra, two, three years of a science, including biology and chemistry,

[Suzanne Galusi]: three years of social studies, two years of foreign language, one course in fine arts, four years of community service, which accounts to 60 hours, roughly about 15 per year, and then the two requirements for MCAS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's what it is currently.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Are there any questions on this?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If we advance to the next slide, and I have this in two pieces,

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're not looking right now to wholly change our local graduation requirements, but we do need some updated language because some of that language does not reflect current practice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So English remains at four years, take and pass.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mathematics also continues at four years, take and pass, but we now have shifted to the integrated pathways.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So instead of,

[Suzanne Galusi]: geometry and algebra, it now reflects integrated math one, two, and three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Continued with four years of wellness.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Continue with three years of science.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Continue with social studies, but we also have a new department of education requirement that we're adding in here, which includes the student-led civics project.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Making sure we've updated

[Suzanne Galusi]: the word world language instead of referring to it as foreign language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The requirement of, or the difference for CTE remains right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Arts remains as one course to take and pass.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there's just a description of community service and the benefits of community service.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the hours of, the total hours of 60, roughly about 15 per year remain the same.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Before I move on to the competency determination, are there any questions about these brief language changes?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, next slide please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, so the competency determination, we wanna make sure that we have the language of the statute in there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's just the language that's at the top so that it's very framed, what the new statute states, where it is coming from, and how Medford is going to address the competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if students have previously earned this through

[Suzanne Galusi]: the taking and passing of MCAS or the grant of an appeal process, then they have already earned their competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for students that have not or moving forward, we are saying that students would earn that through the successful completion of grade nine and 10 English language arts coursework as aligned with Massachusetts curriculum frameworks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that they would take, students would complete and pass grades nine and 10 math coursework, integrated math one and integrated math two aligned with the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks, the successful completion of high school biology coursework aligned with the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks and participation in MCAS, ELA, math and biology tests as assigned.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for students that receive a not meeting expectation score, that they would just participate in at least one retest.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm gonna kind of explain that a little bit more as we move on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the next slide, just so we're understanding the impact that this has for our current class of 2025.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As previously stated, if they've already earned their competency determination by taking and passing,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the grade 10 ELA math and biology, they're all set.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They've met that competency determination and provided that they've met the local graduation requirements, they will be all set to graduate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For students who have not earned their competency determination currently,

[Suzanne Galusi]: then we have already been going back to do some of that vetting to see if they have successfully taken and completed those courses before.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we are, the conversation and the communication with the caregivers is ongoing for that very small group of students that we've already identified.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next slide, because I think it's very important just to kind of frame, is that under ed reform law, which started as No Child Left Behind, then moved to Race to the Top, and is now still ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, there's compliance that is put from the federal level onto the states to make sure that we are adhering to

[Suzanne Galusi]: Common Core to local frameworks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the participation in MCAS has always been a requirement and continues to be a requirement for us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And participation is not optional.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students should be taking the MCAS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we have been informed that it is still going to be an accountability measure for local districts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So now this mandate has removed MCAS being used as a graduation requirement for competency determination, but it is still going to be used to assess and put a rating to districts in terms of their accountability.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also is still going to be used as a qualifier for some scholarships, as well as the seal of biliteracy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are some important factors in terms of our students' participation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have been having some internal conversations and continue to have internal conversations around

[Suzanne Galusi]: what that will look like in terms of students knowing that it is no longer a graduation requirement, but it is also an important assessment for them to take.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just felt it was important, it is for these reasons that we're having the participation be part of the competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So before I get to

[Suzanne Galusi]: last slide are there are there questions around this?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's not going to necessarily, the onus necessarily won't be on the student, but it will impact the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's not, MCAS is not going to, unless there are students that are going for scholarships that are going to be tied to the performance on the MCAS, it's not going to hold student back.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How they do on the MCAS won't necessarily hold them back, but it will impact the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the only thing I would say to that, there's a couple of things, and I hope I don't lose

[Suzanne Galusi]: track of what I was going to say.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One, I think this is a very fluid situation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the governor has just created a committee to continue to vet out

[Suzanne Galusi]: what this mandate has now done to districts because it has created a lot of conversation for all of these nuanced pieces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will say, especially at the high school level, but the population of Medford is also fluid and can be transient at times.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the MCAS does allow in some situations the opportunity for students that may be moving in here that that

[Suzanne Galusi]: that that helps to kind of give them some of that level of the competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For us, I hear what you are saying, but right now,

[Suzanne Galusi]: we are beholden to the mandate, which only removed the local graduation requirement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we still are going to have our accountability rating tied to this test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, maybe this commission through the governor's office or some of the continued work that the Department of Ed is going to do, because it is very fluid, I would not be surprised if we see further guidance by the end of the year or at the earliest

[Suzanne Galusi]: over the summer in preparing for the next school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think, I really highly think this will not be the end of updating our graduation requirements and our competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think I'm going to be back here probably more than once to update this policy on behalf of the Medford School Committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think where we are right now,

[Suzanne Galusi]: our accountability rating is still tied to the participation of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is a factor.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I understand originally that S and MCAS was supposed to stand for a system and it's really been just a test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I don't think any of us are sitting here saying that the MCAS shows you everything.

[Suzanne Galusi]: of what a student is capable of achieving, but it is a data point that is still mandated by the Department of Education in which we're a public school and we have to adhere to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's why I wanted to make sure that I'm providing you with the most updated current information that I have right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's one last slide I can talk through.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then if there's further questions, we can still talk about it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But there's just further considerations that we have had conversations for.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of them are ongoing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so just so that you understand the complexity of it, we have had conversations around transfer students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in terms of obtaining that competency determination if they come into us, let's say in 11th grade or in 12th grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are existing mechanisms within our handbook that we will follow, but there will be collaboration between school leadership and department leadership to make sure that they're vetting and looking at equivalent coursework for approving and adhering to the competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some nuances for English learners.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So graduation requirements for English learners include the successful completion and appropriate EL level course and participation in both MCAS subject matter tests and the access test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For our out-of-district students, it's a very similar process for the transfer that we're adhering to for transfer students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we will accept equivalent coursework and that will have a collaborative approval process through, again, high school leadership.

[Suzanne Galusi]: department leaders, and the director of student services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for the students, students between those years of 2003 and 2024 that did not receive a high school diploma because they didn't meet the competency determination of passing the MCAS,

[Suzanne Galusi]: The high school team has been diligently working to gather that data so that we have that list of students that we will be able to, and actually that's ongoing, that they're reaching out to and making some plans if they want to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: meet the competency determination to change that status for them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's work that's ongoing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that concludes, that's the final slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if there are any other further questions, I'm happy to help answer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Ruseau.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to make sure that it's, I agree, but I also want to make sure that in terms of our local requirement and the CD, so both of those things have to happen in order to get a diploma.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the competency determination means that you are able to pass the grade level content within those subject areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So any student that's able to meet grade level requirement for integrated math one and two, ELA ninth and 10th grade, and biology, then they've met that competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we're moving on to the local requirements.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just because this would update the policy that is, I believe, IKF for Medford School Committee policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would be just to update that language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the chart that's in here that shows the local graduation requirements and the MCAS, it would just be to update the local graduation requirements, which is really just a shift in how we're labeling the requirements and the competency determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They reflect the current need and practice right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for the next meeting, I can put it in that format.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No problem.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the second reading will be next meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just have a point of clarification, though.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do want to just say that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The director of EL Paltek, Sarah, also uses some of his title three funding to help support the staffing needs in the afternoon at summer fund.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I believe last summer it was one teacher and two assistants or aides, just so that there is an additional support added to the staffing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was three additional staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can get more clarification on the amount of time they were there the entire time, but I know that it was one teacher and two aides.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One teacher and two aides.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, yes, in addition to the summer fund staffing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, the services, the academic services are in the morning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the social piece is through summer fun in the afternoon.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Mr. Teixeira has provided some additional staffing for the afternoon.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And does that come out of his budget?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Jumpstart dates are finalizing right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think we'll have that update within a week or two, definitely after the vacation period, if not by the end of the week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only thing I would say is I don't know

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Director Valez said, the report is run quarterly, so I think we would also have some preliminary information that we could start to have some of the understanding as to where the families are that may need potential support, and then it would be able to be a finalized list as of April.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, so I'm disclosed to members of the school committee that my spouse husband is a Medford High School physical education teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I just disclosed the conflict of interest in terms of being participating in the teacher negotiation process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do believe that I have some

[Suzanne Galusi]: I had to make this statement and have the school committee discuss the resolution in order for me to participate in the process, the negotiations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and i know member graham um has her hand raised i would also just kind of say that um i'm not a voting person the contract this the negotiation process it is a contract between the teachers union and the school committee so for me it's just the voice at the table in terms of

[Suzanne Galusi]: uh to member russo's part on behalf of the the schools and the functioning of the schools but i'm also not a voting member on the contract i'm just assisting and helping with the school committee facilitate the process i understand so thank you because that that i don't i don't want it to seem like i that you didn't that i thought you didn't do your homework or anything i was just confused because i've undergone

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Graham.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, everybody.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's with great enthusiasm and a deep sense of responsibility that I sit in this seat as the new interim superintendent for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Having grown up in Medford and worked in the district for about 28 years, I'm really truly honored to have this responsibility to give back to a community that has shaped me so much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will dive deeper into my transition plans as it relates to this interim role in just a few minutes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I would like to start with the district's response shared with the Medford Public Schools community last Friday to the recent federal executive order surrounding federal immigration and Title IX.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we understand that our students, which are the true heartbeat of Medford Public Schools, could be feeling a wide range of emotions and some trepidation over these executive orders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The language and the rhetoric that the students and families hear from the news may heighten the stress in our school communities and in our greater community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our staff members and our district leaders have always and will continue to foster a sense of belonging in our schools that celebrates each student's individuality, their diverse backgrounds, and their many talents.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Their diverse and unique perspectives enhance the climate of our schools and fostering that connection and inclusion are core principles for our schools and relate directly to our instructional vision.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Medford Public Schools is committed to educating all students in inclusive learning environments because we want our students to feel heard.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We want them to feel safe.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We want them to feel valued and welcomed and appreciated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So while there's been no enforcement activities on school grounds or any requests for information, it's important that the district's current policies are still in place surrounding federal immigration, Title IX.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and LGBTQIA plus students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And some of those just, they were reflected in my memo, but I'm going to also make sure that they're clarified here, that the district is committing, is committed to serving all students whose principal Doss Mile is Medford public, is Medford, excuse me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do not request any immigration information as part of the registration process, nor will we.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students are dismissed only to the approved

[Suzanne Galusi]: consent from their caregiver as to the people that can pick them up from school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We follow all regulations for FERPA and district policy in relation to the student information that we have is strictly we strictly follow FERPA regulations which means we're not giving out information especially without parent consent

[Suzanne Galusi]: written within that statute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And our Title IX policies, as we most recently updated, reflective to the 2024, they have not changed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so those will remain and stay in place.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of our NPS staff members received communication about this last week and our building principals are receiving communication and guidance on an ongoing basis so that they can make sure that their staff is well informed and has a sense of they understand what the communication protocol is moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We recognize that this subject is constantly evolving, and so there'll be additional items on tonight's agenda surrounding this important topic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, the well-being of our students is paramount to the functioning of Medford Public Schools, and we are committed to protecting the rights and the safety of all of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for tonight, I'm going to talk a little bit about the transition plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing, you can go to the third page.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This second page is the letter that I has sent out to the MPS community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will make sure that this plan, after being discussed this evening, goes on our website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if people would like to be able to access it or view it, it will be on our Medford Public Schools website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That will be the letter again, if people maybe just didn't get it in email form last week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the purpose of this entry plan and transitional plan is just to inform the community about my thinking and some of the activities that will be in place to help guide the transition to try to make it as stable and continuous as possible.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the purpose is to ensure a thoughtful transition from the current superintendent to the interim superintendent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to provide an outline for and convey information related to mid-year transition, ensuring consistency and stability, and to inform the school community about transitional activities to continue building relationships.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there is a theory of action.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Which is to just have a, the goal for me in this is to just have a structured and thoughtful process, so that if we, if I'm emphasizing the importance of nurturing those ongoing relationships that I've already kind of started to build but will continue and still grow with stakeholders within the

[Suzanne Galusi]: school department as well as within the community and capitalizing on the strengths and opportunities within that community, then the possible disruptions to any sort of education will be effectively minimized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the goal is to make this as seamless as possible for our community, for our students and for our staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm going to draw upon my professional institutional knowledge along with the established community connections that I have to build a strong foundation and create to support a smooth and successful leadership transition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: with that being said, there are some key areas that I am going to focus on within this transition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first, as mentioned, is to continue building those relationships within the community and continue stakeholder communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Also for operational overview,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, Dr. Cushing, just leave it right there for one second, because I'm just going to go through them and then.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The fiscal year 26 budget, ongoing contract negotiations within the district, the ongoing MSBA process for a new Medford High School, and then our plans to begin and launch for the 25-26 school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm going to briefly talk

[Suzanne Galusi]: an overview of all of those areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first one is the Continued Relationship Development and Stakeholder Communication, which will foster collaborative, trusting, and transparent relationships with all stakeholders, ensuring responsiveness to the needs of the Medford Public Schools community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so with that being said, some of those action items within that would be the welcome letters, which were sent to caregivers as well as staff last week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some meet and greet opportunities for caregivers as well as for staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for the staff opportunities, I'm going to each of the schools and offering an opportunity to come and meet

[Suzanne Galusi]: and for me to listen and hear some feedback, hear any questions or concerns, or just for an opportunity to touch base, that will be a dismissal time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I started last week and I'm continuing until I've gone to every school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the caregivers, I'm finalizing the schedule right now in collaboration with some of the principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I am going to offer two opportunities for school communities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One at arrival in person in the morning to capture for some families, mornings are more accessible to them and for some it's evenings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will also offer an evening opportunity via Zoom for each school community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that will allow for hopefully that continued rapport and relationship building and where I can really have a conversation with each school community and hear input from them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As you may have saw last week, we've gotten lots of feedback about how people really feel

[Suzanne Galusi]: that weekly communication is a critical instrument for them to stay connected to the schools, learn what's going on in the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So continuing that Friday memo was of importance for the community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it might just be a little rebranded, but that will stay in place and still go out every Friday afternoon so that you can keep up to date with what's happening around the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, and then also is an opportunity for me to branch off to other, um, positions and organizations within the district that I want to have, um, personal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Meetings with, um, those may be on the city side in terms of our, um, city department leaders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're on the school side in terms of our administration and school leaders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, and they're also very critical school organizations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um,

[Suzanne Galusi]: such as CPAC and LPAC, that I want to make sure that I have a meeting with those important organizations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The operational overview is to enhance understanding of district operations, collaboratively identify key priorities, and foster a culture of trust, transparency, and efficiency.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I'm going to be holding lots of regular meetings to identify short and long-term priorities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first bullet is that continued and ongoing focus and overview of academics, which is the position that I was in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so for the duration of this year, there will be a lot of oversight still on my part.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to make sure that the academic gains and the systems and structures we have in place are going to continue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that won't change.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then because I have spent my world, my time in the academic world, I do have to make sure that I am having those standing meetings with areas such as finance, facilities, IT, athletics and community schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that's gonna broaden my understanding of those areas and make sure that ongoing compliance is happening and that I can identify opportunities for improvement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the fiscal year 26 budget, I will help to lead the budget process with a focus on timeliness and strategic investment, ensuring it aligns with the needs of Medford Public Schools community while supporting the core values as referenced in our instructional vision.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that also will be regular meetings that I have already set up with the finance team so that I can discuss everything related to all budgetary matters and then ensure adherence to transparent and collaborative budget development process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other piece would be contract negotiations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So engage in negotiations with bargaining units to build collaborative relationships, address the interests and concerns of varied employees within the district, and improve district operations and outcomes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have lots of bargaining units in this district, and several of which we will be engaging with or are continuing to engage with throughout this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That would be the teachers, the administrators, maintenance, paraprofessionals, food service, and nurses.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is a significant amount of work that will be happening and continuing to happen this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Along that thread is also the ongoing MSBA, so the Massachusetts School Building Authority process that we engaged in for Medford High School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I was on that board previously.

[Suzanne Galusi]: My role clearly will shift, but participating in that process to explore funding opportunities and develop a strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for building a new Medford High School that meets the needs of our students and the community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that will continue and I know that our meetings will kick up in the next month or two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then finally is to plan for the school year 25-26.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So

[Suzanne Galusi]: The goal is to take all of this data that I will be gathering in all of these meetings that I will be having to help inform the plans for 25, 26 school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so some of those just, this is not limited to, but some of those things that are on the forefront for me would be extended learning opportunities for the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: as well as the academic programming for the summer, filling personnel vacancies and looking hard at staffing needs across the district, ensuring that our academic goals are continued and our instructional vision is fully aligned with all that we do in Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our strategic plan is

[Suzanne Galusi]: outdated, so looking at what that will look like, transitioning that to align with our instructional vision that we created is also going to be part of the work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Identifying operational goals as a result of the meetings, so what will be important for us in terms of making shifts or adding some additional processes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A review of internal systems and structures for how we're operating and functioning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and see if there are ways that we can be operating better and more efficiently.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then a review of district enrollment and school assignment procedures that reflect our most immediate challenges.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that will be an ongoing review process that I know will most definitely look at the Roberts Elementary School, which is overcrowded and we need to be looking at what that looks like in operation and how we can

[Suzanne Galusi]: work to alleviate some of that moving forward, as well as our middle school lottery process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those are two that are at the forefront, but others may emerge from some of this work that I'm going to be doing across the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Additionally, just last few would be our professional development planning, our administrative retreat that we have to start the school year, the convocation or the opening that we have with teachers to really set the vision and the goal for next year so that we start on a successful note, and also what our new teacher induction planning looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So those are just a few things.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm happy to take any questions if anyone has any questions for me, but thank you for the time for me to review my thinking in this transition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that was going to be my clarifying point is just to make sure the sliding scale has already been created for afterschool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is so we would start there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a little different because we're also talking nine hours of childcare.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have to go back to Dr. Cushing's point and we have to have conversations with our

[Suzanne Galusi]: staff, including Mr. Petrelis, and see what that looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I appreciate the flexibility a little bit to gather that information as part of this resolution and then be able to come back with what we kind of found out to see what would be the best way to move forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no, no, no.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think to the point that member Rousseau and member Olapade said, a lot of this we're already, we've already started doing and we're already continuing to do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in terms of at least what it looks like for the functioning of us behind, we are having ongoing conversations with principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have another meeting tomorrow where Dr. Cushing and I are going to just make sure that like

[Suzanne Galusi]: part of the information in here, but like our communication plan is tight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're having a conversation with the bus company, um, per the amendment to, um, member, um, Reinfeld.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think those conversations are already happening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think this is just making sure that we are solidifying, putting it all together.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Perfect.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as the superintendent said, thank you for this opportunity for us to present our, the work that's gone in to the creation of our districts instructional vision.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you could please advance to the next.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's important to just highlight the work that has kind of culminated into creating our instructional vision.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in 2021, coming out of the pandemic, as a district, we really worked on aligning our common assessments and some of our common

[Suzanne Galusi]: approaches to ensure that instruction meets the needs of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in 2021 we saw the implementation of NWEA MAP as a district wide assessment tool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, at that point it was grades K through 10.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've slightly adapted that now to be grades 2 through 10, but that provides

[Suzanne Galusi]: a common measure to ensure that we're meeting student needs and that we are standards-based.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also saw the alignment of restorative practices, K through six, excuse me, six through 12, and the continued implementation of responsive classroom, K through five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So ensuring that our classrooms are setting that foundation for optimal learning, and then ensuring that our instruction and our materials are meeting

[Suzanne Galusi]: state standards and national standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In 2022, we really looked at the alignment of evaluation techniques.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we partnered with Rebus and the administrators really worked on aligning observational and evaluative feedback for our staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We worked on creating core actions, and we created a crosswalk to ensure that our evaluative and observation work aligned with the superintendent's core actions at that time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Advancing to 2023, we really dug into our instructional alignment, calling it 1.0.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At this time, we were grounded in the work that we received from

[Suzanne Galusi]: The desi air report into that analysis of the instructional pieces that we really had to work on as a district at the same time also engaging in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: an instructional leadership seminar hosted by the Department of Education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we created a series of professional development opportunities to align our instruction district-wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was titled right here, Moving Towards Opportunity for All Students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the bulk of that was given during staff meetings by our school leaders, and also followed up in department meetings by our directors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Advancing to this current year of 2024, that work is continuing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And between the August administrative time of 2023,

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the June of 2024 and the August of 2024, administration engaged in all of this alignment work to create an instructional vision for the district, to ensure that we are really grounded in what we want to see for instruction in every classroom across the district, K through 12.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in continuing the professional development, we created, Dr. Cushing, if you don't mind, this took several iterations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this began with group work in terms of elements that we wanted to really hone in on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to make sure that our students are receiving, and right down to the introductory equity statement at the top.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This instructional vision, we believe, captures the priorities for teaching and learning district-wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are four core quadrants, as you can see.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To frame the entire instructional vision, the equity statement is as follows.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are committed to providing educational equity for every child.

[Suzanne Galusi]: by offering the necessary resources, support, and opportunities for students to reach their full potential.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first and foremost is high quality instruction, and that establishes high expectations for all students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that promote critical thinking and problem solving.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It aligns to grade-level state standards and ensures that instruction meets the individual needs of students while maintaining grade-level standards, high rigor, and high instructional quality materials.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also want to ensure that our instruction is deeply engaging.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We want to create cognitively rich learning contexts that are supported by collaborative practices that connect learning to students' lives and to the real world.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students should be able to participate in learning opportunities that not only provide them with that rich context, but also make that connection to why this is important in real life.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also want to ensure that our instruction is data informed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is consistent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Educators should be consistently collecting and analyzing data to inform and adjust their instructional practices, ensuring that all students reach their full potential.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are various sets of data that teachers are using constantly to inform their instructional approaches.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It can be formative data that they're gathering throughout the lesson on a daily basis, as well as summative data, which we're going to talk about a little tonight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But some of that summative data is around the MAP, the NWEA MAP.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's unit tests.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's even part of MCAS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But making sure that they're collecting various forms of data and targeting their instruction to meet student needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of this

[Suzanne Galusi]: should result in a sense of belonging for our students, which is the crux of why we're doing this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we want educators to be using inclusive and culturally affirming instruction and curriculum that acknowledges students' backgrounds and identities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We want to ensure that an environment of connectedness is created where all students feel heard, valued,

[Suzanne Galusi]: and supported in their identities and where relationships are built on empathy and respect.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We were very mindful that this display is circular because all four quadrants rely on one another.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we can't have belonging if our instruction is not high quality, deeply engaging.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We can't have high quality instruction if we're not using data to inform our practices

[Suzanne Galusi]: and vice versa.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as the superintendent mentioned, tomorrow is the PD day in which we're very excited for this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This whole entire professional development day was created by the Professional Development Advisory Committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's all choice-based.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our administrators are providing sessions in which the educators selected what they were interested in learning more about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And within between those two sessions, we are spending some time on this instructional vision.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So within small groups, educators will have the opportunity to engage a little bit more fully on the instructional vision and really be able to connect and give us feedback as to how they, how this means for their role in Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're going to be able to have that data

[Suzanne Galusi]: to inform our next steps as we work to actualize the instructional vision within our schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of the next steps after the teachers engage with this work, provide us some feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have a committee, an instructional vision committee that will also now take that data and hone in on what those observational look-fors should be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: connected to our instructional vision so that when we are observing teachers and we're going on walkthroughs through our schools, we have something that reflects the instructional vision of the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if you want to add anything onto that, Dr. Edward-Vincent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Happy to answer any questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening again.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As the superintendent previously mentioned, I'm honored to be joined by our curriculum directors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have the Director of Humanities, Dr. Nicole Chiesa.

[Suzanne Galusi]: the Director of Mathematics, Faiza Khan, and the Director of Science, Rako Sieri.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And collectively, we will be presenting on the district's MCAS scores, accountability, and action steps as a result.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is our agenda for this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to kind of highlight, I'm going to discuss a little bit about the accountability, and then the curriculum directors are going to speak to the

[Suzanne Galusi]: test results in their respective departments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do want to highlight that there was a new pilot that Dr. Chiesa will speak about, which is the civics in eighth grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So a lot of assessments in the eighth grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But before each subject is discussed, for English language arts, for mathematics, and for science, technology, and engineering, we have a slide that just shows the overall narrative for the state of Massachusetts MCAS results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for the results this evening, the directors are going to be discussing with you

[Suzanne Galusi]: two areas of reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are going to show you the achievement within their departments, and they are going to discuss student growth within their departments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are also going to discuss what they're doing with this data and how this is informing the work of their departments and what the next steps are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to briefly cover the other piece of the MCAS assessment system is the assigned accountability rate for individual schools as well as the district as a whole.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this chart shows you the criteria or the key features that all go into how

[Suzanne Galusi]: the Department of Education calculates the accountability rating for schools and the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they look at the achievement in all of the content areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They look at student growth in all of the content areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They also look at high school completion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Clearly, this is not a factor at the elementary level or the middle school level, but it is a factor in our overall accountability and at the high school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All schools are looked at for their English language proficiency rating, which also calculates the score that we get

[Suzanne Galusi]: for EL students that take the ACCESS statewide testing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there are two additional indicators that the Department of Education looks at, which is chronic absenteeism, as well as the percentage of high school students that are engaged in advanced coursework and graduation rates.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You may go to the next slide, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This just shows a basic overview of the accountability ratings for the past three years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You will see on average that the accountability rates across the district show substantial progress.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we had some schools that really showed a great gain in accountability percentage from in the past three years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And you will also see that the majority of our schools do not require

[Suzanne Galusi]: any sort of assistance or intervention from this Department of Education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Before I advance, are there any questions on the first two slides regarding accountability?

[Suzanne Galusi]: The latter.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Ruseau.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I can cover that here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you look, the Roberts has shown great gains in their accountability.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They also showed some pretty great gains in their achievement overall.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But as I indicated, one of the measures that the Department of Education

[Suzanne Galusi]: has in their calculation to determine their accountability rating is the participation rate across grade levels, across the school, and across subgroups.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there was one subgroup where the participation dipped

[Suzanne Galusi]: a little bit below what they want to see, and so they have this requiring assistance or intervention.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think it's important, since you asked the question, I don't think it's important to maybe discuss the subgroup, but I do think it's important that the participation rate, if families opt out, it does

[Suzanne Galusi]: factor into the overall accountability rate from the Department of Education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that does affect our scores.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is what happened at the Roberts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, Dr. Cushing, do you mind advancing two slides?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, so one more.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I am sure that this is common knowledge for some, but I do think it's just important to show the grades in which we're talking about this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for third grade, there's an English language arts test and a math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the same for fourth grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Same for fifth grade, except there's also a science test given.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Grades six and seven, English Language Arts and Math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Grade eight, again, has science, as well as this year a field test for civics, which Dr. Chiesa will speak more about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Grade nine is the science requirement for graduation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And grade 10 has the English Language Arts and the math requirement for graduation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at this point, I am going to introduce Dr. Chiesa, who is going to speak to you about civics and then English language arts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing, I think you could put the thank you

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Christian, do you mind going back one slide while questions are being, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Remember Reinfeld, that's her dream.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One more section, and Director Cieri will discuss the science results district-wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think, no, actually Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Go back one slide in case.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There you go, perfect.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's one more section if that's okay, but I can cover it very briefly if there's no science questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No science questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Go to it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just think it's important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll go very quickly, but the next slide, please, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's very important to just highlight some subgroup data and just some overall trends in some of the things that we have found and that you may have heard in the presentations from the curriculum directors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So our subgroup data, I think it's just important to note that the Department of Education reports around 11 subgroups.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are listed here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and that there needs to be at least 20 students within that subgroup for us to have results reported in terms of tracking subgroup growth and achievement rates.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Overall, we saw improvement in nearly all of the subgroups.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are some dependent on the grade and dependent on the content.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are some areas in which we're digging a little bit deeper into, not just specifically with

[Suzanne Galusi]: the content and the curriculum directors, but also with our data analyst, Kim Miles, in how we're reporting and how we're categorizing some of the subgroup data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At this time, through the registration process, some of the subgroup data is self-reported, and so we're also just really looking into how that

[Suzanne Galusi]: factors into some of our subgroup data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But all in all, in grades three through eight, subgroups remained statistically about the same, or they met, in some cases achieved, or exceeded achievement targets, and they showed a range of low to high typical growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And high school students actually met or exceeded achievement targets in nearly all subgroups with high growth gains overall.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we do acknowledge that I think the overall, as you heard in most of the presentations, is that our story is growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Medford Public Schools showed a lot of growth in all areas, but we do have some work to do when we're looking at achievement and closing some of those gaps.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we recognize that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're very happy to see that our students are learning because the growth is there, but we are doing the work to continue to disaggregate the data and look at the instructional decisions and moves that need to be made to ensure that interventions and instructional approaches are put in place.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think it's also very important to kind of highlight some of the work globally that we also have been doing around the professional development, especially for some of the subgroup data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That continued focus on instructional priorities and culturally responsive practices really factor in as well to ensuring the growth and achievement of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also want to target, and if you don't mind, I'm gonna have you advance to the next slide while I talk through some of those interventions that we've put in place.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We saw tremendous growth around.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So last year, in an effort to meet student needs instructionally and as well as the high-stakes MCAS standard for graduation, the high school had a Saturday Academy as Principal Cabral

[Suzanne Galusi]: mentioned, there were two parts of that Saturday Academy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One focused on regaining for MCAS and one was on just course credit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so for the MCAS in particular, four out of the 18, I think it's important to note that four out of the 18 students that participated in the ELA program

[Suzanne Galusi]: partially or fully met the expectations in terms of the MCAS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we saw that direct correlation to the work they did throughout the school year and how they did on MCAS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so overall,

[Suzanne Galusi]: The students that attended that Saturday program increased 17 points from their grade eight MCAS ELA to their grade 10.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Respectfully for the math, we saw 18 out of 21 students partially or meet expectations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And overall, they increased from two points from eighth grade to their 10th grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Mr. Seery already spoke about the science piece, but there was a program for afterschool support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in which 16 students were offered and 12 of the 16 passed the biology test the second time around.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so a lot of this work we want to see not only continue, as it will at the high school level, but also how we're going to implement program and targeted assistance like this at our middle school level and elementary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we're definitely looking to

[Suzanne Galusi]: It won't be Saturday, but it will be an extended day program at the middle school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're going to begin, the curriculum directors and the principals and I are going to begin creating that so that our students at the middle school level have the additional opportunity to work on

[Suzanne Galusi]: closing some of that achievement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also want to say that also targeted to this that you may have heard, especially at the elementary and the middle school, is that overall piece around time and schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so one of the things that we are looking at is that we do, there's limited time

[Suzanne Galusi]: right now reflected in the elementary schedule, as well as the middle school schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think we are also taking a little bit of a deeper look at how we can work within the constraints of the existing schedule, but also what are the opportunities that we can, Dr. Cushing, you can take the slide presentation down, how we can work within the constraints of the schedule, but also maybe how can we look

[Suzanne Galusi]: and vet the current existing schedules to allow our students a little bit more instructional time at both the elementary and the middle school levels.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm happy to answer any broad, overarching questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: a collaboration of funding sources.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so some of it came out of the Title II, Every Student Succeeds Act, federal funding that we have, as well as some of the funding that is given through the city's operating budget and allotted to the high school principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It doesn't.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So currently, Principal Cabral created the Saturday Academy because we don't have a block of time within the high school schedule to provide interventions or to what you're speaking of.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the Saturday Academy kind of did become based on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the constraints that I was speaking about a little bit right now were not the high school level, it's the three through eight levels.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would not want to hear about the science part being interrupted by strings, but I do know that other specialist classes in a morning meeting

[Suzanne Galusi]: absolutely students sometimes have to choose between the enrichment activity of strings or band and another specialist class or morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It should not be at the expense of content, but even if all the stars align, it is very

[Suzanne Galusi]: Science and social studies definitely wind up taking somewhat of a backseat to literacy and math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when you think of elementary schools as being the foundation, even Faiza spoke about those skills that are needed at the fourth and fifth grade level to build off what's coming in middle school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the same for all content.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the same for reading skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the same for science skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it does somewhat become a vicious cycle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then it leads into middle school where the academic blocks are very small.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're going to start to look at what does that maybe look like where the daily academic block is tight to fit in all the instructional priorities that are probably needed in a daily lesson.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Ruseau?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Would help if I turn the microphone on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Dr. Cushing puts the presentation up, I just want to say good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much for the opportunity for us to talk to you tonight and provide an elementary literacy update.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the structure of this presentation tonight is gonna highlight the work of our elementary literacy plan for school year 24-25, as we continue to advance and strengthen our literacy instruction across the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a plan that is co-constructed with administration and the district leadership literacy team, as well as our consultant Hill for Literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our agenda for this evening

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to highlight the elementary district literacy plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to speak to about the role of the elementary literacy coaches.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to speak about the district literacy leadership team, the training, the coaching, the professional development we have done and we continue to do throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How the inter-reading program implementation has gone and will continue to go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The data meetings that we have, the structure and the format that we've set up in the district, what we have done thus far and what we will continue to do throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We will talk a little bit about the student supports as a result of the gathered data and highlight some key family communication events and outreach opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first, just because this is the frame for our work this year, as well as the presentation for this evening, these are our four key levers of our elementary district literacy plan for the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first is to install systems and processes to support the implementation of a multi-tiered assessment and instructional framework, which we have been building for a number of years now, but we're really at the stage this year where we're starting to put a lot of those teams in place and data cycles and training so that we actually can create a process moving forward across the district from school to school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: use core supplemental and intervention literacy curricula in a multi-tiered instructional model at each grade level effectively and strategically.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the piece that is really guiding a lot of our instruction so that teachers are really able to get an understanding of what to do with all of the data that we are collecting so that they can make those instructional decisions to target what students specifically need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Collaborate through shared knowledge, skills, language, and collaboration among teachers based on the essential components of literacy and evidence-based instructional practices.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the key piece of that collaboration.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers coming together to share their

[Suzanne Galusi]: their knowledge, their skillset, that is done through common planning times, that is done through some training activities, and that is also done for the teachers that participate in the district literacy leadership team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm gonna say DLLT for short.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then finally, construct an assessment system and process for using measures of student performance to inform decisions at the district, school, grade, classroom, and individual student levels.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's kind of the fruition of all of our work here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are so excited.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're growing very, excuse me, yeah, I know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're growing very slowly here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But this body so graciously made sure that

[Suzanne Galusi]: literacy coaches were a priority in the budget, which we are very grateful for, and thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We did start the year with three coaches, and unfortunately we are down to two, so we've had to do a little restructuring district-wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The position is still posted, and Dr. Chiesa and I, with the two literacy coaches that are on staff and fully working, are still vetting

[Suzanne Galusi]: resumes and going through that process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we are so happy and very pleased.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have Kristen Howell, who has been a very long devoted Medford Public Schools employee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She was in a classroom for several years and also most recently has been a reading, a title one reading teacher at the Missittuck Elementary School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's phenomenal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She will be servicing grades K through two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And she also does work for the Hill for Literacy as a coach and an instruction specialist.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Both of our literacy coaches are reading licensed and fully accredited.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And new to Medford Public Schools is Julie Terwitz.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She has come to us, she has taught in primary grades in Dedham Public Schools, and most recently in Needham Public Schools

[Suzanne Galusi]: as both a classroom teacher and then also as a literacy coach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Julie is also highly accredited, but she will be servicing grades three through five for Metropolitan Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They work in tandem.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so when they are creating their schedules, they are going to schools together so that they are working with teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Their role this year, they're going to get some direct coaching from Hill for Literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but they are here to support teachers and to support principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in their support for teachers district-wide, they are working with them to model lessons for the newly implemented inter-reading program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are helping troubleshoot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are also helping to, when teachers have identified what an instructional focus is for students, they're going to help model some of what that small group instruction could look like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they also have an active hand in the data cycles that we are running five times this year, which Dr. Chiesa will highlight a little later.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They also are helping to support the elementary principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So again, with data cycles and data analysis and what principals can help support their teachers with, but also to help identify any need for professional development and keep Dr. Keyes and I in the loop.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Last year,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Kristen Howell was in the same role as a literacy coach, and she did provide a caregiver Dibbles presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to continue that this year, and both Kristen and Julie

[Suzanne Galusi]: the dates are here, we'll be providing one in person in the evening and also virtually during the school day to hopefully accommodate varying schedules for caregivers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is an overview of what DIBLS-8 is, what it looks like, why we're collecting the data, and it will also be, we are also nearing the end of our data

[Suzanne Galusi]: on the recent DIBLS assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we will highlight a little bit of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some parents will also get this specifically in Letters Home, just to highlight the dates.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so now I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Chiesa to talk a little bit about DLLT and our data cycles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the only thing I would just quickly highlight, just so if we're wondering about the icon in the middle, I probably should have had you focus on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of this work in the data meetings that we're creating the structure for is this continuum

[Suzanne Galusi]: platform and this is a literacy-based platform where all of the student data, the assessments, go onto this platform and it helps educators generate that instructional focus.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so with each progress monitoring and with each new assessment, that data will go in and we'll be able to keep track of the progress and how the students are doing because instructional, some students may have more than one instructional focus and we'll be able to

[Suzanne Galusi]: target specifically what the need is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then as they're progressing, move on to what's next.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to draw to that, that attention, um, to the platform that's being used during a lot of these data meetings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the, the last little piece here, as we're taking all of this data, um, there is another level in terms of like the implementation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And these are the meetings that happen that are, uh, literacy and action we're calling it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so,

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are several administrative meetings monthly and throughout the year with Dr. Kieser and myself, the literacy coaches, and some of them are also with Hill for Literacy where we are constantly reviewing the data and setting goals and agendas for our meetings and any training or professional development or support that's needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're also making sure that we have monthly meetings with principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this, principals have a lot on their plates.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are getting training in science of reading, but they are also meeting with Hill for Literacy around data, and they are also meeting with myself and Dr. Chiesa around this same piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And also that, how they can support teachers during literacy instruction in their classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also have meetings with the literacy coaches on quite a regular basis.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Monthly, they have training with Hill for Literacy so that they are going on guided observations so that they are also learning firsthand and growing their skill as literacy coaches within our district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have some teachers that have been wonderful and have volunteered to work directly with hill for literacy during those in person coaching sessions, which are happening once a month at every single elementary school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: identify teachers at every building at every grade that will get the direct coaching from Hill, that our literacy coaches will also be there to observe, grow their skill set, and be able to also model that for other teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are involved in direct co-planning and modeling with educators, as previously mentioned, and work with Dr. Chiesa and I to drive our literacy plan for the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I've already kind of highlighted a lot of the principles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only piece that hasn't been discussed is that they have dedicated common planning time with their staff to also move this work within their building based on specific building and grade level needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the last piece is there are various ways that we try to, we are always looking to improve, but that we try to communicate with caregivers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as previously mentioned, the literacy coaches will be doing a DIBLS 8 overview again in two different ways.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Chiesa and I, as we did last year, will send out the DIBLS screening letter globally this week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that just explains to parents, again, about the DIBLS assessment and that what the regulations are around the early literacy screening per the Department of Education and Mass Literacy, and that they will hear from us if their child has been flagged for at-risk.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also sent home the NWEA map

[Suzanne Galusi]: growth reports, we do that at the first report card so that teachers, there's that opportunity for conversation so that educators are able to explain to the caregiver how these are being used to target their students' specific need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because just as a reminder,

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of this data is really for the educators to meet the student needs, and for school based and district wide administrators to to support teachers, so they can meet the students needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also have the report card conference opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the elementary reading department provides three to four family events for students and the caregivers of those students that receive reading services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those are in the process of being created right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's usually three to four a year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then Dr. Chiesa and I are also in the process of finalizing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to have a caregiver evening that kind of

[Suzanne Galusi]: shows the inter-reading program in action for caregivers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That will be sometime this fall.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're trying to be very ambitious just so that we can set the stage for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we welcome any questions or suggestions that you may have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when we rolled this out last year, we were following the guidelines for mass literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so as we presented last year, DIBLS is approved through the Department of Education, checks all the boxes, which is why we've navigated towards that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So their recommendation is for grades one through five, you use the first year benchmark and that you are informing parents

[Suzanne Galusi]: that whose students were at risk.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And kindergarten parents are informed at the middle of year benchmark.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think when we, I think I understand that piece of it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of it is, I think we can have that conversation that I think that's fine.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The way that we have, first I'll answer your first question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was trying to remember your first question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first question was about, so for each grade level, there is a threshold.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for K and one, we're using what's called the composite number, which is kind of like a summary of all the subtests.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so for students that were flagged, it could mean several reasons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And a lot of times it just, some of it is readiness, but they, it's for students that are performing below grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so for students in grades two through five, we use a predominant measure because we have the NWEA map.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're not using the comprehension component of the DIBLS program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students are flagged, unless you wanted to add on, students are flagged for being below grade level in the reading skill at risk.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Through K through five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just that level shifts depending on the grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would I would say

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we always are looking at need, which is why we added an additional person to the McGlynn school based on the level of need, especially in last year's data, um, around our EL population and just how that population has shifted in the school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, but I also want, we can absolutely get you those numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just also want to make note that the way that the reading services are also structured is a tiered approach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it is, we can give you the students that have been identified, but the reading teachers are servicing, I will break it down so that you can see that there are some students that are receiving reading services that are just receiving reading services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there are some students that are duly identified.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they're EL and they're also special education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we could always use more support, but I will say that, especially for fiscal year 25,

[Suzanne Galusi]: The I exhausted every penny I could on reading teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just to echo what Dr. Keyes was saying, we literally have had these conversations ongoing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think where last year was the first year for DIBLS, and it was also the first year for the science of reading training for teachers, which that really is a huge priority for us to just keep pushing that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Every single teacher needs to have that science of reading training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's not an easy feat.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think in partnership with just continuing to have that, because in order to improve, as you so wonderfully said, that tier one instruction, we have to make sure that all the teachers have the science of reading training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think because this is the second year of DEVILS, we are starting to have those conversations around, because we're even seeing the need across classrooms and the teachers that are going to need some additional support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: because of where the numbers are falling.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think for us to be, and because the real key for kindergarten is not to the middle of the year, I think that for us to be looking at those five cycles of data, but to maybe come at the end of the year would be great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And to that point, the only thing that I would highlight is, I'm so glad you mentioned that work, because that work to build our scope and sequence, our pacing, our assessment, it was key for the DLL team members.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, we also sent out several surveys throughout the year so that we got all teacher perspectives.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was brought up as part of common planning times to also have those discussions within those smaller groups.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and the DLLT members in each school were having some of those conversations in the building so that when we were making those decisions, we tried to get as much cross representation and voice as possible.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're gonna still need to do that this year as we move, because it is massive and overwhelming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Welcome back.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just have one update before I kick it off.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for introducing everyone.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Director Fee is not here this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I will be covering the music and the art programming as well as the early literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do think if there are any questions, Dr. Chiesa was also instrumental in the early literacy or the literacy program over the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So she's also available.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'm going to have Joan Bowen start first.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in June, I'm sorry, I'm just going to advance my... In June, I came with Dr. Chiesa and we presented that we got a vacation grant through the Department of Education to focus on literacy acceleration for our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This spanned Medford Public School students from...

[Suzanne Galusi]: grades one to grade nine.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The focus of this was on literacy and grade level skills and easing the transition to the next grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can go to the next slide, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This was already presented in June, but as a reminder, students in the Acceleration Academy, they were selected by invitation based on district-wide data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the elementary level for students in grades one through three, that was primarily DIBELS data with some of the MAP data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For students in grades four and five,

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was a combination of DIBELS data, MAP data, and MCAS data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for rising sixth graders and ninth graders, again, some of those students had DIBELS data as well as MAP growth and MCAS data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This acceleration program was a full day program that took place at the McGlynn School for one week, the week of July 29th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: free breakfast and lunch was provided.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was structured somewhat typical to a regular school day so that students were able to engage in literacy, core literacy instruction, as well as enrichment activities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We had a physical education teacher,

[Suzanne Galusi]: on staff and an art teacher on staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Each classroom, so the way the grant was set up was that it really was structured for small group targeted tiered instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we made sure that we structured that format so that within each grade level span, we had multiple teachers in a classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So each grade more, more in the younger grades and a little bit less as they progressed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we had about two to three teachers in each classroom so that we were able to target very specifically that small group instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that in those grades, there was a content teacher or a classroom teacher and a reading specialist.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We had, for the span, about 55 students in grades one through three, 16 students in grades four through five, and 15 students in rising grades six through nine.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the end of the grant program, Dr. Chiesa sent

[Suzanne Galusi]: two surveys, one to the teachers, the participating teachers in the program, and another one to caregivers to elicit some feedback on how the program went.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers, we got a lot of positive feedback from teachers in terms of the format that we had for that small group instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that they were able to work collaboratively and really target the instruction and each kind of own some of that reading instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there were some future recommendations to have the program start a little closer to when school gets out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of the feedback was that it needs to be a longer program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that one week was not enough, which we have been in active conversations about how we can increase this opportunity beyond DESE funding through a grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And a lot of the positives from teachers, they really enjoyed that daily schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They liked having co-teachers to facilitate with, and they loved the small group instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The feedback from caregivers,

[Suzanne Galusi]: 100% of caregivers said that they would love to have their students participate in this program again.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They thought it was very beneficial.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They appreciated the ongoing communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They wished that it was a little bit longer or that there was some extended opportunities for extended care.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the location, we were very mindful to have this housed at the McGlynn School for several reasons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Transportation was not part of this opportunity that we gave to our families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the students that were invited, a lot of them primarily lived in that area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we wanted to make sure that we were bringing the program to the students that needed it the most.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In addition, that

[Suzanne Galusi]: because our programs span from grades one to nine or high school, the McGlynn lent itself nicely to the space and the air conditioning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next slide just shows a few pictures, not many, but just you can see the small group instruction, elementary on the outer and the sixth and ninth grade in the middle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And again,

[Suzanne Galusi]: This would not be possible without the teachers and the people heavily involved in this program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Dr. Chiesa, the humanities director, was this program's facilitator.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She did a phenomenal job.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She worked very closely with our literacy coach, Kristen Howell, and then all of the teachers ranging from grade one to grade nine with our two specialists, as well as nursing coverage.

[Suzanne Galusi]: if you have any questions about this opportunity before I move on to... Mayor.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've offered a couple opportunities for extended time in the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we've had a couple of different formats that we've used.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One year, last year or the year before, we've done two-week half-day program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there's pros and cons to each format that you provide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But for working parents, half-day is also quite difficult to drop students off and pick them up when we don't have transportation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we could have done the half day program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was not a requirement per DESE, but we felt very strongly about offering a full day program for working parents and also offering students the opportunity to have two meals and some enrichment with the specialists.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think that outweighs a little bit of, I would like to see it be longer than one week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think that the full-day programming is important for a lot of our families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We did do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so and we had a lot of a lot of the names that were listed on on there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: did a lot of correspondence and outreach to families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in our survey, we had that question as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think that the double-edged sword here is that we are very appreciative to the Department of Education for their grant, but the timing of it was late.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we did hear from some families that they had vacations or they were already enrolled in other camps.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We did have a few situations in where a student may have attended, may have missed half of the day because they had something else and we just were very flexible because the timing of the invitation was a little later in the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if we were planning,

[Suzanne Galusi]: would have been more beneficial to have that at an earlier date.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was a later grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was a later grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then you apply, but you have to wait for the response to see if you've been awarded the grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Got it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then it's...

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a lot of work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, for the grant?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was literally titled a vacation grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it was the intention of the grant was for vacation weeks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: or summer, but for one year or one year program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, that's all right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We did, we did.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we actually, I can get you the exact number in terms of like a percentile.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the students that we invited, we were quite successful in that, in the students participating.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we only, because we did have a tiered approach in terms of the students that we were inviting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we only had to go to that next tier just a few times.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think for me, if I'm looking back at it, the pieces where there was more of that work to do was as we progress in the grades.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we had a lot, you know, I don't think we had to really go much further for students in the lower grades, grades one through three, but for...

[Suzanne Galusi]: students in the rising grades four to rising grade nine, that took a little bit more correspondence.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And actually, so this week started both our DIBELS assessments and our math assessments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we will have a lot of that preliminary data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think maybe the other piece to an opportunity like this, where it was just one week, even per DIBELS, if we're using that as our benchmark for progress monitoring,

[Suzanne Galusi]: they suggest, especially for struggling readers, that we're not assessing until after 10 days of instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we would have to be, a lot of what we would have to be using is this current benchmark at the beginning of the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm glad you asked that question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to answer it twofold.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First, I would like to say that even some of the teacher feedback from our secondary staff that also worked the fifth quarter, some of that was also in conversations that I've had with Riley Jones and with...

[Suzanne Galusi]: Principal Cabral.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There was a lot of interest to use that model and bring it over to the fifth quarter, especially for middle school students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's something that we're working on in terms of like the difference that we kind of saw in some of the data between middle school students that participated in fifth quarter and high school students that participated in fifth quarter.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But also too, where this is our new, this is our second year in the literacy program

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so literacy programs are so massive that we spent every last minute of our PD time last year on literacy and this program, and we still didn't cover it all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so a lot of the focus this year is definitely with Hill and with our school leaders is definitely on that small group instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So much so that...

[Suzanne Galusi]: over the summer, we used teachers from the district literacy leadership team, as well as school leaders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We met in June to really look at our elementary schedule and the teachers worked with their principals over the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we were able to not only align the teachers,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the elementary schedules across the district, but our real primary focus was on that literacy block and ensuring that our students are present for tier one instruction and not forced to have to be removed from the classroom for their services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we were able to really look at our literacy blocks, K to five,

[Suzanne Galusi]: and ensure separate times so that students have that tier one instruction, they're part of that small group instruction, and that services are provided at different opportunities so students aren't sacrificing any of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's a very big focus of the literacy instruction this year is that small group instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so when Hill comes around this year, our focus with Hill this year is on, they're gonna be coming into the schools once a month, each building, and they're going to be working

[Suzanne Galusi]: on that piece of the implementation of the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And part of that is going to be focused on the ECRI, the small group instruction, and as well as the tier one whole group time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Does it affect the tier two model as well?

[Suzanne Galusi]: The coaching or the schedule?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I guess both.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what we were finding and the reason that really precipitated having this summer work is that we have a lot of students, and especially in our Title I buildings of the McGlynn and the Missatuck, there's a lot of students that are duly identified, maybe triply identified, and they need to have multiple services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It could be special education, EL, related services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And too often students were missing that tier one time with their peers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we wanted to make that sacred so that students are learning alongside with their peers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have time with their teacher in small group instruction, as well as having to leave the room for small group instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we were able to

[Suzanne Galusi]: the elementary principals with myself and Dr. Chiesa and the literacy coaches and the teachers on the DLLT, the district leadership team that worked on this all summer, we were able to create more aligned schedules to meet those needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Roughly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't want to misquote.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is Dr. Keyes on the call?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I am.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK, I'm going to toss this to you, Dr. Keyes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that we've had, before we did get a DESE grant, but we've also used ESSER.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Got it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I would like to be, I would like to, in conversations with Dr. Chiesa and the literacy coaches,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we would also like to see if there's other ways to fund the expansion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because even if this comes up again, if we were to offer it with the same format and at the same level of staffing, we would need to supplement that to expand it beyond that one week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Director Fee, moving on to the last part of this presentation, and I am saddened she couldn't be here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's very dedicated and has done such a fabulous job.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She did not have a summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: because Director Fee has spent the summer securing our brand new band director, who's fabulous, Michael Dampier, and making sure that these programs went off without a hitch.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So started during COVID was the Jumpstart Music Program to try to re-energize.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That has now become an annual staple.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the Jumpstart Music Program was very successful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was a two-week program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for rising students in grades four through eight as a way to either continue their music instruction or if they were interested in chatting with friends, get them involved.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There were over 80 students that participated in the Jumpstart music program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our brand new band director and music teacher, Michael Dampier was there as well as Emma Baptist, Sophia Chang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we even had high school students

[Suzanne Galusi]: students that were volunteering and helping with the younger students i think it's very important to note that there were very various string and percussion instruments that were given to students free of charge so that they could participate in this program although some families did opt to purchase the programs it was

[Suzanne Galusi]: up to the family.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the first time this year as part of Jumpstart Music, we were able to include a color guard section.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there were students in rising, I believe they were rising fifth and sixth graders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we had, excuse me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, there were.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But it was wonderful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at the end of the program, they did, on the final day, they did do a performance so that the orchestra and the band and the color guard gave a wonderful performance to caregivers and other people that were working up at the high school that day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was a wonderful addition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's important to note that a lot of...

[Suzanne Galusi]: The coordination was also with the Banned Parent Organization.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They've worked tirelessly this summer and very closely with Director Fee and Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're very appreciative of them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they were able to also secure a Tufts grant to help with that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then for the first time, Director Fee also had a summer art program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so this was free of charge for this first annual year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it was funded by the Medford Arts Council, the Cummings Foundation, and the City of Medford Community Fund.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was a pilot program, but it was very, very successful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: High school students, there were about 12 students that participated at the high school level, and they did a studio week on self-directed projects, and everything was connected to social issues that were important to the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They created ceramic pieces, cardboard sculptures, paintings, drawings, and more.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For students in grades four through eight, there were 30 students that participated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They learned and practiced different skills and techniques and applied them to personal projects that reflected a social issue of their choice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then for students in grades one through three, approximately 25 students participated there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they spent the week using just exploring different art materials and learning around the themes of kindness.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You will see on this last slide, there's just a few pictures that Director Fee included from the workshop.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And again, as with all programming this summer, would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of teachers and community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We actually had community members helping as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And thank you, if you have any questions, I can attempt.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do think it's important with all that programming, if you added up all of the staff and the educators that participated to make this possible for students, it's a lot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're greatly appreciative of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing is just going to present.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know you had in your packets just a basic overview of the enrollment so far for Metro Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know you've probably heard this before, but I just have to reiterate how fluid of a situation enrollment and personnel is at this time of year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our reporting to DESE is always the first, October 1st.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there's a lot that's happening between now and October 1st.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So much so that even the, Dr. Cushing, you may go to the next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I believe in your packets on Friday, you received this as an overall enrollment view.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so one of the things that I just want to explain is it's a slightly different format than what you're used to seeing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our data analyst Kim Miles works tirelessly always, but especially this time of year, constantly updating this for us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so one of the things you'll see in the far right is something that's called TBD.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and it doesn't reflect a specific school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so what happens at this time of year is that there's a lot of students whose registrations are not complete, and that's for various reasons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so they may not have been assigned to a school yet, which is why things are constantly changing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That could be for, it could be medically pending, and it's with Nurse Director Jen Silva.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It could be EL, and...

[Suzanne Galusi]: there may be some testing with Director Paul Texterra's department, or it just may be that they have not followed back up and have chosen not to come to Medford Public Schools, or there may be another registration hang-up in which the registration office is following up with phone calls to try and assist and see what's going on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So over the weekend, if you just advance, please, Dr. Cushing, to the next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Kim Miles had sent this because, again, over the weekend, she was working on cleaning up some of the information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so this was of yesterday.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this is the most current information that we have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You'll see a shift in the total enrollment because she was cleaning out and making sure that it was accurate in terms of students that have moved on or decided.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, I'm terribly sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: um and so this is a more current view of the enrollment right now for the district i'm not quite yeah do you have any questions before i move to personnel yes member rousseau

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's preliminary right now, correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is possible, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can respond after you comment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that i would 100 agree um i've had several conversations with principal kroll i don't know if she wants to come up here um but one of the conversations we've had because again the roberts is the only kindergarten is the only school where we had to add yet another fifth section for kindergarten and their numbers are at a hundred um

[Suzanne Galusi]: within her schedule so like the specialist schedules students go for their specials there is no more space in her schedule let's say if we had an influx and we had to add another section somewhere in her school there's no more room within the existing schedule so it's a it's a it is a big issue that we definitely have to address um quite quickly

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, so lastly, I'm just going to give a very broad overview of personnel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To date, we've hired, again, this is also fluid.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have had people,

[Suzanne Galusi]: resign or retire as early as this week or last week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so, but in total, we have hired around 44-ish teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do have a new literacy coach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We did have two new literacy coaches, but...

[Suzanne Galusi]: One was part of the resignation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we've had new literacy coaches, adjustment Councilors, behavior therapists, educational team leaders, a new carpentry teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There is a new nurse to help with the Brooks and the Andrews school communities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have an engagement specialist for Medford Public Schools, who just started today, which is wonderful, and a new payroll manager.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And also in total, we have about nine new paraprofessionals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But there are still some vacancies in areas in where we are hiring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's still about, and I use that about, 20.

[Suzanne Galusi]: open teaching positions, but please note that those range from specialized instruction to long-term substitute needs, because we do have staff that have reasons for absences that we have to cover with long-term solutions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we still have about, I think, just three paraprofessional positions to fill.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if you have any questions broadly about personnel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it was, no, it's in the drive.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I'll make a, I can do a print copy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, yes, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for for updating the things that are kind of rolling as we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So because the that position that person has left the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now we have Suzanne fee who is the director of fine arts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we would be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: consolidating the two departments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so Suzanne Fee will also be running both the performing arts and the fine arts departments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's important to note that that is the way institutionally Medford has done the arts departments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's only been for two years that we

[Suzanne Galusi]: created coordinator positions where we kind of separated the fine arts from performing arts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in order to kind of have more of a district wide view for the arts program, cause there is a lot of overlap and Suzanne currently also has a nice relationship with the performing arts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We would be merging the two so that she would be in charge of both departments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, I know that the superintendent, uh, Suzanne fee and I plan on having conversations this week and throughout the summer, um, with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers within the music department, as well as parents, um, that are affiliated with clubs through the performing arts department so that we can have, we can answer some questions and have just some discussions on where we go from here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just here to update you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Chiesa had applied a couple months ago for the Vacation Acceleration Academy Grant through Governor Healey's office and the Department of Education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And on May 2nd, Medford Public Schools was awarded with that grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The sum will be $42,000.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I'm just here to let you know and update you on how we are going to fulfill that grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the grant is used for acceleration during vacation periods that can be summer, or that could be one of the vacation weeks we are electing for this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to ensure that we are minimizing some of that literacy growth that we've seen in our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we are really focusing on the elementary levels, as well as the transitional grades of six and nine.

[Suzanne Galusi]: With that $42,000, we will hire licensed educators, Medford Public School educators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we have several that have already

[Suzanne Galusi]: given interest.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Of that list will just include elementary classroom teachers, licensed reading teachers, at the secondary level English teachers, and then part of this program, I will get into the structure of it in a little bit, but part of the grant highly suggests that we have some specialist activities for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there will also be art-based activities and that will include the

[Suzanne Galusi]: inclusion of physical education teacher and an elementary nexus teacher, and also coverage by school nurse.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Additionally, paraprofessional or behaviorist support may be included in the staffing needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is going to be a one-week program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and it will be housed at the McGlynn School Complex.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And last week on Friday, caregivers received the invitations from me to register their students if they are interested.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It will run the week of July 29th to August 1st, and it's a full day program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So instruction will run from nine to two with drop off at 8.45.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Pick up a 215 a lunch in a recess period and a specialist period will be included and students will receive if they would like free breakfast and free lunch will be offered to the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide, just to speak about the format.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the elementary level, there are two lanes for this grant opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One is the early literacy program, and the other is the ELA program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So per the grant requirements, the early literacy program is targeting rising students in grade one to three, that's currently students in grades K through two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The invitations that,

[Suzanne Galusi]: some families received for their children to participate in this program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The primary focus of data was DIBLS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We looked at the DIBLS scores throughout the school year with a particular focus on the middle of the year and the end of the year results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then therefore the, excuse me, the curriculum that will be used for working with the students this summer will be our existing curriculum of the inter-reading, ECRI,

[Suzanne Galusi]: with some supplemental Lexia Core 5.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The ELA program at the elementary level is for students rising grades four and five, so that's your current third graders and fourth graders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, the primary form of data that we used for invitations was DIBLS, but we also looked at MAP growth scores as well as MCAS data because we have that for the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, the primary focus is on developing, continuing to develop those grade-level literacy skills that are gonna help ease their transition to the next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The curricular is the same.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's the inter-reading program, as well as supplemental materials that we use, Lexia Core 5, NewZella, and some MPS-created materials.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then for students in those transitional grades of rising grade six and rising grade nine, again, if DIBELS was a component, we did review DIBELS data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have them for those current fifth grade students that are moving on to sixth grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And DIBELS is also used, as previously mentioned, for students receiving intervention at the middle school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when applicable, we used DIBL scores as well as MAP growth data and MCAS data to determine invitations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, the focus is the same on looking at the grade level skills that students need with looking at those anchor standards that are going to assist the students moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the curriculum materials are the existing MPS materials that we utilize, as well as looking at some of the summer reading components to assist students with that, as well as the supplemental materials of the Alexia Power Up and New Zella.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we used the student data in order to determine the invitations for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's part of the grant per the Department of Education, is to make sure that your invitations are using benchmark data as well as statewide data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we used, DIBLS was primary at the elementary level, and then we also used our MAP growth data, MCAS data,

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's all of our benchmark data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they went out on Friday.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The emails went out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I personally sent them all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They went out on Friday, so it would be from my email for anybody at home listening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They could search my email, or they could reach out to me directly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I've already been corresponding with a few parent questions here or there, and there's an attached embedded survey link to register students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And how many students total?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the grant regulations, where we are looking to see, we know that the invites range per grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can provide that data to you if you would like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're waiting to see what the participation will be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The requirement for the grant is that each classroom needs to have no more than a group of 10 to 12 students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So our staffing will fluctuate depending on the response for participation that we get.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have healthy staffing interest right now, which is wonderful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Great, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Much agreed, I can work on that, absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think the partnership with school leaders, as well as the reading teachers at the elementary level and through with Dr. Nicole Chiesa, I think we can easily get that done.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because I think often, I don't typically, I think the bigger piece is that some just don't participate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, so we'll have to have that outreach to make sure we're understanding why I can do that, as well as make sure that I use that same group of people to further make further follow up on the invitations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Member Reinfeld.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, that's a great question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've definitely been talking about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there will be pre-assessments as well as post-assessments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just a one-week program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we are going to be utilizing a pre-assessment and a post-assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I think we've seen the data that we have at the elementary level around dibbles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've been going classroom by classroom and really looking at the growth that we've seen, which has been tremendous, especially at the lower levels.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think we'll be able to kind of see a little bit of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What we're hoping to see is a little bit of that bump

[Suzanne Galusi]: which is why we're targeting the week that we're doing this kind of right in the middle of the summer, which that last week of July into that first, we noticed that we're kind of hoping to like catch that right in the middle and not wait through the whole entire summer to offer this this opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Fingers crossed, because we also have the end of year dibbles data and and then the beginning of the year dibbles data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're hoping that we're going to see that progress maintained with that check in the middle of the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Not to the structure, but I know that there was work done to create like

[Suzanne Galusi]: trails within the fells and to create some outdoor space within the fells, but I don't know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would agree.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Would you, would it be okay if everybody just kind of went around and introduced themselves and what their role is within the district?

[Suzanne Galusi]: That would be great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, I mean, you already introduced me, but Suzanne Galussi, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we definitely also have Michelle Kroll on the call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's the Principal of the Roberts, but I know she's just finishing up something in the building, but I wanted to make sure that she was recognized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I know somewhere Dr. Cushing was on this call as well, but I think he's just in listening mode right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, I mean, I think the best, just maybe the best way to handle some of this, we have some wonderful expertise on the call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so, oh, and I see Paul Texera is coming in to the call right now, the director of English Learner Department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, but with all the expertise on the Paul, Paul, Paul, I'm so sorry to put you on the spot the minute you come in the room, but you mind introducing yourselves before we get going.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Reinfeld, I would agree to start with, I had made a copy, if you would like, I can share my screen.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I had made a copy of the A1 curriculum document that's linked to the strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just added a column so that we have like a starting point to provide an update for the work that's been done throughout the life of the strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Does that sound okay?

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, can everyone see my screen?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I've lost sight of all of you, so I just need a verbal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so this is the A1 curriculum tab from the strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this outlined the work that the district did between the years of 2021 and 2024, so currently.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for each action item, we just provided an update.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first one said, deliver professional development activities related to the revisions of the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So internally, we have a spreadsheet that Dr. Riccadeli started and that we've been updating, which speaks to the current curriculum per each department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it kind of lets us know where we are within the curriculum cycle per department, per grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not quite sure if you'd like me to just also open that up and just briefly, I don't know if we need to necessarily hit every tab.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just to get a sense.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So like this is the English language arts one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you can see it goes from K to 12 and it just,

[Suzanne Galusi]: lists the program that's being used, when the implementation year was, the criteria and the components of the program, and a little baseline as to when it would be up for the next review cycle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we have that for all of our departments, just to get an understanding of how we're tracking things internally.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the second action item was use a protocol for assessing instructional materials for bias.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is part of the core review process we go through when we're looking at reviewing curriculum updates, as well as brand new programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And part of that cycle per the Department of Education

[Suzanne Galusi]: includes a review of ed reports and the curate system so that part of that review is done when we are updating the curriculum within each department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Please just like interrupt with any questions or if there's administrators on the call that want to add to anything I'm saying, just chime in please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next action item is to create a master list of adoption cycle curriculum offerings, which we have done, as I showed in the updated curriculum catalog.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then one of the things that we've been working on is a draft process to finalize

[Suzanne Galusi]: that curriculum review process from Medford Public Schools, which I think we can maybe highlight once I get through the action items just so that we can provide first a base review of the work we've done.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the next one just says update curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is something

[Suzanne Galusi]: as in that spreadsheet that's ongoing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, you know, sometimes it's that we've been with a curriculum for a long time and we're seeing that we need something new because it's not maybe hitting student needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sometimes it's the Massachusetts Department of Education has updated the frameworks and the standards that teachers use when they're teaching.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there are many reasons why we initiate curriculum reviews.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When the strategic plan was written in 2020,

[Suzanne Galusi]: for a launch in 2021.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This column here highlighted some of the work that was, had begun and or ongoing, or maybe nearly completed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so over here, the updates per department are all listed here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for the humanities, text lists were provided, texts, like lists of the texts that grade six through eight and 11 were using the elementary,

[Suzanne Galusi]: started the core review process for a new curriculum last year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And last year was like the review process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year was the full implementation of the Houghton Mifflin program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: PD has been sustained and embedded all year long, both through Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, who's the publisher of the program, as well as through a partnership we have with HILFA Literacy, which is a literacy consulting firm of expert

[Suzanne Galusi]: reading specialists in the field.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Physical education and health is quite long because they've been doing a lot of work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So their health curriculum updated per the Department of Education in 2023.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I know that director Rachel Perry, along with assistant superintendent, Dr. Cushing, they both sat on the HECAC committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I believe member Reinfeld, member Rousseau also sat on that committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm apologizing if anyone else on this meeting also sat on that committee and I failed to acknowledge you, I apologize.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I know they've done a lot of work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: In a snapshot, I know the biggest implementations, that work is ongoing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this year, the fifth grade puberty has shifted the curriculum that we're using and the approach and the format that we're using.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those lessons have started this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so some of the work is still continuous as they're looking to update

[Suzanne Galusi]: per the frameworks, but I know that they began with the health curriculum, and then she's looking to move next to the physical education curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So implemented this year, as I have said, was the fifth grade puberty lessons, along with making sure that that work aligned.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've updated Nexus at the elementary level, so that Nexus is handling the health curriculum, which is Michigan model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Perry has been working directly with the Nexus teachers in that department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I know that the work to finish the new sex ed curriculum will be finished next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She has listed here recommendations, and again, the work with the PE department that will begin next year, as you see here, to develop a physical education committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: World Language also had frameworks somewhat recently updated, and so Dr. Vilma Bobo has started working with her staff to review the updated standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's provided numerous opportunities for professional development and professional affiliations within her department, and

[Suzanne Galusi]: lesson plans and curricula will be aligned next year based on the work that she's been doing within her department to update to the frameworks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Math, as we all know, and Faiza can speak to this much more closely than I can, but she has been in a constant state of alignment and adjustment within the math department, both at the middle school and the high school level to align to the integrated math pathways.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And elementary last year went through their full implementation year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: of the investigations three curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is year two for that curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Science FOSS was implemented, I believe, in 2018.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So next year we'll be looking to kind of review FOSS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and see where we go from there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the rest is pretty much, some of it is reiterating the things that I have just said in terms of the departments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Additional information for science would be that at middle school, the STEM scopes curriculum was implemented in school year 2021.

[Suzanne Galusi]: High school ranges, which is reflective in the spreadsheet, but it ranges depending on the course.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some of the curriculum began in 2019, where others were just updated last school year or this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We spoke about health and world language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the only other piece right now would be technology.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Molly Layden, Director Molly Layden has worked to update the technology curriculum that is offered through the schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the things that she will begin, the work that will begin next year is updating the library curriculum to align with the library media.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the last piece of an update, the last action item here speaks of review of new research-based comprehensive elementary literacy programs, rubrics to select elementary literacy programs and then implement literacy, elementary literacy programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that was a mouthful, but basically this has kind of two levels to it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One was the work we did to become compliant with the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Massachusetts literacy screener regulations under the dyslexia regulation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that was the we've had like a tiered approach to that and that was this bottom piece here, which is

[Suzanne Galusi]: the pilot of the DIBELS program, which fully meets, it's like full compliance per the Department of Education for meeting the literacy screener regulation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That pilot was done last year, and it was fully implemented this year, elementary K-5, so all K-5 students received the benchmark DIBELS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and grades six through eight intervention students received DIBELS, either in a benchmark or progress monitoring situation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When it comes to, oh, also we implemented ECRI, which is Enhanced Core Reading Instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This was to also comply to make sure that our reading instruction is structured and explicit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so all of our K-2 staff use ECRI when they're teaching reading to their students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In terms of the core review process, the Department of Education, as I stated, is very

[Suzanne Galusi]: Particular about the process that's used when we when districts are selecting new curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so this core review process as aligned by ed reports and the curate system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We used helpful literacy to help us engage in that work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the ELA reading program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This folder that's linked here also kind of explains

[Suzanne Galusi]: the core review process, which was quite extensive.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It included teachers, administrators, and caregivers to narrow down ELA programs and to finally select the one into reading that was implemented this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Any questions before I maybe stop the screen share?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do apologize, I've lost the ability to see people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm not quite sure if there are hands in the air.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Am I okay?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think, I mean, with all due respect, I think that that's maybe a conversation for a different meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think today, right now, we're kind of charged with talking about how we're going to create a process to show that our curriculum is effectively working for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that having all of these lovely experts here, I would really love to be able to have that conversation and tap into the school and department leaders that are on the call today.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I welcome that conversation at another point.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I appreciate that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that is one of the main reasons why the district moved to bring in NWEA map growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we all know, so we have multiple measures of assessment and some are ongoing and some are kind of like a snapshot and MCAS is an end of year

[Suzanne Galusi]: benchmark through the Department of Education, but it is, it's a one time test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not a system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so, NWEA, NWEA map growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: checked some of those boxes for us in that it is aligned to Common Core standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It did include science, and a lot of these district-wide assessment measures only started with, like I-Ready, for example, were just math and reading, or ELA.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so one of the things that intrigued us about MAP was that it also included the science components so that we had these set benchmarks to see how our students are faring on common core standards outside of the curricula itself.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think that is definitely a component that we rely on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think engaging in the conversation around the validity and the timeline is important because some programs are probably in the just right spot, while it's difficult to look at some of those scores and call it a reliable measure in like the first year of implementation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know that Miss Khan, I don't know if not to put her on the spot, but I know she has seen some tremendous progress per MAP scores at the end of the year here in math, which is we're in like year two of the curriculum implementation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we're not going to see that growth yet, you know, for reading because this is at least at the elementary level, this is like year one of the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there is the piece of, to your point, like the observational and the instruction and the fidelity to the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think it's important to continue this conversation so that it is in a more formalized manner.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I would offer other people to kind of

[Suzanne Galusi]: chime in if they feel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, you're up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we agree.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I know that when we've engaged in the curriculum review cycle for, let's just say, a new program, new curriculum, following that core review process has always included

[Suzanne Galusi]: varied stakeholders so it has always included administration as well as teachers and caregivers and but we don't we haven't really had anything necessarily like formalized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know that just taking that process, we have a slight draft of what that process looks like, but I think what you're speaking about is that final part of the process where you're in the implementation phase, but then that implementation phase also leads into the monitoring phase.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does that look like as we're monitoring the curriculum to see how it's meeting the needs of our students?

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when that varied use of stakeholders kind of enters that monitoring phase, I do think is worthy of discussion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think it's going to look different.

[Suzanne Galusi]: at each level and at each department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think we, you know, you use data to kind of guide those discussions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So right now we're seeing some positive, like just for example, not to always kind of like say something to FISA, but like we're seeing some like positive data around the math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But in terms of, you know,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, so that math piece is in the monitoring phase that will stay in the monitoring phase for a couple more years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But if we see a dip in that student data, then it's going to warrant a closer eye.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think the other piece, like to my point, is that some of that other data around like triangulation, especially maybe just for FISA's piece, but for all the departments,

[Suzanne Galusi]: is I would also welcome a conversation around like trajectory data, because I think that like part of the push for math was because FISA was seeing some data about the preparedness of students in advanced opportunities in like grades, you know, I guess nine, 10 and on, as well as what the enrollment looks like in some of our advanced placement classes, honors and AP.

[Suzanne Galusi]: FISA and curriculum directors are also monitoring the scores that our students are receiving on AP exams.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think even just having a conversation around the kind of data that's important to make some of these decisions beyond map data also would be a worthwhile discussion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think that also varies from department to department, like world language, Dr. Bobo, there's like the seal of biliteracy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, there are AP courses as well, but there's also the seal of biliteracy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there's also just, there's enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so at least at the high school level where students have a choice, starting in grade 10 with really like what their,

[Suzanne Galusi]: taking as both like electives and just enrollment in course selection is also useful data for us to kind of track, you know, the interest in students as well as the persistence.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but I do defer to my experts on the call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think Rocco and Fiza could speak to that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They work very closely on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I don't think there's like a definite answer for that right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I definitely welcome the continued conversation in a future meeting but I know, I don't know if you want to end I can kind of show like the draft for what that process looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think

[Suzanne Galusi]: following that process as well as taking a deeper dive on the catalog of curricula that we have internally and in mind with your kind of like didactic structure, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because that's the key.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've already well established that we have MAP growth and how it's used.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and the importance of the instruction and fidelity to the program, but then there is the importance of that, you know, that third kind of piece of data, too, around the grade level performance, some of those internal factors that we're looking at, and observations that we conduct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think the, like the observational rounds, which have been

[Suzanne Galusi]: very effective in pockets.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mr. Teixeira, Mr. Tucci, and Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Khan, as well as others, but like, they've really took like a deep dive on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think, you know, that's work that we can also build.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As well as I think, you know, aligning to the Ed Reports and the curate process is,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the Department of Education pushes high quality grade level curriculum right across the board.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's very easy to kind of, I shouldn't say it's easy, but assessing grade level material when it's from a published program is one thing, but reviewing and assessing curriculum that is

[Suzanne Galusi]: created in-house is a different process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that's the process or some of the work that we could, that the district needs to like maybe look at too.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because it's very clear the process from the Department of Education when you're assessing high quality materials that have already been created by a publisher, which we have many, but assessing

[Suzanne Galusi]: the high quality, I don't wanna say high quality ness, but the high quality grade level piece of internally created curricula is a different structure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that that's one that we could also discuss.

[Suzanne Galusi]: what that looks like will be different than what the other process looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I wanted to also just note that it's not going to look the same depending on the department or the grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because there are some guiding questions, but to Mr. Cieri's point, I loved his question about the difference between what a curriculum offers and what a curriculum expects.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think since this is a draft, I would love to add that into our guiding questions somewhere.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But this basically just kind of takes into account the four phases when we're looking at assessing curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which is what happens in the planning and the review.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't have to read all of it, but this first box kind of gives the snapshot of what happens during this process, which is establishing the team of stakeholders that you spoke about, Member Reinfeld, and doing some of that preliminary work to know

[Suzanne Galusi]: what is the research saying about the current content so that the people on this team and all stakeholders kind of understand.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So to like Dr. Keyes' point earlier, if we were doing this on like early literacy screeners, we would really want to inform this group of stakeholders what is current research saying about the science of reading.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Then the second phase is like the analysis, where we're looking at our internal data around

[Suzanne Galusi]: all those triangulation pieces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are some links in here of things that we would be pulling in right away from student assessments to DESE guidance, and of course, alignment to our strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the next phase is like making a determination about is the curriculum meeting the needs of students?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Do we need to move on?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Do we need to enhance?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is it time to look for a new program?

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the team would be making those decisions to chart a path forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then this is the very long part here, because it's not only the implementation, but it's the monitoring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this is where we can live for like

[Suzanne Galusi]: three to four years as we're kind of implementing a program and continuously kind of like progress monitoring it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think this is where a lot of the work, per how you've kind of phrased this, you would like to live in kind of like this section of the work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, yes, beyond our control.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Are you talking about for this draft?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, I think this is like the crosswalk of this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To this, like I almost view this a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's going to look different at each level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Within each department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's part of the work that we're all doing internally, but I think that I would like to work on firming this up with the administration, the school and department leaders, as well as kind of narrowing in a little bit more on this so that we can see what the, eventually I think we need to also have like,

[Suzanne Galusi]: something posted, right, so that it's very clear on our website, year by year, where we are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So like 2024, if it was up on our website, we could see that this is, you know, year two at the elementary level, it's year two for math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's year four for FOSS, I think, Rocco, four or five, four.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's year one for inter-reading, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think we need to be able to build that so that there is a clear understanding of where we are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, there is, you know, you can't go on the Department of Education, but they only list

[Suzanne Galusi]: reading math and science.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have to update it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think there should be something on our website as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know people argue about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Best practice is a five to six year cycle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So to that point, we should be looking at FOS

[Suzanne Galusi]: That should be one of the next focus areas for elementary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I want to be able to like create that cycle so that we can see on a yearly basis where we are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that would be very helpful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, everybody, for joining.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hi, good afternoon.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Suzanne Galussi, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm here just to be a participant in the decision-making process and very curious about the rollout of the Curtis-Tufts and possible participation with Medford High School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: My apologies, we have one literacy coach who's housed at both of the Title I buildings, the Missittuck and the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just for clarification, so it's part of the Title I budget.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Her salary is paid out of the Title I budget.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're each other like an hour.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hi, I'm Susanne Kalusi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is my 27th year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I, too, was born and raised in Medford, one of my favorite schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I no longer live here, but my whole career has been here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I started as a teacher and assistant principal, school leader at Brooks, and assistant superintendent for elementary schools, and now assistant superintendent for academics and construction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Similar to kind of Marta's piece, I'm really excited to get to work with all of you for the instructional vision of the schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think as someone that was Maria kind of spoke a little bit about it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, you know, my father was the project manager for the K to eight buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I feel like I have kind of lived both sides of this a little bit, but being blessed enough

[Suzanne Galusi]: to be one of the teachers in the new, at the time, 2001, the new school, it was great to also see that whole process unfold as an educator and be one of the people in the new schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think the critical role that we all play, these decisions that are going to impact our educators, our students, our families, our community, is very important to me, so I do take

[Suzanne Galusi]: take this very seriously.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I feel very honored to be part of the team and get to work with all of you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing's going to present the small slide deck.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So while he's searching for it, I'm just gonna kind of start.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the school committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tonight, I'm presenting the requested substitute teachers supply and demand report.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As background information, the school committee stated the following rationale for requesting this report.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First, substitute teachers play a critical role in maintaining educational continuity and quality.

[Suzanne Galusi]: when regular teachers are absent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Meanwhile, Medford appears to struggle to obtain enough substitutes to cover the need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Second, concerns have been raised for a long while regarding the adequacy of compensation for substitute teachers and the potential effect of compensation on the quality and availability of substitutes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And third, understanding patterns and reasons for teacher absenteeism is crucial for addressing any underlying issues and ensuring the effective allocation of resources.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as such, the slides presentation for this report will cover the sections listed within the request.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first section as listed here covers substitute teacher compensation and district comparisons of substitute pay rates.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can advance the slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the table presented here displays the details of the current substitute compensation for Metro Public Schools, which you will see has the blue highlight going right through.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then you're going to see the comparison of surrounding districts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You will notice a variance in daily rates ranging from the high end of $150 per day to Medford Public Schools at $90 per day with Woburn Public Schools, oh, thank you, at 110.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing's trying out his pointer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You'll also notice that some districts have set a different long-term daily sub rate, and some districts have not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the current time, Medford does have two separate scales for substitutes that are working in long-term coverage needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If they're licensed, it's $125.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Otherwise, it's about $100.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently Medford, as you'll notice, Malden has a tiered approach, which reflects the substitute's education, experience, and licensure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently Medford does not have a tiered approach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Moving.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the second section covers substitute need and availability.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and you can go to the, so the chart that is displayed on here correlates the total number of teacher absences to the total number filled by a substitute for school year 23, excuse me, 22-23, which is highlighted in the gray bars, and then currently for school year 23-24.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's important to note a few things here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First, absences reflect a variety of reasons, ranging from sick days, personal days, jury duty, bereavement, religious observances, professional development or conference needs, and then various forms of a leave of absence, which could be family medical leave act, maternity,

[Suzanne Galusi]: workman's compensation, et cetera.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is the third column, which for each school year is just a data point to acknowledge that there are leaves of absence.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And each leave of absence ranges drastically in the amount of days that a teacher may be out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that data point is going to fluctuate drastically.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You will also notice that the amount of, this data is just for teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it does not include any other staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the number of total teachers is listed underneath the school name.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are two asterisks at the bottom of this chart that I think are important to note.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And one is that there are 17 teachers who have like a district wide status.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so they're not reflected in this chart.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and that the total number of teachers active also fluctuates due to various needs for leave of absence.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently, there are 495 employed teachers, but 489 are currently active as of right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In looking at, you can see that there are trends.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The total absences by building for last year,

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the most part, absences have drastically fell for this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In some schools, maybe not all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So hopefully we're seeing that kind of, as we move closer away from the pandemic will start to see these numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: improve a bit, but last year if we averaged out the daily need for a sub, it was 55 subs district-wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That includes all reasons for absences.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then this year our average daily need for substitutes is about 32 people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm sure there'll be questions, but I don't know if you want me to pause or continue going.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, I'm gonna continue going.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the third section in this report covers the substitute pool and the current coverage structure for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So our active pool of substitutes for school year 22-23 consisted of 38 substitutes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Three of those were assigned as long-term subs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: While this year, our current active pool is 46 substitutes, and six of those have been assigned as long-term substitutes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have been increasing the pool of substitutes from year to year, but it still cannot meet the current demand.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Most of our substitute pool comprises of college students, current Medford Public Schools, caregivers, and retired professionals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The availability of substitutes, because of that compromise of pool, does fluctuate throughout the school year, especially around college students and their availability in the months of January, May, and June.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is important to note at the end of each school year, substitutes are classified as inactive until they complete the yearly CORI, which is like the background check, and then they're activated again within our system and able to continue working.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing, if you mind going to the next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is just a current structure of some internal coverage that we try to employ within the Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first, there are instructional support staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Honestly, aka, these are the building substitutes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we have

[Suzanne Galusi]: through ESSER, but we have one budgeted position at each school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, not each school has been able to fill the need of one dedicated position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently, the Curtis Tufts, the McGlynn Elementary School, the Brooks, and the Andrews has a dedicated, what we call ISS, or building sub.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Roberts, the Missituk, and the McGlynn Middle have not been able to fill this position to date.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other position that we have are academic support leads.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These are new positions to Medford High School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So with the shift in leadership, Principal Cabral created two dedicated positions this year to help alleviate daily absent coverages.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And their title is the academic support lead.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the third layer is a student supervisory assistant or SSA.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These were created during the pandemic to help alleviate some of the coverage needs around lunch supervision or just daily coverage needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These positions are unique because they work no more than about 18 hours a week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently, right now, we have an SSA position at the Missituk, the Brooks, and the Roberts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is important to note that some of our SSAs were hired as paraprofessionals in the past couple of years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also think before going on to the fourth section, it's very important to note that the structural nature of the secondary school level lends itself to covering teacher absences in a way that's just not possible at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For example, at both the middle school and the high school level, there are designated study halls or teachers that can be assigned based on their schedules or open blocks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: while at the elementary level that's not possible.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so principals are unfortunately forced to make difficult decisions to cover the class with in-school resources.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And those in-school resources can range from the ISS or building sub, but it could also include specialist teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: like Art, Music, PE, Computer, Library, Nexus, and it also can include reading and EL teachers, as well as school leaders themselves.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And those coverages can range between blocks of time to the entire day worth of coverage.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, we may go to the next.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the fourth section covers the budget impact of everything I just presented here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So on this next table,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This next table details the teacher coverage and loss of prep as a result of, especially at the elementary level, but especially due to lack of substitutes and the need for teacher coverages.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you will see that last year, in total, we spent $448,960 just in teacher coverages and loss of prep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The anomaly, as noted in the comments section for March of 2023, includes a few things.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One,

[Suzanne Galusi]: It includes, so when the contract was ratified, there was the retro pay of per hour rate for teachers increased.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that resulted in about $34,730 that were paid to teachers on March 2nd per the contract to account for that retro need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Last year, there were also a great deal of coverage needs at Medford High School and the Andrews Middle School, which resulted in the total cost there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can see currently for this school year, all of the data from all the graphs compiled for this report go up into March 31st.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we do not have clearly, but data for April, May or June.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So to date, our current total of teacher coverage and loss of prep is $34,408.89.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: breaks down the total impact.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you can see the graph, excuse me, the column in the middle has our anticipated budget, which was what we allocated in the operating budget to cover substitute needs as well as teacher loss of prep and teacher coverage.

[Suzanne Galusi]: versus what we're actually spending.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's important to note here, as you noticed for last year's spend, which was fiscal year 2023, we ended that year with a total of $878,327.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That number includes

[Suzanne Galusi]: the $448,000 and change from the previous slide because this spending includes all three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It includes what we pay for substitutes, what we pay for teacher coverage, and what we pay for loss of prep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if we were to subtract the $878,324,000,

[Suzanne Galusi]: by the 448 and change, you'd get the total cost we spent on substitutes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the final section.

[Suzanne Galusi]: is our recommendations and next steps to address the findings of this report and how to effectively address substitute supply and demand.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so, final slide, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of the things that we've been talking about internally are adjustments to the current substitute teacher compensation structure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're discussing it and we're vetting out the implementation for fiscal year 25.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This includes, but is not limited to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: increasing the pay scale for substitute teachers and for the instructional support staff position, considering the establishment of a tiered pay scale system similar to what we saw for Malden, which includes consideration of a substitute's experience, licensure, and level of education,

[Suzanne Galusi]: as well as looking into the feasibility of using an educational staffing company to build a greater pool of substitutes and also to help arrange and organize daily coverage needs, which is being used in some districts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that vetting process of the educational staffing company has been ongoing all year, but these are some of the ways that we're looking to remediate and mitigate the current situation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at this time, if you have any questions, please let me know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, and I can get that to you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't have it at my disposal right now, but I know most of the principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the tricky part would maybe be data from last year, where there was a turnover at one building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I know principals have been keeping that data, so I can get that for you, definitely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So teacher coverage is that

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, it's okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teacher coverage, you mostly see at the secondary level, but it's when teachers, you know, outside of contractual obligations are covering or they're picking up a coverage due to an absence or a long-term absence.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we have to pay for that coverage.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Does that make sense?

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're taking on the teaching duties or the coverage of the class for the absent teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in the previous contract, it was $30 an hour.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in the new contract, it's now $40 an hour.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if you're speaking about what was owed to them retroactively, we had to go back to when the dates reflected in the contract and add $10 to all of the teachers who either provided coverage or lost their prep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think probably, honestly, I want to have that conversation with the superintendent and Gerry McCue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but I know I've been having ongoing, we have been engaging in ongoing conversations all year with Mr. McHugh around this and both Mr. McHugh and I have had meetings with the company to see what we could do, but I can get that definite answer from you once I speak to Mr. McHugh.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mr. McHugh has already spoken about, and one of the slides clearly showed that we're under, the budget for this need, it does not reflect, they're not balanced.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the only thing I wanna check with him is if it's part of the April 23rd meeting, or if it's part of the May 8th meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's what I'll clarify with him.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we're, I mean, I don't want to quote an amount, but we're definitely recommending an increase in the rate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, we have started that conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And to date, there is not a timeline.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only thing that they're clear about is that they can't build a pool overnight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so they spoke a lot about the recruitment strategies that they would utilize to increase our existing substitute pool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so they're just careful to say whenever they, let's say potentially we were to utilize them, whenever we engage in that partnership, it will take,

[Suzanne Galusi]: you know, to their end, couple weeks, couple months to build an adequate sub pool for the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, no, some of that is part of the conversation, but I mean, they will use our existing rates that we have set.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, they were clear that they'd like to see an increase in those rates, but they will use the current rates that are already set.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then they take on for a temporary time, kind of full ownership of the staff, which means they'll do like the training and the onboarding, they'll do the organizing of staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They'll deal with that for the first couple months of employment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there is, they take a percentage of

[Suzanne Galusi]: the fee, the pay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I will be honest.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, I did not go and do a deep dive into pre-pandemic numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I could do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, I do think that the absences and the need for absences has definitely been decreasing as we're kind of going

[Suzanne Galusi]: month by month, year by year out of the COVID pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think, but also the need for leaves of absence fluctuates so much, which you can also see in that chart.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's a definite factor in terms of some of them might've been entire years of a leave of absence, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, and some of them may have been short-term.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can get some more data for you if you would like a comparison to pre-pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think there may be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I think there may be a lot of reasons at play.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would be curious to kind of watch the trajectory from year to year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, for during the day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would have to get back to you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think some attend staff meetings and training sessions, while not all do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But common planning time during the day with teams, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good to know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that's, especially at the elementary level,

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the elementary level, it's at the expense of.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think we do have to look at the amount of money that we are spending on coverages and loss of PrEP.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It may be difficult at the beginning, but we're talking salaries or increases in that substitute pay, because especially at the elementary level, they get one PrEP a day and it's not guaranteed because

[Suzanne Galusi]: if the art teacher is out, if the music teacher is out, they lose their one and only planning period for the day, as well as, as I mentioned, support staff being pulled.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then that means we're affecting students and their services, and that's not equitable, and that's not okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we do have to do something to increase that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: because right now we also don't have an active sub-pool that meets the daily demand.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now, we currently don't have a position that I would say, don't quote me on this title, but I would just say like attendance coordinator.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Let's just say we don't have someone right now that works on recruitment and that actually organizes daily coverage needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the way it works right now is we have an online portal called Frontline, and teachers, when they need to be absent,

[Suzanne Galusi]: they go in digitally and they record their absence in that system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our current pool of substitutes are also connected within this system and they can go in, they log in, they can see all of the coverages that are needed within the district and they select the ones that they want to take as work for the following day or that morning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But there isn't someone that's maybe actively making phone calls.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and trying to connect substitutes to the coverages that are needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're just relying on the online portal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we'll come back to you with what finance and the superintendent is recommending.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to welcome Dr. Bernadette Riccadeli and Paul DeLava.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're going to do the bulk of the presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do have, I believe, joining us Faiza Khan, Director of Math, if at the end there are any questions for the Director of Math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Nicole Chiesa, Director of Humanities, will be joining us shortly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And unfortunately, Rocco Sieri, the Director of Science, I believe this is his soccer banquet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think he has his banquet this evening for the soccer team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So he will not be here in attendance.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we want to thank you very much for your time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'm going to pass this to Bernadette Riccobelli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to reiterate one thing that Dr. Riccadeli said beautifully, by the way.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Mr. DeLaver is going to cover the reports again, but I just think it's very crucial that the importance of MAP

[Suzanne Galusi]: data is to inform instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is very difficult, it's clunky to do this district-wide view because you're not going to really be able to do that dive that maybe you're talking about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The importance of map data for us as educators, both administrators and teachers, is to have that information to inform instruction, to help

[Suzanne Galusi]: which I don't wanna, Mr. DeLay was gonna talk about how we're using all of this data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I don't know if maybe we wanna like, I don't know, maybe press pause and then come back to it because the other pieces with the emergence of the early literacy screening tools, we've also brought in DIBLS, which as I informed the community and parents, K and one are using that explicitly for early literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: screening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're not starting MAP until grade two, which is more appropriate when we're really looking at how they're applying those skills and when the comprehension comes in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know we may not have answered your question wholly, but maybe if we could like keep going and then we can get to the nitty gritty.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, trying to see where I want to begin with this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You are correct in, we've been having a lot of these conversations internally as well, because we want to make sure that we have the appropriate data to inform our instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of this

[Suzanne Galusi]: part of this as we go along with the iteration of it all, there's the reason that I just spoke about why we are no longer using it for reading for K and one, because dibbles is giving us, and some of the other things that we're doing with the QPS and additional screeners, that's giving us the information that we need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So K and not K, but grade one is, is we're using it for math because it's an important data point.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're also having conversations and, um,

[Suzanne Galusi]: maybe Nicole can speak to it as well, around the validity for 10th grade because of MCAS and how much we are using the data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are having a lot of those internal conversations to make sure that we are using the data appropriately to inform our instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the piece of it is,

[Suzanne Galusi]: We can, just to go back to the way it's scored, it's all of the norm measures that Dr., and please correct me, that Dr. Riccadeli spoke about, but it also targets the exact time in which the students take it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So nationally, we're not going to be, our students are gonna be scored against other students that took it within that timeframe.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So sometimes with the way our cohorts go,

[Suzanne Galusi]: there are different blocks of time in which we can use the data based on when the assessments were taken.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think the other piece that we're kind of growing with this program and with the data is also we don't want to over test students, but we want valid data that we can use to inform our instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And last year there was a little blip because

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, this balance of not over-assessing, but some of the EL students did not take, map all three terms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that makes it difficult for us to then use that data and say that the data from last year is going to be exactly accurate when we're looking at the growth of students because it wasn't the same participants in each data set.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year, we are going to have all students participate,

[Suzanne Galusi]: in that so that we are going to have clear, clean data to be able to use.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you look, I also just because your question I think was specifically to the map data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this is my favorite report as well, because it's also interactive.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you can see that the way they've categorized math

[Suzanne Galusi]: The student is scoring in the yellow.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can see that reading is a strength and science is a strength.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But because the yellow was highlighted, there are a couple pieces here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if you look at the top on the yellow, it's going to give the teachers the possible writ span of where this student should land.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know it's super small print, I'm sorry, but it says between 184 and 190.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you're right, that average score, RIT score for this student is 187.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But if you then look in the middle column, as Mr. DeLava was talking about, but these instructional areas, those are the ones that also give the specifics to, so like 175 for number and operations, that's lower than the RIT should be, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this student is fine

[Suzanne Galusi]: Measurement and data is a strength.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, operations and algebraic thinking is a strength.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Measurement and data and geometry, the student is where they need to be because they're within the, or really close to the RIT score.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But because number and operations is a suggested area of focus, as Mr. DeLava said, if teachers click on this, it does bring up all the standards, all the strands.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It will give teachers where to start in terms of an instructional area of focus.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's a lot on teachers, like teachers are rock stars, because what they have to do is meet their students' needs, and this is where the tier two piece comes in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Mr. DeLava spoke about the wind block at the middle school level and at the elementary level, but if we're looking at math, a lot of that tier two time, there are multiple ways that the tier two time comes in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You heard Principal Kaye talk about ST Math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and we're trying to encourage that that is done for 10 minutes a day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's an additional piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's normed the way Lexia Core 5 is, and it's all, it's language-free.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's all conceptual mathematical problems.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's going to meet the students where they are, and it's gonna push them where they need to be, or kind of adapt to where their areas of strength and challenge need to be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In addition to that,

[Suzanne Galusi]: most math blocks are structured in a way at the elementary level so that the lesson is given and then there's a small group time component, which some may refer to as centers, some may refer to it as small group instruction, but the students, you know, if we look at even the scores or whatever, the students that are in that blue and in that green

[Suzanne Galusi]: They can be more independent during that time, but the teacher may have a small group of students that are gonna need that, like, sheltered scaffold to be able to work on their areas of focus.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Does that help?

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only thing I was going to clarify about the reports is that they're all aligned by the skill or the standard.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So how teachers or what reports teachers are using is going to be based on what they're looking for for their instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the student profile report is going to give that individual breakdown so that teachers can see, okay, because math units, math lessons, math modules,

[Suzanne Galusi]: they're focused on specific skills and standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When those, and a lot of them are cyclical, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students, sometimes the intent of the lesson is just for exposure, and sometimes it's mastery.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But having the individual in the student profile sample of where that student's strengths are, the teacher is going to be more informed when that topic comes up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to then be able to, when you look at this one, you can do this by the skill, by that target.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So then when that lesson comes up, teachers can then take that skill and say, where did the students fall within that range?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because this is where I am, and this is where I wanna target my instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's just a different, it's different utility for each report.

[Suzanne Galusi]: May I?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Huge.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that's something that's going to be growing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because I think even from where we started with MAP, to where we are now, to where we need to be,

[Suzanne Galusi]: you know, I'm going to just review in a little bit about the instructional, and I don't know where we are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I guess we can skip around.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to acknowledge, because I think that the input and feedback is not only much appreciated, but we also agree.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's so part of the work that Paul's now working on is digging into a lot of this data at a much more deeper level so that he will be able to provide the trends and the pieces that you're talking about to school leaders and to department leaders so that they can then have those conversations with the leaders who are doing

[Suzanne Galusi]: also the continuous work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Paul is meeting with teachers in common planning time and team meetings and staff meetings to go over that, but it's the whole entire district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the principals and the department directors are doing that work on a consistent basis.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So making sure that we're providing them that drilled down data is something that's happening right now because we agree.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we did see those trends, which is why we've shared those trends, because it is something that is on our radar that we are working towards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And part of that work is going to be the cross-reference of students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Once we have that drilled down data of the supports that are currently in place, the superintendent mentioned about the SST meetings that have maybe already been happened.

[Suzanne Galusi]: the support plans that may have already been created or the ones that need to be updated and created to make sure that we are meeting the students' needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do appreciate your input and we'll make sure that we include all of that feedback in the next presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, there we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the School Committee and Superintendent Edouard-Vincent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tonight I'm joined by quite a team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have Joan Bowen, Director of Student Services, Dr. Bernadette Riccidelli,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Director of Professional Learning and Student Assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Paul DeLeva, Executive Director of Data and Reporting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Nicole Chiesa, Director of Humanities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Faiza Khan, Director of Mathematics.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Rocco Sieri, Director of Science.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we are going to present the 2023 Accountability and MCAS results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tonight, the team will take you through a detailed presentation of the district's MCAS scores,

[Suzanne Galusi]: highlights, areas of growth, and any challenges that we faced.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is our goal this evening to provide you with information on the accountability, MCAS scoring, performance growth, and our instructional priorities for this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At this time, I'm going to pass it to Dr. Riccadeli and Paul DeLeva.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so I know we'll end if anyone has any questions, but I just wanted to review last month when we came and we discussed the instructional priorities for the district this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of that came from the work that we had from the comprehensive review through the Department of Education last year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And our instructional priorities are the pathway for us to improve as a district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so those instructional priorities, if you could just go to the next slide, please, Dr. Cushing, were discussed with this body last month, but they're very applicable to our path forward to continue increasing our MCAS results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just as a very brief recap, this school year we are

[Suzanne Galusi]: focusing on high quality instructional professional development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are again, Dr. Edouard Vincent spoke about this in her goals, but we are going to be looking at data informed decision making with staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to be focusing again on our literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're using two, we are partnering with two outfits, Hill for Literacy and Mantra to be working on student centered data analysis and planning with

[Suzanne Galusi]: our staff that will be done through common planning time at the elementary level, as well at, well, all levels, as well as instructional leadership teams that will be created district-wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Principals are in the process of organizing those and having staff attend so that we're looking at the data that we are analyzing to make these improvements and learning walks will be

[Suzanne Galusi]: beginning, as Dr. Edouard-Vincent also commented on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At this time, if you have any questions, the team is here and we can come up collectively or one at a time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's a lot to unpack there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think a couple things.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So one, it's difficult to look at scores that are less than 50% and feel encouraged by them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I hear that and understand completely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think this is when you do have to look at the entire state is at that same spot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So COVID did a dramatic halting disservice to our students that is going to take a very long time to get back to where we were originally.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's not just meant for public schools, but that is not minimizing that we have work to do because we have work to do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of what you're talking about, and I apologize if I wasn't as clear, but part of that dive is what needs to be happening at the grade level in common planning time, in instructional leadership time, with principals, with department heads, and with staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that deep dive is looking at the MCAS results by standard, by area, to see where our students had the most difficulties,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Where in our curriculum are those standards present?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Do we need to move things around?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Do we have to focus a little bit more on the specific standards that are causing some of our students, depending on the grade level, with more increased challenges than what we're seeing across the state?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know I'm, does that, yeah, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just trying to remember the rest of the question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, I was just going to say that I don't think that's... I just want to clarify that's not our intention.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think by these slides, you can see that's not our intention because

[Suzanne Galusi]: Data doesn't lie.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we know that we have work to do, but we're also trying to be, Medford has always prioritized the whole child and educating the whole child.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And yes, MCAS is important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, it is a graduation requirement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, it is one summative test that is just one piece of data for teachers to use.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I'm not, we're not trying to mask anything, but I just want,

[Suzanne Galusi]: as evidenced by the slides, but I think Medford has increasingly become the tale of two cities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we now know, and I've said this before, out of the four elementary schools, two qualify for Title I and two do not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are two schools that need a lot more support than at the elementary level, than the other two schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So demographics,

[Suzanne Galusi]: whether that's the ugly truth, but demographics do play a role in some of this data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In comparison, when we overlay these results, they do line up a little bit with the DESI comprehensive report that we had last year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we do feel 100% that part of the path forward to focusing on the subgroups,

[Suzanne Galusi]: and to making sure that students are all getting quality instruction is really to ground teachers in the data that they should be looking at to improve instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's tier one instruction, that's tier two instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the work that we're doing this year with really having school leaders and instructional leaders that are here tonight, working with staff on instructional data that are tied to the standards with more work for students, more cognitive push for students and less teacher talk, that we really firmly believe that that is the path to increase these scores.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's why the shift with the elementary schedule, the half day PDs that are happening now district wide, there's one this Wednesday,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the professional development day on November 7th, and the common planning time and the instructional leadership teams that happened during the school day, all of that time is devoted to this work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And E.L.?

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a little bit of both, depending on the time, because there are time constraints in terms of the schedule at the elementary level, because the buildings are a responsive classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that the first block of the day is when all staff are available to have those meetings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's an and in both.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The morning block is used and then the grade level teams are meeting during their grade level time and not all special education or EL or reading can attend at those times because they're servicing students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We can do that easily.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that clarifies the difference between the class and general activity opportunities throughout the school day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So- Could we, I don't know where this is ending or how this is going, but I would like to just talk about the wording in number three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: because I find the use of prohibit quite strong.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there are situations in which if a student is exhibiting unsafe behavior or if a student has, I think there are situations in which physical, I don't like the word prohibit and I don't like the word punishment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think there are times that logical consequences do involve

[Suzanne Galusi]: that students are not participating in a physical activity because that is the manner in which they have been physical.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I know we don't have many principals on this call, but I think that I'd like to have a discussion about the language that's used to describe number three and maybe what the goal and intent of number three is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what if the recess is happening?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What if the behavior is happening at recess?

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I'm talking about in the moment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So unsafe behavior cannot continue where it may impact other students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are, I just don't want to have,

[Suzanne Galusi]: agree with you, because I completely agree with the logical consequence piece, and you need that processing with students, but in the moment, if you have to keep that child and others safe, then there are going to be moments when that is the logical consequence, because it's happening within the moment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't want to complicate things, but I think there was one that we did eliminate that referenced, like clubs, because I think there's also a lot of

[Suzanne Galusi]: after school clubs that also encourage physical activity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know several schools have girls on the run.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm sure Mr. Tucci could speak to some other beyond just the athletics program, just after school clubs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It doesn't.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think my concern is with the word waiver, because that's a school policy, like a school-based, school-level policy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I respectfully don't really think it belongs here because I also feel like this is specific to physical education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But there are situations in which this could apply to another UA class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just feel like we're going to be going down a rabbit hole or creating like a Pandora's box.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think there are several situations and more than just physical education, there are different classes, there are different environments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Every student needs are taken into account.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think those situations are usually handled with the staff where it's needed, whether that's

[Suzanne Galusi]: medical in its Avery Hines department, whether it's Joan Bowen, Stacey Shulman's department, principals are involved.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just worry that this is a little, I worry with this one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't think it's appropriate for this policy because I think it's not specific to just physical education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we really have expectations around being a physical education that, I mean, the- Well, member McLaughlin had said a little while ago something about it's the expectation that all students attend physical education, you know, except with exception or something along those lines.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just think that this is the language that is being discussed here is very specific.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think is going to, these situations can span outside of physical education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think if just to keep it simple, which the expectation of Medford Public Schools is that all students participate in physical education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it just should be what our expectations are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And our expectations are that every student K to 12 participates in physical education classes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: See, this is where I think where we need Rachel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as Dr. Cushing mentioned, tonight we are going to present to you on student-centered systems.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm going,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen and I are going to discuss curriculum and instruction, assessment, and student services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For curriculum instruction, the three aspects that AIR looked at was our curriculum selection and use, classroom instruction, in which they did conduct several observations, and student access to coursework.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in the report,

[Suzanne Galusi]: They provide some narrative.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They also give the strengths of the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then they give us recommendations for what they would like to see our work moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So strengths in the area of curriculum and instruction for Medford Public Schools was that our district has a strong capacity to support instructional alignment across all schools through K to 12 curriculum directors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that teachers participate in curriculum selection processes and provide regular feedback throughout implementation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as you know, as evidenced by the elementary process, we do have a lot of stakeholder input throughout the entire process, and that is K to 12, and so that was recognized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's a clear alignment between the curriculum selection process and the district strategic plan, including an emphasis on

[Suzanne Galusi]: diversity, equity, and inclusion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The instructional academic team, which is the IAT team, which is at the high school, that was a commendation that the structure brings together the school staff with the curriculum directors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that the district has increased consistency of access to rigorous grade level curriculum and instruction at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are, I will cover the recommendations in a moment, which we will discuss kind of our path forward with all of the recommendations at the end of the slide deck.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do think it's important to note that in terms of curriculum instruction and curriculum selection, the making sure that students have access to high quality materials, high quality instruction,

[Suzanne Galusi]: is very evident at the elementary level and it's something that we will look towards at the high school level because of the vetting process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the recommendations that within the area of curriculum instruction that the Department of Education suggests we look at is that the district should examine its support for English learners and students with disabilities across the district and ensure services are provided equitably to all learners.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and that the district should review the efficacy of its policy changes around improving access to advanced coursework, and based on the results of this review, make further adjustments to address gaps in access.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Both of those are very loaded, but we're going to cover both of them at the end of the slide deck, along with some narrative components.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't want to make it seem like we're glossing over any of the recommendations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next is assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when they came out in terms of assessing us on our assessment within the district, they looked at data and assessment systems that are currently utilized within Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They looked at how we're using that data, and then they looked at how we're sharing the results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So strengths for Medford Public Schools are that we have a strong capacity to support instructional alignment

[Suzanne Galusi]: across K to 12 with the positions of the curriculum directors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers participate in curricular selection processes and provide regular feedback throughout the implementation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's a clear alignment between the curriculum selection process and the district's strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that the district has increased consistency of access to rigorous grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, excuse me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm so sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Content, hold on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Let me, hold on one second.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Let me just double check that that's accurate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So my apologies, I will correct that, that's not accurate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Strengths for us in terms of assessment are that the district collects multiple sources of data to provide a comprehensive picture of student, school, and district performance.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and that our formative assessment practices align across grade and subject areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The recommendations are the same, which is that we need to incorporate all student service providers, such as ESL specialists and interventionists in data team meetings, so that all staff working with a student can reflect on student data and align on strategy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and that the district should set norms and clear expectations for schools around the frequency and quality of communications to families and student progress.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So definitely one of the threads in this report for both buckets, but especially the student centered buckets was on consistency so that some districts are doing a great job, excuse me, some schools are doing a better job of communicating

[Suzanne Galusi]: than others, and so a lot of the feedback was around making sure that there is alignment district-wide around communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do apologize for not having the accurate piece in this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm gonna fix that right now as Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen speaks about the students' systems and re-share the slide deck.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Before we advance to the next slide, I just wanted to add that

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of the feedback we received about the opportunities for advanced coursework, I think were centered around the vocational schedule, which is just to highlight, which is why this year, as you know, and it's already been stated, we're having the scheduling consultant come to finally create a schedule for Medford High School that is going to bridge both parts of the school into one aligned schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because right now there's just a lot of

[Suzanne Galusi]: one-to-one handling of student schedules to ensure that just because they're enrolled in vocational programming, that they still have an opportunity to take a world language, which we've explained to this body in how we've created the online opportunities for them, which is not AP, but it's also honors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the dual enrollment with Bunker Hill has created some opportunities for vocational students to take AP courses in the summer or on their own time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to maintain both.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's something we're gonna continue to review.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so further updates for recommendations include the ILTs district-wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there was a reference in there as the IAT being a strength at Medford High School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep, the instructional academic team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I want to just highlight the difference between the instructional academic team and the instructional leadership team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the instructional academic team, which they called a strength, just included administrators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it was a meeting with the principal, assistant principals, and curriculum directors, or department directors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the instructional leadership team, which all schools, K through 12 this year, are creating instructional leadership teams, which will also include teachers on the team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: so that we're having conversations around the data, the instruction, and how we're adjusting our instruction based on the data that we're receiving.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Both data that is given to us in the form of assessments, in the form of observations, in the form of conversations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But aligning our instruction based on data is something that is going to be expanding this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's not just going to be at the high school level,

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's also going to be at the middle schools and the elementaries.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The communication for families is always something.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There was a suggestion, part of the recommendations in there was actually the hiring of Thomas Dalton, our communications director, which we have done and we're so happy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He has already been working with all school leaders and curriculum protocols have already, excuse me, communication protocols have already been created from Thomas with the school leaders so that everyone is on the same page around consistent and regular communication cycles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when that will be happening, as well as how often we're updating the website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think Medford Public Schools has done a good job.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's been inconsistent for sure, but a good job communicating with families around MCAS and NWEA assessment data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we are continuing to improve and Thomas is helping us do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Diversity, equity and inclusion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is the year that there's Medford Public Schools strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: will run its course.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of our work this year is that we're going to have to be updating the strategic plan because it only runs through this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That work will be coming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Last year, we embedded a lot of professional development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We heard from teachers, the superintendent has been very clear about how she wants to see professional development around the EIB.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so last year, through the use of teacher surveys, a lot of teachers expressed that they wanted the professional development to be more school-based and not just district-wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They wanted to have meaningful conversations with their working colleagues at their schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So a lot of what we did last year was embedded PD series.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we as the central team and with

[Suzanne Galusi]: the curriculum directors, we created content for the principals to give with their staff, and they were able to have more meaningful engagement around this topic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's going to continue through this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And also too, we've had a very strong and close partnership with Frances Nwaje, who's the director here of DEI.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if she has more to her title now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Nope.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have appreciated her partnership.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then one of the things that we're going to talk about on the next slide, but I just wanna bring up here is that we had the wonderful opportunity this past summer

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Department of Education hosted its first Instructional Leadership Institute, and it was held at Tufts University, and we were able to bring a team to this institute with, I don't know, 20, 30, 35 other districts, and a lot of the work was around

[Suzanne Galusi]: equity centered educational opportunities for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it was a long inch around ensuring that we're creating environments, learning environments for students that have high expectations, grade level content, high quality materials, and that we're creating a sense of belonging for our students so that they feel that they are engaged in their own learning and they feel safe in their environment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So one of the things that really spoke to us

[Suzanne Galusi]: is this image right here that I think you will be seeing a lot for Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It shows the intersection of how we create belonging for our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we know that diversity is a fact, equity is a choice, inclusion is an action, and belonging is the outcome.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this graphic was shared in a different format at this institute, but something that we are centering our work in this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So taking all of that, our instructional priorities are hyperlinked in this slide deck, which I just shared with everyone so that you have the updated slide deck.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But our instructional priorities are to create these environments for our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so what that looks like in a nutshell is we are going to be ensuring high quality instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to take the superintendent's five core actions and dig deeper.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And what does that look like to make sure that students have evidence-based responses, they are productively struggling in their environment, they are using and able, we are hearing their voice, they're able to use their voice

[Suzanne Galusi]: The academic discourse within the classroom is grade appropriate, the vocabulary is applicable, and that we are creating access for all students and we are providing teachers and teachers are providing students with meaningful feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to be making sure and starting to review that all of our materials are high quality.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and grade appropriate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And one of the pieces of feedback that we got from the AIR report was that we do have to increase student voice in classrooms, less teacher voice, more student voice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so one of the professional development opportunities that we've already started with the administration and they've already started with their staff in their buildings is pushing students to own their thinking and putting

[Suzanne Galusi]: taking the cognitive lift off of themselves and putting it on the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that has already taken place in the first professional development staff meeting for teachers and something that we're going to be working on throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other piece is around the data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have great systems in place, but our recommendations are now what?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what are we doing with them?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this year we're going to have two consultants also come and work with us and the new position of our data manager so that we are using common planning time, ILTs, we are using this frequent opportunity to talk about student data, what we're learning about our students from that data and how we can shift our instruction to meet their needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this data informed instruction is something that we're going to be working on all year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are bringing in two consultants to help us with that so that principals and directors will be coached through this process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we will be continuing, but enhancing our learning walks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So learning walks within the district were done

[Suzanne Galusi]: kind of pocketed, honestly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Paul Teixeira, who's on the call, could speak.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He, with Nick Tucci and Faiza Khan, had regular, productive, and successful learning walks with staff, because that always included a debrief at the end.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we want to make sure that we are, with all of these priorities,

[Suzanne Galusi]: in classrooms and having conversations with teachers to provide the feedback and be support for this work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's pretty much it in a nutshell.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The last slide is just a quote from the superintendent that talked about the instructional

[Suzanne Galusi]: vision and mission for the district this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We as United District are committed to follow core values, ensuring that every student has access to high quality learning opportunities and instructional materials, deep and lasting engagement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Faculty and staff will challenge and help them grow.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We will not be able to fulfill these and other core values without the help and support of every Mustang staff member, no matter where you serve.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Could I just clarify one thing before you do?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would just say, I hear you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those three reports that you mentioned are distinctly different.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I am sure that there is some overlap.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I could see that for sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the focus of those three reports had an entirely separate

[Suzanne Galusi]: agenda with with goals as a result.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we will get to where you're speaking of having all of it overlay when we work on updating the strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because I think that's when we collectively can talk about the goals for the district and the vision for the next three, five years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, we're going to write the strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is happening in a lot of the schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Was it happening at the level it needed to at some of the schools?

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no, it wasn't.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's what the report has stated, but it is able to get done.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Time will always be something that's mentioned as a constraint or a restriction, but there are ways in which

[Suzanne Galusi]: to work collaboratively with staff at each building and then ultimately district wide to move the work of the district and do what's best for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'm really energized and very positive and optimistic about where this district is going with the people we have on board.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we were just presenting on half of the findings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to just introduce the team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're all here to present on the map assessment reports for this current school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And to get us started, I'm going to introduce Dr. Bernadette Riccidelli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're going to just shift a little bit to talk about data and what we're doing with it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And you've seen this image before.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's been in our slide deck when we've presented to this body about the NWEA map assessment results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do want to just pause for a second just to kind of, yes, we punctuate that this is one data set because it is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And part of triangulating data is taking

[Suzanne Galusi]: all the pieces of data that we have at our fingertips.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I also wanted to say that the essence of the MAP assessment is information for the teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's information for the teachers that are going to give them the instructional level and capabilities of their students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's why when we presented in the fall and we went through all of the different reports that MAP offers for teachers to use as a means to compare to state standards and understand the standards in which the students are achieving, the standards in which the students are excelling, and the standards in which the students need a little bit more intervention.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also helps it gives resources for teachers, so that they can group their students and provide that specific tailored support that students need it's.

[Suzanne Galusi]: not necessarily the vehicle we've provided, you know, for community-wide presentations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's really meant to provide teachers with that information when they're working with students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The information we've given you this evening are the pieces of that global information in relative for

[Suzanne Galusi]: how we are as a district overall?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Are we meeting our growth?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Where are those projections and how we are in comparison to the national standards?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if we go to the next slide, we have some goals for what we're doing with our data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is a work in progress.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So right now, clearly, the wonderful and experienced crew that I have here with me, they've been working with data within their departments and map growth with the teachers in their departments extensively in their department level meetings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The work that we have to do as a district is making sure that we have set up systems and structures around data, and who's a part of those cycles, and making sure that teachers are using data to inform their instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's been happening in pockets around Medford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It hasn't been structured.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we need to create that system, and that's part of what we're going to be building here as we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this will be for K to 12.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, the, this is our kind of three year plan that we've just wanted to put a lot of the work that we have in this next year one reflects next year, 2324.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so a lot of this work is ongoing, we just need to keep continuing and finalize.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we've been working, as you know, with Rebus, a lot of the training that we've been doing, and we've been working as an administrative unit on calibrating teaching and learning across the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is going to be finalized in the summer months when we're all together in our sessions to ensure that when we're doing instructional learning walks,

[Suzanne Galusi]: And having data cycles and data conversations, we're all aligned on the calibration of teaching and learning for the city of Medford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That in continuation is also the professional development around that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're ensuring that that professional development continues for administrators and also includes educators for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the things that we are going to be looking to do next year is bring in an online platform that can calibrate and it brings all of

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our assessments on to one platform, so it will upload and cast results map results at the elementary level and the middle school level with Dr cases intervention is the devil's any.

[Suzanne Galusi]: school school wide data that we want will all be compiled on this one platform and that will be K to 12 so this way teachers will be able to manipulate right down to the standards, how those students are doing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: across the board in all of the data sets, not just one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's going to really help when we start developing data cycles with educators because they're going to have all of the information on one platform.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Building student supports around data is something that we've been doing for quite some time, but that is a continuous work in progress and by bringing in structured data cycles, we'll be able to enhance the supports that we're giving students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Another thing is to make sure so each year all educators at every level teachers and administrators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have to do smart goals, so they have to set a goal for themselves for professional learning and for student learning, and so we want to ensure that we're targeting smart goals around data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is some of the work that we're going to be doing across the board.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then with some of the, especially at the elementary level, with the math program this year, and which we'll talk about in a little bit, the new literacy program, we have to start looking at report card alignment, which also reflects some of the data and how students are doing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Year two,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Common assessment rubrics beyond midterms and finals at the secondary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I probably should have put something in there about the secondary level but the curriculum directors have worked with their departments to ensure that midterms and finals are are

[Suzanne Galusi]: calibrated across the district and that common assessment rubrics have been created.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We need to continue that work beyond midterms and finals so that the work that's being done within each course is aligned and looks similar targeted to the student, excuse me, targeted to the standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: continued work on the report cards from K to five, and then fitnessing year two and into year three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a very, very lofty job, but we do need to start working on grading alignment six through 12, which is a continuation of the common assessment rubrics, but that's a real deep dive into looking at each course syllabi and how we're constructing grades at the secondary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Moving to the next slide, this is just a, it's very broad.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is something we're still building, but this speaks to the data cycles that we will be implementing next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the elementary level, this is part of what HILFA literacy is going to help guide us in doing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're going to also ensure that we're continuing that work and implementing that work six through 12.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I've already spoken about the online data tracking portal, but what this represents is that we will be having district wide formalized data cycles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Every three to five or three excuse me three to five times a year, so the three times a year the benchmark cycles that is around.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The map growth beginning, middle and end.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That also includes dibbles data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So any type of assessment that's given three times a year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the very structured formal data cycle where we're looking at achievement and how students are doing In those meetings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I've listed who will be part of those meetings, but it is educators, it's school leaders, it's curriculum directors, it's coaches, so that everyone is analyzing and talking about the data and also making sure we're targeting student supports based on what the data is telling us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In between those three benchmark cycles, so in between the beginning of the year and the middle of the year, there's a progress monitoring cycle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And likewise, in between the middle of the year and the end of the year, there's another progress monitoring cycle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the secondary level, around report cards, they have progress reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But in each department, there is department-level data that will also be utilized to ensure that students, just to check on the targeted group of students and ensure that progress is being made.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the reading interventionists, they are using DIBLS, so the DIBLS data is progress monitored and we will have that data as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know that was a lot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I'm hoping that at this time, the appendix is for, as Dr. Riccadeli mentioned, if a community member would like, or for school committee, it's school specific data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But at this point, if you have any questions, we're more than happy to answer them and we thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think what's interesting to me is that originally that was the intent of MCAS.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which is what the S stands for.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It really was supposed to be a system and not just a test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think it's a long time coming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would be very interested in hearing the perspectives, but I can, through you to connect.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That would be great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First of all, you're 100% correct, and I want to let my team chime in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just happened to be the last one holding the microphone.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Two pieces, though, for me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One is yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that number does also reflect that there are maybe students that are already achieving above grade level standards, but they may not have met the projected growth that MAP has established for them based on there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's also the other end, because that percentage is not just

[Suzanne Galusi]: encompassing students that are not meeting the mark, if that makes sense.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that it's difficult.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We showed in the fall all the different reports that teachers have their fingertips on, because again, the point of MAP is the conversation

[Suzanne Galusi]: for teachers to have within their school leaders and with families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's that information so that they can see one of, I think one of the best reports there is the student profile report, which is interactive.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it provides them with a color coding so they can see right away if it's a red or an orange, or if it's a green or a blue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: they're able to toggle between all three subjects and they're also able to see by standard, they're able to see the skills that the students are emerging to, that they need reinforcement on or that they're ready to tackle next.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's the piece that the teachers have so that they can drill down and see exactly where the students are in terms of the standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Was there more that?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you, thank you again.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So with me this evening, I also have Dr. Nicole Chiesa and Dr. Bernadette Riccidelli, who the three of us were kind of the chairs, the facilitators of this process, the review process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Dr. Chiesa started this process last year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to have her start the presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And as a side note, ironically, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has also, in January of this past year, purchased NWEA map growth, well, excuse me, map, which I think is very interesting and part of our previous presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So upon school committee approval, educators will immediately engage in professional development opportunities, partly because we want to make sure that our educators are well prepared, and also because as we've presented to this body before, we received a grant through the Department of Education that requires us to make sure that we have purchased the program and provide the first round of professional development by June 30th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The professional development for teachers and administrators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As part of the program will include initial implementation training 48 sessions of coaching online coaching which will be utilized during common planning time, and for in person coaching days.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is what is going to be through the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also still have our partnership with Hill for Literacy next year as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that will have more extensive training that will include training of coaches, bimonthly coaching sessions, training of administration, teachers, best practices and formalized data cycles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of this initial training and professional development is we want to make sure that we have provided our teachers and families with everything that they need to fully implement this new program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At this point, if you have any questions, we would love to answer them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that sentiment, and I know, Dr keys and Dr Kelly, thank the, the, the teachers and the community members and the administrators but I mean I, I have to echo it as well because it was a significant undertaking and an extensive amount of time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for the educators and the community members, the parents and guardians, as member Hays knows, put their parents, they're working, they put in a significant amount of time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Many came up here to get their hands on the print materials.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was just, it was wonderful to be part of this process where so many people were involved, but it was significant work and we thank everyone.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hi, good afternoon.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, and so the partnership with health literacy for next year will include many levels in terms of professional development, assistance with implementation of the new curriculum, as well as coaching assistance for staff and the school leaders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, I mean, as I've mentioned before to the membership, Hill for Literacy has been able to provide a level of coaching

[Suzanne Galusi]: for now this year K through three staff, but predominantly it's been focused K to two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That will continue for next year, but in terms of what you're specifically speaking about, I don't think that's reflected right now in additional coaching positions for the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We can certainly look creatively and it's a need down the road, but right now we have the helpful literacy piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I hear that and share that feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of the grant that we just received,

[Suzanne Galusi]: which is wonderful, the high quality materials grant from the Department of Education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We received $200,000, which is the highest threshold that they gave out to municipalities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can see that on the website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of that grant also includes coaching.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that comes along with part of the purchase of the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Hill for Literacy is an approved vendor through the Department of Education, so they will be assisting us in implementing the new program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the hope and the dream.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I haven't gotten to that level yet as we're still selecting the program with Hill for Literacy, but I would guess that they're not going to be a dedicated person every single day of the week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now, the way the coaching model is with Hill for Literacy, they're at each building twice a month.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not there yet because right now we're still reviewing the programs, but that will be the next level of work after we have selected a program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Hill for literacy will, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the Hill for literacy will be in addition to

[Suzanne Galusi]: whatever program we're going with, the professional development that's associated or comes within the six-year package cost, the Hill for Literacy is in addition to the professional development that the program will provide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That will come from the vendor, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, I think I would probably have to maybe look back.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think when before school started with just each individual school running their own before school program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Fidler-Carey is saying that the price has not increased since she assumed this position,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's something that we can look into.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We just have a newly agreed upon contract through the teacher's union, typically things that are outside, you know, contractual time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the difference here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Things that are during contractual time, there's like a pay associated with that, but that's something that we can look into.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the second part of your report, I'm just going to go into a little bit more detail about the timeline that you have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as Dr. Chiesa highlighted,

[Suzanne Galusi]: might be it's like moving parts right now, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have the district level leadership team, and then we also have the school-based teams.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those two teams are gonna kind of come together as well as the parent task force in helping to select the literacy program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the parent, this, I know I've spoken about this previously, but I also just wanna highlight that we've applied for a grant throughout this process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the grant is competitive, but it's also highly, it's a really tight turnaround.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know I reported on this previously, but I just want to remind you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the grant, which we have our fingers crossed, apparently it's on the governor's desk right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're just waiting to hear back, but it has to, we have to have everything, we have to have the decision made and all materials purchased and received by the end of June.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in order to get all of this done in a timely manner and make sure that we're incorporating all stakeholders, we're going to be, at the conclusion of this meeting,

[Suzanne Galusi]: sending out survey to parents and guardians, elementary parents and guardians, that wish to be a part of this process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And from there, Dr. Chiesa, Dr. Riccadeli and I will be holding meetings, providing them resource materials to review.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of this timeline, as you have in front of you, just illustrates the meeting dates that we have, but the conclusion of this kind of vetting, deep dive research that will be done

[Suzanne Galusi]: will be a publisher's roundtable, which will involve all stakeholders that are a part of this process, where each publisher will come out and hold informational sessions, so that that is an opportunity for the Medford team to ask their questions directly to the publishers, so that, excuse me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that through this process, they're gathering their questions and then they're able to ask directly to the publisher as well as local surrounding districts that are currently using the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are some practitioners that are also part of these round table discussions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that way it gives a real complete view for the Medford team in terms of selecting the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that might cover me for right now, but I know that there'll be questions and I'll circle back to this in a minute, but I'm gonna have Dr. Riccadeli just speak about the team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that's part of Hill's process when they do this, because you learn so much from the practitioning districts that are already going through it that can explain

[Suzanne Galusi]: their personal perspective.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just a few points on that though as well is that this shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we also have been looking at neighboring districts to see what they're doing for literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm on a list serve with the other assistant superintendents.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there's a compilation of spreadsheets just to make sure the alignment in this shift to the science of reading because every district is going through this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As you know, because we've talked about this several times, we kind of got right on board right away.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Many districts are really just beginning a lot of this work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I also want to say that in terms of the Department of Education and a lot of the research that is out there, equitable literacy instruction is gained through a lot of these core programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's why Massachusetts, all of their grants

[Suzanne Galusi]: are pushing districts to the alignment of a core program, because the research and a lot of what's out there says that the core programs, whether there's always going to be people that are supportive of a core program and people that don't like core programs, but in the absence of a core program, you fracture literacy instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and you can create gaps and holes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so to make sure that all of our students are getting the literacy instruction that they need, which is equitable literacy, a core program will check all of those boxes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of this process is to determine what's best for Medford with the viewpoints of, as both Dr. Riccadeli and Dr. Chiesa mentioned,

[Suzanne Galusi]: diverse roles within the district, and then bringing in the parent voice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I understand that parents bring a different lens, which is a very important lens that we wanna make sure we capture, but the content knowledge, the skill base, and the priorities are gonna be different for teachers and parents, but we have to make sure we're capturing all of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We, we thank you for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, the part of this process, Hill for Literacy has an assessment tool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a review tool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it is a spreadsheet, which we will give to you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, when we send out for the parents that are interested, parents and guardians that are interested in participating in this process, they'll receive this as well, but it breaks down all the components of the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's, it's like a rubric with a scoring piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that will be reviewed by everyone that participated in this process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, as many of you know, from your children for the elementary years, at the elementary level, school brains is really just used for attendance and report card grading.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in terms of this particular conversation around incidents, there's nothing that's

[Suzanne Galusi]: uploaded to Schoolbrains.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Schoolbrains at the elementary level is not used for teachers to record anything other than attendance and report card grading.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't think this conversation is shifting that or opening that up, but that's the way it stands right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: it should be parent conversations with the staff that was directly involved in whatever the situation was.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that may mean the school principal or the assistant principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also may mean support staff in terms of school adjustment Councilors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it also may mean the teacher,

[Suzanne Galusi]: That absolutely should be sent home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Uh-huh, okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, if there's something, at the elementary level, it's very, it's more conversational and because of responsive classroom, any consequences should be logical and tied to whatever that learning is for the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there is something beyond what is typical for that age and grade,

[Suzanne Galusi]: and results in some sort of documentation, that parents should absolutely be receiving a copy of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They should have that conversation with the principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If the conversation needs to go beyond the principal, they can absolutely reach out to superintendent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just, I think, I understand the process for this, and I understand the need for consistency and some alignment, but I also just, I do strongly believe in the developmental piece of things, which is why we brought in responsive classroom, which is why we're really trying to have consequences be logical.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also think as students grow and mature,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I still think the first piece should be a lot of that conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But when we have an incident in where, like I said, it elevates to a point that's either repeated, and we're getting to be somewhat of like a pattern, and or it's atypical for the grade and age, then parents absolutely have to be part of that conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in terms of like documenting this in a district-wide incident form, there's something about that at the elementary level that I don't wanna see situations that should be between school and home for the betterment of the student be relegated to an incident form.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I really would like the priority to still be that conversation between school and home at really developmental ages.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a whole separate there are there are legal forms and template letters that should be completed in instances that involve any sort of removal, we have comprehensive checklist for our principles comprehend sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's valid.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's very valid.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I hear, you know, where you're coming from.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think there are definitely situations that are unfortunate, like the one you just mentioned,

[Suzanne Galusi]: that I'd hope to say are not typical, but I do think that there's definitely some work still.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, there's always work, but I do think there's some work around coming up with those aligned processes with all of the elementary school leaders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I would probably also bring in maybe some other people for that conversation, but I do think that there is definitely room to work on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and come up with some more aligned, like a, yeah?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I mean, the superintendent can speak.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know she's been having regular meetings with principals, but I think having that subgroup of just the elementary school leaders to create that process, I think would be helpful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hi, good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so

[Suzanne Galusi]: This, I have a report that was requested by the committee by committee members, Paul Rousseau, Sharon Hayes, and Jenny Graham.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in typical format to the previous report that I presented to this body, I am going to read the questions that were a part of this report and answer them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first one was NWA MAP does not include assessments for nonsense word decoding or rapid automatic naming of letters.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Both recommended in the DESE guidelines.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How are we assessing those areas?

[Suzanne Galusi]: How were we screening prior to MAP?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: MAP currently, they have just in December of this year rolled out, of course, a new part of their program that includes both of those components if districts so wish to add those on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But in lieu of that, what we've done is, and I've presented to this body before, the elementary reading department teachers,

[Suzanne Galusi]: have been trained and received ongoing professional development in DIBLS, which is Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That fully checks all of DESE's boxes for the dyslexia screening guidelines.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so what those teachers have done is they're assessing all students

[Suzanne Galusi]: K to two using the dibbles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students that do not receive reading services, the reading teachers in every respective building have taken those students and given them the dibbles portions for rapid automatic naming, as well as nonsense word decoding.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're finishing up those assessments actually as we speak.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then as we do with all data, it will be,

[Suzanne Galusi]: analyzed, I'll get to that in some subsequent answers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Prior to this, the district, when they piloted Lexia and MAP at the time, the Columbus School,

[Suzanne Galusi]: What we did was we created, because we knew that this was a gap then as well, they were created district-wide wind block benchmarks, as well as we used a RAN assessment that used color coding that students received and teachers administered that one-on-one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We made the shift now because we have trained teachers in the DIBLS system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and its best practice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So number two, what number of students have been identified as at risk for dyslexia, lacking specific foundational skills each year in grade levels K through two?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have our universal screeners, as I've spoken about before, to assess students in the district three times a year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At each cycle, data is analyzed to inform instruction and determine student needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: excuse me, to determine student supports based on the need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the level of tiered instruction is decided based on those data sets.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's consistent with the MTSS model through the Department of Education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so if students, so the tiered system, tier one whole group, when you move through the tiers, tier two is typically where you see interventions start to be administered to students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those can happen both in the general education classroom as well as outside of the general education classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just wanna be really clear that when we see that students need tier two support, it does not automatically result in them receiving

[Suzanne Galusi]: reading support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers during that wind block, that targeted intervention time, teachers are also administering tier two supports during that time as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're also administering it throughout the day, but I'm just specifically speaking to the wind block, which is when most of the reading services through the elementary reading department are happening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, question three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How many K through two students are receiving targeted intervention?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as I mentioned just a minute ago about the tier two interventions, if I just look at the elementary reading department, which I've explained before, but just for anybody at home, I'll just explain one more time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The elementary reading department is comprised of reading specialists.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those are teachers that

[Suzanne Galusi]: typically fall with what people might know as title one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So schools within the district that qualify for title one, some of those teachers may be paid out of that bucket, but we also have like remedial reading or reading specialists that quite honestly, all of them are doing the same job, just that their salaries may be paid out of different buckets.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're all together in the elementary reading department and we're all aligned because the work is the same.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If I look at just that department, because I think this report was really trying to target that, this chart here refers to the number of students for the past five years at each grade level, K to two, within each building that have received reading services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also put in here to note the number of reading teachers within the elementary reading department that are at each building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for example, the Brooks has two teachers, the McGlynn has four, the Missituk has three, the Roberts has three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's important to note that those are not, those are reflective just of the elementary reading department, not of special education or EL, which also take on some reading instruction responsibilities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In appendix B, I also did include the total number of students at each building and within each grade level, because I think it's important to note, because this is gonna come up at a different question, the number of reading staff is based on student need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so you will see that reflected in that, you know,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Population numbers are completely different for some of these buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When you're talking about the Mississippi with only 391 students and the Roberts with 552, but one of those buildings qualifies for title one, one does not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the reading staff numbers look the same, but because the population is so large at the Roberts,

[Suzanne Galusi]: they're able to service the students that they need to, and the MISITUC numbers are quite lower, so they're able to service more students, if I'm making myself clear, based on population.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we do make sure that staffing is equipped for the grade, excuse me, for the school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So question four had several different components.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first one says, what criteria is used to determine intervention for a student who is identified as at risk by the dyslexia screener?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So dyslexia screeners screen a broad area of abilities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I just wanted to take what we're now using in the Medford Public Schools, which is the DIBLS assessment platform, just to show you the areas that they're assessing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so those components are phonological awareness, the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound structure of language,

[Suzanne Galusi]: rapid automatic naming, which is the ability to quickly retrieve information from phonological memory.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Under the Massachusetts Dyslexia Guidelines, they state that rapid automatic naming refers to students' ability to rapidly name a limited set of repeatedly presented known objects or letters.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is testing the automaticity for students because

[Suzanne Galusi]: If students can't retrieve well-known objects or letters, it could flag a reading disability, mostly because what we've learned by brain, how brain interprets and learns how to read, is that orthographic mapping piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what are students putting into their memories and able to retrieve?

[Suzanne Galusi]: If that's difficulty,

[Suzanne Galusi]: that's a flag, but I do wanna put a little like footnote kind of caveat on this one particular area because in kindergarten, some students may show up as a flag because the way this works is the ran part of the assessment is by letters.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so we don't expect students to necessarily know all their letters when this portion is given.

[Suzanne Galusi]: By the end of the year, we see a difference in that data, but it's important to note that all the educators are mindful of that, not flagging.

[Suzanne Galusi]: kindergarten students at the very beginning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's where the multiple measures come in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we look at other assessment data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So alphabetic principle is another one, the ability to associate letters with sounds to read words.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then word reading, the ability to fluently and accurately read words using sound symbol correspondence and sight word recognition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So those are the pieces that the DIBLs will assess for.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those are the pieces that are flagged.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So on the Massachusetts Dyslexia Guidelines, I included the grade levels K, one, and two for what they want to see the dyslexia screeners assess for at all three times of the year, beginning of the year, middle of the year, and end of the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: DIBELS meets all of this criteria that's here in these charts for your reference.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What the elementary reading department educators have been trained in and the way that DIBELS is set up is there is a color-coded system when analyzing the data, very similar to MAP.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when I presented on the MAP data with my team, we could see those colors and where

[Suzanne Galusi]: The concern, right, is the red and the yellow.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're not concerned with blue and green, and DIBLS is the same.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when teachers are inputting the data, they can see where the flags are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so when the red colors come up, we're looking at the areas, those four areas I just referred to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Where is it that the students are having difficulty with?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because that is going to target the instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So any students that qualify for reading support, we are no longer having teachers assigned to a classroom and you're working with, it used to be like the lowest six students in that group.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are looking at data across the grade level at every school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're looking at what the data is showing us about the students that are struggling, those students that are in red that are struggling.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're looking to identify those students

[Suzanne Galusi]: and then support them where they are, which is why I take the reading staff and within that, the reading teachers are tiered within what they're providing during that wind block.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that the students that are read, they're going to be with a specific teacher because they're all needing that same content.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Another teacher might be taking the students, maybe there's two groups of red,

[Suzanne Galusi]: maybe there's another group that's working with the students that are flagged in yellow or in that one area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so students are never, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself, so this is one of the other questions, but that way students are getting what they need for supports, but they're also not just released back into a classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's a tier, like a step down approach to the reading services that they are getting and that they are receiving.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I hope that makes sense.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that way, at each data cycle, we're able to review how we're grouping students, how many days they're receiving, and what the instruction is that they're receiving.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And those teachers, when they have the students, they're doing progress monitoring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they're doing assessments within the three benchmarks that we're doing, beginning, middle, and end.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Who provides the support?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think I've referenced that in terms of elementary reading, but I've also mentioned that depending on student needs, it may come from special education department, the EL department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's important to note though that there are several EL students receiving both EL services as well as elementary reading department services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's very important to just clarify again that students all should be receiving

[Suzanne Galusi]: tiered instruction from their classroom teachers as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So any student that is going out to the elementary reading department also should be working with their classroom teacher on the same targeted needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: C, does the amount of support at each building differ?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think I covered that one, hopefully.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What is the exit criteria, which I've spoke to a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can just drill that down a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We use,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the multiple measures of data, but when we're looking at the dibbles and the map, we are making those decisions, as I just said, based on the tiered needs that the students have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm in the middle of those conversations right now with some of the schools, there is some shifting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are some students that may not require all five days because they're approaching like that next color coding.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so they're,

[Suzanne Galusi]: going to be working on the skills they need to have them ready to transition back into the general education classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of those decisions are made at the school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are conversations based on data with the reading team, the principals, and myself.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do think, I don't, there was a question here on communication, but I do wanna just say all decisions that are made about students being selected, not selected, excuse me, qualifying for reading services, that was a poor choice of words.

[Suzanne Galusi]: as well as when the data has shown that they're ready or no longer need those services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of that is communicated with families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There is a letter and purposely that letter includes all reading staff names on it because their services are fluid depending on the tier of instruction they need with the reading staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How is progress monitored of at-risk students who are not receiving interventions?

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's the expectation of Medford Public Schools that all students are receiving interventions if needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you want to drill down on that or ask me more specific questions, I would be happy to answer that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How are parents notified?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we've already highlighted about talking points.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Parents receive their child's MAP assessment data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Every time it's administered, it will go home at elementary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the first one, it's the report card conferences.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then for each one, the middle of the year, it will be sent home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then at the end of the year, it goes home with the report card on the last day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In addition to that, I just mentioned the communication if students are receiving services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if students are really struggling, there are sometimes students that, you know, they're a little slower to making progress, or you're having these level of interventions, and they're still not the level of progress you want to see.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so oftentimes, that's when the student support system should be used, and teachers will put the student through the SST.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the first steps of the SST is notifying the parent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they should be notified that there's some additional concerns that they would like to look at with their child.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that should happen first.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then they go through the team process to see if there are other interventions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: or other needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does a typical tier two intervention look like from a staffing perspective?

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's based on the specific need of each individual student.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think the piece I would just reiterate again with this, to not sound too redundant, is that some tier two interventions are done by classroom teachers in small group settings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some tier two interventions may be outside of the classroom by the elementary reading department or an EL teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it depends really on the student need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's fluid based on data cycles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in the future, can updated data regarding students identified at risk and receiving intervention and students exiting from intervention be provided at each MAP update?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, it can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can absolutely do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do wanna just caution again that MAP is one form of data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're now also using the DIBLS

[Suzanne Galusi]: data, which I'm still in conversations about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's a lot of movement to be made and not a lot of time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I'm really cognizant of the fact that we need a new elementary core literacy program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's what we're working on right now is that process so that next year there'll be a new literacy program

[Suzanne Galusi]: which will be providing elementary teachers with a much more aligned program to the science of reading and to their tier one instruction, which is crucial.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because the materials they have right now are outdated and teachers need more because students need more.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I'm really excited for that and for the professional development that is going to be crucially needed next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so, but we also have the DIBLS piece, which is why it's brought in with the elementary reading department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think for right now, that's where it's living.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're going to be having conversations about what that will look like next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because there are many districts that have their reading staff assess all the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that might make sense for us for next year because we cannot, we just can't put so much on classroom teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I also have to say that the process is important, but the conversations are equally important because sometimes the students

[Suzanne Galusi]: that may flag in one component of the test, but not in the other or may flag on map, but not on dibbles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Like those conversations are important so that we can really target what the student needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't want to, I just want to be mindful of like, we really try to have those conversations about the whole child and how to best meet their needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I hope that was helpful, but

[Suzanne Galusi]: in like more detail, please let me know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, but I also want to say that it's also looked at, if there's like one, there are multiple components to it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there's like one area that's, let's just say like indicating red,

[Suzanne Galusi]: but there's no other data to support that, then that might be an anomaly in where that student may be monitored by elementary reading staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there may be another opportunity to do progress monitoring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: before you get to the three benchmarks of middle of the year and end of the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That might be the only anomaly, but otherwise, those are the students that we're looking at first in being serviced, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's probably a process that

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think probably needs a little bit more look at, a little bit more like vetting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think right now the conversation, if the student is not already identified as needing reading services, but because of this assessment will now require reading services, there's a conversation with the teachers, with the classroom teacher and then with the reading staff that's going to pick up the child and a formal letter

[Suzanne Galusi]: is sent home, just as a form of documentation, but because the Dibbles piece is new to the district, this is the first year, so I mean, I guess it's somewhat like of a pilot year, that formalized piece is not, hasn't been set yet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, that's fine.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes and yes and yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But yes to starting the conversation with the teacher, because I really firmly believe in the chain of communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it doesn't make sense to jump

[Suzanne Galusi]: one or maybe two chairs when we have to start with the teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have been communicating via the elementary updates that I send to staff about this pedagogical shift from like balanced literacy to structured literacy to the science of reading and so

[Suzanne Galusi]: They've received that sort of expectation from me on an ongoing basis.

[Suzanne Galusi]: K to two teachers have received training and sustained professional development around that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is the expectation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Of course, I would be surprised if we didn't have a few of those anomalies,

[Suzanne Galusi]: it would sadden me just a bit, but I think start with the teacher and definitely, and if they're not, if they're not happy with the teacher's response, then I would encourage them to have a conversation with the principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They could reach out to me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In terms of leveled readers, full disclosure, I think the tricky part about that is that this is another reason why we need a new program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so,

[Suzanne Galusi]: We don't have teachers that have enough materials right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so to me, if I were a parent, my conversation would want to be around what is happening in school and how, depending on the level of the child, not every child needs a decodable.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So a decodable is the piece that

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's that practice for reading that some students need because those phonetic skills they're learning are embedded within that decodable.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the decodables aren't necessarily full of great, you know, plot and it doesn't necessarily always tell this great story because that's not the intent, right?

[Suzanne Galusi]: The intent is to practice those skills that they're learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Not every student needs that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But my question around the materials that are coming home, they have every right to ask the question of the teacher, but I also would encourage them to ask the question about what's the instruction look like in school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If their teacher references not having enough materials, I've been trying through the title monies to build up the decodable libraries of my elementary reading staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I'm hoping there would be enough

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just offering this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would hope there would maybe be some resource that people could be collaborative within buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But if there's a, if you know of through a parent or someone that there's like a dire need, then I would have them reach out to me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But it definitely speaks to the crucial need for a new literacy program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's appropriate to have a conversation with the teacher first.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if it's a matter of need and supply, then reach out to me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And with budget time coming, we should be thinking.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, miss.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm here to report on seven questions were proposed that I'm just going to read through, if that's okay with the body.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So all have to do with current reading instruction at the elementary school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first question asked if Medford Public Schools have curricula from Fountas and Pinnell utilized by their teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Previously, part of one of the assessment benchmarks

[Suzanne Galusi]: under comprehension, we had utilized part of the Fountas and Pinnell, but since my transition into this position, we've phased that out, so we do no longer use that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The second question was, does Medford Public Schools use any curricula from Lucy Calkins?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently, no, we do not.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Years back, we did have a writing program, never anything under reading instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Question three are we purchasing any reading curriculum using the three queuing system method public schools does not nor will not purchase any curriculum using the three queuing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: rules or system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Question four, how many minutes per day do our K-3 elementary teachers spend on phonics instruction with the entire class?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as I've presented several times to this body, currently in grades K through two, the phonics is spent for at least 45 minutes, somewhere from 20 to 45 minutes using ECRI, Enhanced Core Reading Instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers have

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's for K through three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next question was what percent of our K through three teachers have received training in this phonics instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as previously presented to this body.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the past three years, we have had direct partnership with Hill for Literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have been giving some professional development and training to our teachers since 2018, but for the past three years, they have been in doing sustained embedded training with all of our K-2 staff monthly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That includes observations of teachers engaged in enhanced core reading instruction, phonics instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It includes observations and feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also includes training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also have in the report for your information, all of the previous presentations to this body as well as all of the professional development that teachers have had or been exposed to that opportunity for the past four years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Question six was, have our teachers been taught that using alternatives such as three key,

[Suzanne Galusi]: 53 queuing is harmful for students teachers have been provided with, as I just said, with multiple opportunities for the professional development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In speaking of that it is ongoing, but it has been a conversation, I can also make sure that it is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: a more direct conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of what I have done in trying to keep communication aligned and consistent across the district with four different schools is I've done an elementary update, like a memo.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Last year, I sent out 18 of them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I could share those with you if you'd like, but in those memos, I am specifically talking about curriculum

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm specifically talking about instruction, I'm specifically talking about expectations, and I'm aligning our assessments that teachers are using across the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it has been messaged, but it will continue to be so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the last question was, what's our plan for ensuring that elementary school teachers current are aware of the science of reading and the use of the three queuing system that's harmful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm sure some of you, some of this may have come from this wonderful podcast that a lot of us have maybe listened to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of this messaging, so for the science of reading, that is the pedagogical shift that we've been on for years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's really difficult to sometimes explain what the science of reading is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to parents or to the community, even sometimes for teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But this is what we've been doing and been messaging for the past few years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: With the enhanced core reading instruction shift that all of K-2 teachers are doing, this year we have a lot going on in terms of literacy instruction, as I've presented before.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we are going to be looking at a new program that is part of what we're working on this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All elementary reading staff and the two middle school reading interventionists have been engaging in the science of reading course that we have offered in partnership with Hill for Literacy this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a 10-month course.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We meet every month.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Actually, tomorrow is this month's meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That will be, with everything going on this year, we started with the reading teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In the absence of instructional coaching, I really need the reading staff to be well trained and vetted and knowledgeable about this, so that the plan is next year, the science of reading course, there is a pre-K to two course, and there's also a grades three through five course.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Both of those courses will be offered for staff next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but this year we really wanted to focus on the elementary staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I hope that that answers your questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm here if you have any questions pertaining to either my responses, what was written in the report or any of the several attachments regarding our professional development plan or my presentations here to this body.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Ruseau.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It all depends on how it's formatted.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would say in response to that, in light of tonight's wonderful news, that was part of the superintendent and my goal in the Wednesday schedule, because those Wednesday half days will be for district professional development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so how we utilize that is key.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think that for now, the report, yes, the word opportunity was used carefully.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and purposefully, but it is, I'm really excited and very hopeful for this new schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think it's an alignment for families that makes sense, but I also think it's, I'm just so happy to be able to offer, well, not offer, well, I'm really happy to be able to have teachers engaged in professional development that's needed and that they have the time to do so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think it's a if for every know that the enhanced core reading instruction there could be a small written portion but what you're talking about for at the fifth grade level is slightly different.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think if we track back the three years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was a skill that was definitely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: definitely lost a little bit of that skill during the pandemic, especially it's really hard to teach writing virtually.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that is kind of a problem across the board, not just in Medford, but that is a skill that was really kind of impeded during the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think part of the process that we're gonna start going through, and I'll have more communication on this, to select a new ELA program

[Suzanne Galusi]: is going to be looking at the components of all of those programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And part of that will be looking at the writing component, just to see which program would best fit our needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think part of the core review process that all the schools are going to do, I'm working on it right now,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was kind of hoping to have the Wednesday schedule this year, so I have to do a little tweaking to how we're going to roll this out with staff but.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In essence, it's an all hands on deck kind of model that we're doing this is the model that Jesse it's the curate model that it's best practice when selecting an la program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're going to have teachers looking at every strand, every English language arts strand within each program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that way we'll be able to best see what fits Medford's needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in that is the writing program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Something sold, sold a story.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, no, no.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's all we've been doing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the science of reading is about how we're teaching students to learn to read.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Going back to phonics.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And direct explicit instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's probably better if you think of it as an umbrella.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Medford Public Schools teachers started to be exposed to this in 2018 through professional development days.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's K-5.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the brain-based instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That they started in 2018.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When I came on board in this position for the 2020-2021 school year, that was just coming back from the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we had ECRI.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is when I started to bring in health literacy regularly to be meeting with staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but because we had students learning at completely different models, we were covering it all, but it wasn't until the 2021 school year in which that was the absolute mandate that this is what we're doing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No more of your DRA kits or your Fountas and Pinnell kits.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Have I gone into the school buildings and confiscated them?

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, but it's been very clear.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's been very clear that we're no longer using those programs as district assessments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have now transitioned to utilizing ECRI, we utilize MAP.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The reading teachers are being trained this year in dibbles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are on the right path, but member McLaughlin is correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, this brain based,

[Suzanne Galusi]: way of teaching students how to read has been around for decades.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, yes, there's actual proof.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students have been tested, brainwaves, it's been documented proof, and a lot of this, so just so we know, Hillful Literacy has always been, if you want to vet them out, they're a very reputable program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They started as a non-profit through the

[Suzanne Galusi]: Massachusetts General Hospital program, which is where a lot of this began.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's through the University of Oregon, and now Boston University has gotten in on this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's all best practice, very well vetted, very aligned.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is DIBLS phonics?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so now DIBLS is all- But it's an assessment, it's a progress monitoring assessment tool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I guess- Similar to a map.

[Suzanne Galusi]: similar to what we're doing with NWEA map.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But DIBLS, no, it is not computerized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It can be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We could talk hours on this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I better listen to the podcast first.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The podcast is wonderful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's six episodes, but it's well worth it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think our K-2 staff,

[Suzanne Galusi]: In all of the embedded training that they've had with helpful literacy in my conversations with staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have seen the positive effects of this teaching, and so I think the shift right now is is like our three to five staff just this year i'm bringing grade three teachers in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: with the Hill for Literacy training once a month, so that they're really getting exposed to what the K-2 teachers have been exposed to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think, yes, change takes a while.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do think that the podcast, which is really well done, it's going to elicit some feelings for some teachers too.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I was in the classroom for 15 years and I taught

[Suzanne Galusi]: I never taught K to two, but I taught grades three through five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And as a third grade teacher, that's where I spent most of my time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, I listened to that podcast and kind of.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Had a little bit of that, that gut feeling, because I think it will elicit some of those feelings for teachers that, um, they, you know, they could have done differently.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, I'm trying to fit it all in because K to two is still being trained.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, the other thing we're doing this year is part of the training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when, when the teachers are getting the science reading training tomorrow at the end of the day, um, the elementary principals and assistant principals come in and they're being trained, um, because I need school leaders, uh, to be able to be a resource and to be able to understand this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, um,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know it's not a great answer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'd love to be able to be doing all of the grades simultaneously, but I'm just trying to build in a prioritized fashion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do want to just say that Dr. Chiesa and Dr. Riccadeli are at home and on the call listening and have really, you know, partnered with me in this as well as the

[Suzanne Galusi]: elementary reading department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are just fabulous in what they do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're so energized and excited about this journey that we're all on together.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they're just a really talented group of people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I just want to make sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for bringing that up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Graham, I wanna just kind of like speak to a little bit about what you brought up, but I think it's really good feedback.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As many of you know on this call, coming out of the pandemic, Nexus was created by Stacey Shulman, Director of Guidance and Behavioral Health and myself, because we saw a gap in terms of social emotional need

[Suzanne Galusi]: as well as executive functioning need, two things that students really lost during the ongoing pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Nexus has definitely evolved.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's only year two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have to kind of punctuate a little bit about what Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Demos said, because the group this year really works really closely together.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They meet each week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They meet with Stacey and I each month.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the beginning of the year, they send out an informational greeting letter to all of the families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It states the curriculum that they use, a little bit about the program, but I think that ongoing feedback of what you're talking about, we can easily build into regular communication at home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do know that each time Nexus shifts their focus in terms of their lesson planning,

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have been giving connectors to teachers so that teachers are aware of what's happening in nexus class and they have the additional extension for how they can bring it back into their classroom and kind of continue what's happening in nexus so there's a conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: constantly between the classroom teachers and the Nexus teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But what we can do is really take those connectors and build them probably more into communication that can come home to families so that now parents can also have those conversations with students about what's going on at home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I also wanted to mention this year, Nexus begin the year because

[Suzanne Galusi]: Stacey Schulman brought in the Sandy Hook start with hello.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Nexus at the elementary level started with that as well at the beginning of the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the whole beginning of the year was about friendship and start with hello.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think that we can definitely work on building up the communication for the home piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I appreciate that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we're just giving it one more minute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Suzanne Galussi, Assistant Superintendent for Academics and Instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Welcome.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much for joining us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're really excited to provide some further information on our district NWEA map growth assessment tool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Before I do that, Dr. Riccadeli, before I do that, I also wanna draw people's attention to the toolbar that students have access to so that up here, I'm gonna hover over it so you can see that this is a highlighter.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if students feel that they wanna isolate some keywords or help them break down what the question's asking them, there's also an eraser part for the highlight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a line reader.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So especially for math and science,

[Suzanne Galusi]: If students click this, it will read the question to them because this is really assessing the math skills, not reading skills here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It gives them a notepad so that if they want to do any calculations or need any place to take notes or do work, they could click on this and it would bring it up for them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there is a little cue here that if they'd like an answer eliminator, it would get rid of one of the choices for them to help them answer the question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So now you would like me to select, which one am I selecting?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm not the greatest at this, and I'm trying to figure out why.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hold on one minute, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Why I don't have this in present mode.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Does everyone still see my tabs at the top?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, hold on, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm gonna try this again.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I want everybody to really be able to see.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, well, in the interest of time, I guess I'll keep going.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I apologize that you have to look at my messy tabs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is this the next slide, Dr. Riccadeli?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, so I'm going to take over from here a little bit to talk about the tests and the scores.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Dr. Riccadeli started this evening talking to you, the MAP growth family reports are sent home at the marking periods.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you have seen the assessment timeline.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These are given three times a year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at the elementary level, it pretty much corresponds with the report cards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are quarters at the secondary level, but once the students take this, it's sent home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In school, teachers are using map growth to inform their teaching and personalize learning for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have to stress, I've said this several times, but I have to stress it at this call, that this is one data point that teachers are using to target and monitor their instruction with your children.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're using other forms of assessment, both informal and formal, but map growth is just one of those pieces that are used to give the complete picture for your student.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And principals and administrators, curriculum directors, myself, Dr. Cadelli, we're using some of these scores to work with

[Suzanne Galusi]: either building leadership, principals working with teachers, in department meetings, at grade level meetings, to talk about trends and data, to talk about student supports that are needed, that are currently in place, progress monitoring, map growth is a progress monitoring tool, so that because doing these assessments three times a year,

[Suzanne Galusi]: we're able to look at how students are progressing in each of those subject areas throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it gives that progress data for principals and district administrators to have conversations with staff about the data, how students are doing and how we can target instruction moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So can map growth tell me if my student is working at grade level?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, it can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, it's one data point, but we're going to show you this evening how the reports will give you that data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I just urge the chain of command with any questions or concerns you have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would start always with your child's teacher or teachers, and then

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you feel you need some more information, I would urge you to go to the building principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there's always, you know, Dr. Riccadeli and myself, but I would just urge first that chain of command, because a lot of your questions and concerns can be answered directly by the teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I've kind of covered some of this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How will I receive my child's MAP growth scores?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll let you know about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We were strategic in picking this date because we know that this week it's conferences for high school, and we know that the week of December 12th, which is a little less than two weeks away, begins the report card conferences for elementary school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we will post this

[Suzanne Galusi]: recording on the district's website so that other families that were unable to come this evening can learn a little bit more information if they would like to and also have access to the embedded links.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How do I use my students' MAP test results to improve my child's academic performance?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's a great question that you can bring up at your child's conference or any conversation that you have with your child's teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're gonna talk a little bit about the breakdown of how the scores are given to give you a rough estimate, but I would not either, you know, I really wouldn't sound the alarm depending on what the results are for your child's

[Suzanne Galusi]: Scores, again, this is one data point.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You'd get a more complete picture from your child's teacher or teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So moving on, this is a sample of the family report.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What we have here on the left is the color-coded scale that coincides with the reports that come home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that you can kind of see the blue areas are children that are performing above the grade level norm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Green is students that are performing at the higher level of the grade level norm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can see the breakdown of numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that green area means 61 to 80%.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's high.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Average, which is like the sweet spot, that's students that are performing in the 41st to 60th percentile of the normed group.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and then so on by the color coding.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Gray means no score.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That can happen for a couple reasons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A student may have been absent for medical reasons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A student may have transferred in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there's a gray score and you have a question about it, doesn't correlate for your family and child situation, just let the teacher know and we can troubleshoot that one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the top of the report, it's going to give you some of the data that Dr. Riccadeli and I have covered this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Basically like, what is this report?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does the RIT score mean?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Why is my child taking this?

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the purpose of this evening's presentation, but it's also helpful to just have that as a reference point.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You're going to see for every subject test that your child takes, math reading for all students,

[Suzanne Galusi]: but science starting in grade three, all the way up through high school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You're going to see on the left by this plot graph here, that's tracking your student's achievement on the test in comparison to other students across the nation in their grade that are taking this test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: On the right, you're going to see your child's growth percentile.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, in that same group of grade level peers across the nation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You're also going to get a little narrative for each as well as the percentile so that you can see up top here, for example, for math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: it was average achievement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're here in the yellow and you can see that this child scored in the 47th percentile.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can see over time, if you have younger students that are still, you know, they've only taken this this year or maybe last year, you're not gonna have as much growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: because as the children go up in the years, you're going to have more data to refer to in terms of their achievement and growth over time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This you can see started, this one just goes from like the fall.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in one year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so you can see their RIT score.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These scores on the plot line are their RIT scores that Dr. Riccadeli spoke about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so these are just telling you right here is the band of RIT scores for this grade level that the students should be performing in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: somewhere between 170 and 220.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it's giving you where your child has performed throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The solid line will be your child.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The dotted line will be the normed national results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Below here, they're going to tell you what overall that means.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other piece is that map growth can

[Suzanne Galusi]: correlate to what their proposed MCAS performance would be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So many, you know, we click that piece off.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for your children, if it's an MCAS grade, it will tell them as of right now, for this time of year, your child would perform proficient or

[Suzanne Galusi]: needs improvement or progressing towards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it'll give a little bit of an indicator as to where they are in relation to MCAS standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For here, for the high growth, it's not a line plot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You just see the breakdown by color of their growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now you can see for this student, average achievement,

[Suzanne Galusi]: but really super high growth, so I want these are the conversations, we really want you to have with teachers, because oftentimes you may have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students that have really high achievement but low growth, because their achievement is already at a point where.

[Suzanne Galusi]: there may be above grade level standards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So their growth is not as big.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And also you could have the opposite where

[Suzanne Galusi]: the achievement is below grade level standards, but their growth is really high.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's okay too, because they're making steady progress.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have concerns, please, I know we can't say it enough, but have those conversations with your child's teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll just move to the next slide, just so you can see what the science, it's the same setup.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then at the bottom, there are some questions if you want that can kind of guide you in that discussion with your child's teacher or teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we've spoken about this already this evening, but resources for families, one which we've discussed is the map reports that you're gonna get at the beginning of the year during the report card conferences.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Throughout the year, they'll be sent with the report card, and you'll have that information, and then you'll be able to not only be informed, but know what kind of follow-up questions or conversations you may want to have with your child's teacher or teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, we urge you to reach out to school staff if you have questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there is this MAP Parent Toolkit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when we post this presentation on the Medford Public Schools website, this is another resource for families that's also a hyperlink.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It will bring you not only to the practice tests, but it will also bring you to information that can be translated so families can select the language they need and learn a little bit more about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The map test platform.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, we've hyperlinked in this parent toolkit here as well, so that we're giving it to you on three slides, so you have that resource readily available, and I believe that this is

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, this is the last slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think I'm going to leave it on this slide so that at this point, if you have any questions that Dr. Riccidelli and I did not cover, if you could please put it in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think what I'll do is I'll

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll stop the screen share, but I can put it back up at any time if the questions correlate to something that we want to visually show you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But this way, we could kind of see faces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if you want, you could just put it in the chat.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That way, when I'm not screen sharing, we can both monitor the chat or feel free to unmute yourself and ask any questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sarah, did you want to ask a question?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hold on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm pressing ask to unmute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Let's see if that works.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hold on, let's see if I can change that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You're welcome.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's nice to see you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no, no.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Can you see my arrow or my cursor?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I can see that paragraph.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's where it will appear.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would be right below there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I think it's helpful though.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think a lot of people would have that question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, you had mentioned kindergarten does have two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're usually around mealtimes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So before or after morning snack and before or after afternoon lunch.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The structure for grades one through five is either before or after lunch.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's, I mean, about 20 to 30 minutes every day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it's structured a little differently depending on space and depending on how the schedules are at each building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you, the Roberts definitely has a bigger struggle than the other three buildings because the other three buildings have two play areas and the Roberts is confined to one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Mr. Johnson has more of a heavy lift in terms of scheduling, I believe.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He can speak to that if that's something you want more detail about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But typically, because there's two play areas, there's usually two grade levels out at the same time in the three other buildings in the separate locations for play.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And teachers are spread around for supervision, as well as paraprofessionals, if they are at that grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there's more detailed questions, I would be more than happy to answer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But that's kind of just the overall structure of it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If Andy or Kirk want to add anything in, please feel free.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I guess I'm just, I guess, I under, I just guess I'm a little confused that, to my knowledge, right this is that's the structure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Listen to Mr. downs and Mr. Chuchi Mr. Chuchi did a great job with all of this elaborate detail.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which sounded child-directed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know at the elementary level, it's child-directed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers are not structuring and telling students what they should play.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Maybe there's a limit in terms of if students want to bring certain props or toys or games from home, there may be questions or discussions within reason, but recess at the elementary level,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Is the child directed?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, we'll say principle demos kind of captured a lot of what I was going to say, but I just think there's a there's it feels like two separate conversations going on one about what precipitates indoor recess.

[Suzanne Galusi]: well, maybe three conversations, what's done during indoor recess and how those calls are made, and then the child-centered play while outdoors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I did want to say, I saw Principal O'Brien holding up, for years, the elementary principals have aligned around the call for indoor recess if it's not precipitating.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I know it's been communicated to some,

[Suzanne Galusi]: school communities, but it's really a real feel less than 25 degrees.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You're outside and it's not the hard temperature, it's the real feel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's what warrants indoor recess if it's not a level of precipitation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Have there been some situations where maybe like snow removal was an issue and so there was like a safety concern at some of the elementary buildings in the wintertime?

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's definitely been, you know, an issue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But for the most part, there is that belief of how important fresh air and recess and free play is for children so that

[Suzanne Galusi]: real feel of 25 degrees.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're outside, and we're telling children to go outside there is as principal demos talked about sometimes the feasibility of how prepared students are, but a lot of that is handled on a case by case basis.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do want to say.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The elementary schools are responsive classroom schools and the tenant of responsive classroom is about logical consequences.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do, which means that recess should not be used as a punishment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, if we do have unsafe behaviors in schools, our job is to educate children around

[Suzanne Galusi]: pro-social behaviors and the safety of being around their peers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so sometimes if they're exhibiting that, especially during play, the logical consequence is that they're removed from that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're still outside.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There may be a reflective moment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There may be a walking moment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The element of child directed may be skewed because that's the logical consequence for the action.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know of it being used for anything other than that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there are those like one off situations I would, I would really welcome a conversation about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but I just wanted to kind of capture the piece of the responsive classroom being around what's logical because that's how children, especially at the elementary level, make connections around their behavior is when the consequences are logical to what the behavior was.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thanks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And thank you, Member Graham.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A lot of

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was gonna kind of talk a little bit, one of the things I wanted to talk about was the consistency piece as well as the alignment is important in some of the autonomy because the spaces are so different is also important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And member McLaughlin spoke a little bit about the data and I'm all for data and I'm all for making sure that our expectations of what this time should be is aligned.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I also do want to like elevate again what Principal Demos said about that time being like individual.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the individual needs of students are accounted for.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it is hard to make a blanket statement sometimes about

[Suzanne Galusi]: 100% recess should not be used when children exhibit unsafe behaviors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now the data piece is important to track that some of that is not unearthing a bigger problem.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, there has to be a level of flexibility in whatever it is that's going to be created within this group of people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the other piece I just wanted to kind of punctuate a little bit is that I do find it unfortunate in a way that

[Suzanne Galusi]: you're getting inundated with a lot of, you know, concerns or comments or phone calls or emails, because I would say it's also hard to fix something or work on something if it's not brought back to the principle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now if it is brought back to the principle and

[Suzanne Galusi]: that it's still not being addressed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's another issue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I feel like, you know, that is something that constituents and family members can go to you, can go to the superintendent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But really if parents are concerned about anything that's happening at recess, really the first person should be the teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then if they're not satisfied with that, it should be the building principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the principal should be allowed

[Suzanne Galusi]: and be given the opportunity to handle those concerns on an individual basis.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just, I really wanted to make sure that, you know, that piece was kind of discussed as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the School Committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Director of Professional Learning and Student Assessment, Bernadette Bercudelli, and myself are here to present on the MWCA Math report for the school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Curriculum Directors, Dr. Nicole Piazza, Director of Communities, Brock Ossiri, Director of Science, and Isaac Kahn, Director of Math, are also here to answer questions at the end of the presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I did want to just take this time to thank

[Suzanne Galusi]: The academic team for the amount of hours they put into this presentation, which has been many.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at this time, it's my pleasure to pass it off to Dr. Riccadeli to start.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was going to say, I think it's also important to note that this is the average time, right, in the cross-section, across the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are students that are taking this class maybe 18 minutes and in more.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the average.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Test because it's adaptive, it will keep them going until they get to the level where they know that just right level of where the student achievement and growth is at.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that if the students keep answering one correctly and then answering one wrong, answering one correctly might take a little bit longer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Additionally, it may, I mean, it also may be that this is representative of more than one sitting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is an accumulation of how long it took me to take the test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to get a little bit further in the report when we talk about some of the teacher reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we'll address the question that you're asking, but I also need to... Dr. Riccobelli mentioned it, but I think it's very crucial that

[Suzanne Galusi]: point of data at the teacher and school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The whole point of this is the progress monitoring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so all of those, like, nuanced pieces and the students that took a very long time, there's a story there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We don't know what's standing here at the podium, but that's part of what the principals, the school leaders, the curriculum directors uncover so that they can build the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if you can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I mean, I think it looks different.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry, thanks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Not at all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just going to say it looks different in every classroom and at every grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so if you want specifics around what that looks like, then that's something that we can look into.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I would say that there's a variety of ways that this looks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, if I'm just looking at the elementary level and it's literacy block, there's a reason why there's two literacy blocks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One is for tier one and one is for the wind block.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And during that wind block is a great time to catch students up and have students finish an assessment while the others are working on

[Suzanne Galusi]: individual work or with the teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's numerous ways that it's not stopping learning and that everyone is getting what they need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to have to reiterate again the importance of this test is for the progress monitoring piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers need the documentation in terms of making sure that students are getting

[Suzanne Galusi]: what they need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'll show a little bit of the reports that help them do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But having data informed discussions to adjust practice is needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know, I know that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just a reminder for the people like watching or people that are here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, for kindergarten, first grade and second grade, it's a mandate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the Department of Education, we have to have a screener as part of the dyslexia guidelines.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that does that for us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have to, we have to have some right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so the next section is about the educator reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this opening slide here just provides you with the percentile colors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So these are seen in the reports that the teachers can access, but they're also seen in reports that go home to parents and caregivers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this just gives you the spectrum so that you can see blue reading from exceeding average achievement and growth

[Suzanne Galusi]: to low achievement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first report that we're going to talk about, I kind of scheduled these reports so that we're talking from large school-based down to student sector reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is a school-wide report that the principals and department heads have access to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So these show the achievement scores at each grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So here, you will see a representation of one of our middle

[Suzanne Galusi]: about this report, it gives just like a bird's-eye view of each of the levels across the grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But they also are highlighted so that if the teacher or the administrator puts on the color bar, it would bring up a snapshot of what you see below, which is the detailed list of student

[Suzanne Galusi]: levels, their grit scores, and give just a little bit of a broad application to the scoring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That does not really go into much detail, but just gives a broad overview.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next slide

[Suzanne Galusi]: is a class breakdown.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this shows you, teachers can use this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's two ways.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They can use this by average grade score, but they can also look at the instructional area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know that a lot of our curriculum directors utilize this, a lot of classroom teachers utilize this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if you see the column on the left,

[Suzanne Galusi]: you can have all of the standards for learning domains populated and then it breaks your class down into RIT scores so that you can see where students are in terms of, this is the differentiation piece that Dr. Scrum's, yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, I'm so sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that means Zoom can't hear you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thanks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I should have remembered for some.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All I was saying, so member McLaughlin, the column on the left has the domain or the standard which was represented on the test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The rest of it shows the breakdown by RIT score so that teachers can see in terms of like differentiating based on that standard where the students fall in their level of understanding.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it helps a little bit more as this is again where some of like the standard deviation piece comes in as well as the RIT score comes in so that when you are planning for lessons for where students are and what scaffolds and supports have to be in place this is just a report that will help teachers with their groupings completed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Let me know if you have any questions as I go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next report

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next report can be classroom as well as individual student.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is one of my favorite reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the quadrant report for achievement and growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it gives you both in one report.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you can see that it's broken up into quadrants of, in the far left where it's orange, that's students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the little specks that you see on there, those represent students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there are two different icons, it can represent more than one test at a time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the elementary level, if I want to see, if I'm teaching fifth grade and I want to see how my students did in all three tests, I'll check off the box to populate all three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There'll be a different icon for each test and I can see where the students fell in relation to their achievement and their growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you

[Suzanne Galusi]: hit, everything's hyperlinked, if you hit one of those icons for the test, it also will bring you to a detailed report for each student.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And below this is also a class breakout of how the students, what their growth was, what their achievement level was, and their percentile.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is a nice way to group students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Growth is,

[Suzanne Galusi]: and then achievement goes horizontally.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so teachers can, if they want to, move the access to kind of, but right now it's set on 50% so you can see where the students, where the students are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, moving on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is another report that gives a classroom view as well as a detailed student view.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is called the class report.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It breaks the classroom by that color coding scale that you saw.

[Suzanne Galusi]: so that each teacher can see the overall view of the class, while at the same time also getting individualized student data for each student in the class below.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That student data, I know it's really small to see, but it has their RIT score, it has their percentile, it shows them how students were in relation to the national norms, it shows students in how they were in relation to the grade level

[Suzanne Galusi]: their peers within their own class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the teachers can really use this to get a gauge on how the students are doing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This was an upper level example.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you can also see the breakdown by domain and by test below where it talks about,

[Suzanne Galusi]: literature, informational text, vocabulary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it will give each subsection of the test, not the overall view of the English test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the next one is really narrowed down to students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is student growth summary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So these reports, if you don't mind advancing to the next slide, these reports,

[Suzanne Galusi]: The information is important once students actually have data in there to show growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're not going to see this for kindergarten students, we're not going to see this for students that are new to the district, but this projects their growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The orange little diamond is what math projects their growth to be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the blue column is where they performed in relation to their projected growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This allows teachers to see how students are doing on a trajectory.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it also provides information about where they land in terms of relation to their peers and more referenced nationally.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the last report, which is one of my favorite reports from, this is the last one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I have to say that we haven't even touched all the reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's almost overwhelming for educators, but these are some of the ones that are the most applicable.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the student profile.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a snapshot of the students for every test that they've taken for math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This shows you this particular one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you can see the top bar, see how they have mathematics, reading and science.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But this one I wanted to highlight because you can see how this student performed differently in each grade, in each test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for math, they were yellow, which is kind of like in the average range, but a little slightly approaching the average norm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Where at blue for reading, this student is exceeding the norm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for science, the student is better than average, but not exceeding.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when you click on those colored tabs at the top, it gives you a breakdown within that box and below based on domain and based on their growth for their achievement and their, their achievement growth, excuse me, their achievement and their growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you can see really quickly, I just wanna draw your eye to that middle column that says instructional areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, because the math was the one that was highlighted, you can see the domains right there for the math test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for number and operations, this student struggled a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A 75 is below the average RIT score.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But you can also see, because it tells you in the yellow up top what the range is for the RIT score.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And you can see that math has identified number and operations as an area of focus for the student.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can also see that below operations and algebraic thinking are a strength to the student above what the scaled RIT score should be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, if you clicked on that, it would bring you to the test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and to the questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so teachers can really utilize this data to see that this student, on the mark for measurement and data, on the mark for geometry, above for operations and algebraic thinking, but something's going on with numbers and operations, and let's see what it is so that we can work to build in some supports for where the gaps are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just want to add that that's part of the reason why we wanted to show you the breadth and variety of reports because teachers are going, I mean, I even said, oh, I love this one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's my favorite one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think teachers are going to find the report that gives them the data that they need to inform their practice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's why there's a variety of reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, that's right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So moving to the next slide, Dr. Cushing, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This, I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of this next slide because really the data is the same for at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the same reports are being utilized that Dr. Riccadeli just spoke about that I highlighted in that section.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These are comparison snippets to what's used at this level, where principals are having data meetings with their grade level teams during common planning time to talk about the data and make plans for supports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Examples around that are teachers helping one another in terms of best practices, differentiation techniques.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sometimes it elevates to the need of a student support

[Suzanne Galusi]: system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can see here, there's the tracking so that at each meeting, the principal is having conversations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know one of the buildings, the principal in collaboration with myself in the upper grades felt that the students, because of a reading issue that affected their math scores.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we looked at some of the tier two services and were able to pick up a fourth grade group for reading services, which are typically not done.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for Title I, but this is how we're kind of utilizing our resources to adapt to what the student needs based on this data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Moving to the next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These next two slides speak about the communication

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the reports that go home, you know they go home with each marking period.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the secondary level, that's four times with the report cards.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at the elementary level, that's three times with the report cards, which means for this first iteration at the elementary level, they'll get it at the conference.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Also on this slide, which there's like a pipeline for the family resources for families that are not only translated,

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's also embedded in this a sample test for the parents that their kids themselves can go on and look and take so that you can get an understanding as to what types of questions your students are getting asked on the test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to make sure that this presentation is on our website so that the embedded links are accessible for everybody in the community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Moving to the next slide, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is just a little bit, we've spoken about this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This also has some embedded links for resources for families so that they can see what the reports that are sent home to them look like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in the interest of time, and I know I'm advancing slides a little bit, but it kind of dovetails with our next steps because Dr. Riccoboni and I are also going to make sure that

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the end of this month, we have a presentation for families on that so that anyone that has questions or would like to join to learn a little bit more information can do so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have it reflected on the next slide, but I believe it's... It's Wednesday, November 30 at the 6 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if we could, I do want to say, just to reiterate on this slide before we move on to next steps, that I think the biggest piece is that this is a progress monitoring tool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not like MCAS, it's not one and done.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is for teachers to get an understanding as to what their students' strengths are and what their students' needs are and base their instruction on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is one element of data, as we've spoken about, and if parents and caregivers have concerns at all, the first place they should go to, and the next place they should go to is the principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Both are well-versed and able to answer those questions, and the principal can then divert them to someone else if need be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I just wanted to reiterate that, if there are people at home wondering where they should go to if they have a concern.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That leads us to the next steps for Metro Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just one slide before that, Dr. Cushing, sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This has really quickly, I mean, we already covered the parent gardening Q&A.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Can I just quickly say, and I feel like I'm

[Suzanne Galusi]: on repeat slightly, but I feel like, so two things, slide 15 that I covered, that has the color coding per subject, as well as you can't see it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I clicked on the mathematics one so that you can see the range for where the rich should fall.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, you can see the range for where their scale should fall.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can't see that for reading or for science because I didn't click on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just highlighted one page, but the teacher is able to highlight on, click on each of those tabs and bring up not only the domains that I spoke about, but on the left, the key piece is where the student fell in achievement and where the student fell for growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know that the shift in this, as I said before, is that this is really looking at the student and how the student is performing on each test, how the student is growing on each test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so a low growth

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's always something to be to look at, but if they're already exceeding, and they're already at a high achievement level, they're not going to have the growth that other students do, but in reverse, you could have some students that are scoring and low achievement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but they're making huge growth gains.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is something to be celebrated as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The piece of this is that drill down data for each student to see what they need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so a lot of what you're asking and talking about is done at those data meetings at the secondary level with the curriculum directors and school leaders and at the elementary level with the school leaders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're taking the opportunity at those common planning times, which happened twice a month, to talk about the data and then adjust practice to see how can we support the students to do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For each subject.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's the last two slides in each subject area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Welcome, thank you, good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the school committee and Medford community, Dr. Edouard-Vincent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tonight I'm here with, I was going to mention everybody's name, but the mayor, I think kind of covered that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just kind of wanted to start as like an introduction just to, I know that there's been a lot of discourse, a lot of media coverage around the 2022 MCAS results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tonight, our goal is to,

[Suzanne Galusi]: review the information that the Department of Education has set out regarding the format, the scoring, as well as the results.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then Dr. Riccadeli and I will also talk about next steps moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm going to pass it off to Dr. Riccadeli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's so interesting you've asked that question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Kim Miles, our data analyst, is working on that data right now, which takes some time because if students were absent because of COVID positive or even close contacts, they weren't really, it's a separate accounting system because in our system,

[Suzanne Galusi]: that was like, it wasn't counted as an absent necessarily.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So she's working on that and I'll be able to give that information to the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It just takes some time for her to parse it out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that was just for COVID positive.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Correct, which is why it's taking Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Miles a little bit of time because there was some of that just to coordinate as well with Avery Hines.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, the curriculum directors will report later the percentage in terms of how many students per grade level participated in the MCAS scores, in the MCAS tests, which is very high.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We just wanted to have that additional data as a counter to this for how it impact, what the impact was in Medford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just gonna take some time to get that information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But it's a great segue to talk about the chronic absenteeism due to the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to talk about student growth percentile.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So typically when the Department of Education through MCAS determines student growth percentile, it's based on two years of data where like that first year is worth 40%, that second year is worth 60% and a percentile is determined.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The difficulty now is that there's been this break and there hasn't really been a formal way to do that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what the Department of Education is trying to encourage is that this last year's 2022 serves as the new baseline in which we move forward in terms of achievement and accountability.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But they are using the same recording

[Suzanne Galusi]: as you can see here, as they used last year, which we have in bold that for parents at home, when reports come home, which they were mailed out last week, so I'm sure they probably maybe came over the weekend.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The typical growth range is still 40 to 59 percentage points.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They went out on Friday.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No problem.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in terms of the other going from, from the student growth percentile, typically the MCAS results, there's an accountability piece that isn't applicable due to the disruption of data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there will be no overall district accountability determination.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What they're doing is just continuing the determination that districts have had in the past.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have

[Suzanne Galusi]: not been, so those underperforming districts, that will continue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And districts that aren't, we're still held harmless for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because the Department of Education has not set targets.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Typically for MCAS, there's a target that the Department of Education will set for each school and for each district that they want them to meet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have not done that due to the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So therefore, there's no progress towards any targets.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's no,

[Suzanne Galusi]: new accountability for this year's scores.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, you, you pretty much said what I was going to say, but additionally Dr Rick and Ellie and I are going to cover a district wide kind of next steps and where we go from here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And with all due respect to the Department of Education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a test that's administered once in a year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There has been a big disruption in the past two years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so right now it's even more difficult to see growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But what we're really going to be looking at, and that will be in the next meeting, is the NWEA map, because that's administered three times a year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's going to give us the progress monitoring and the growth that we're going to really be able to use to drill down to make sure we're supporting all of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to talk a little bit about that at the end of the presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think maybe just to be fair, if we could.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So page 11.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Page 11 in the report gives a breakdown for grade 10.

[Suzanne Galusi]: so that you can see that not me the only thing that I would yes so the number will be actually 14 percent of our students did not meet expectations where it was 10 for page 11 our page 11 has

[Suzanne Galusi]: Not in the slide deck, in the report.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Page 11 has a table that shows that 14% of students, Medford students, do not meet expectations, and it was 10% of state.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was about 42 students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They don't make it easy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing I would add is that it was fully implemented last year as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is we're now going on year two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you all for a great presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll go really quickly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just the last, Dr. Riccardelli and I, the last three slides just talk overall, which I know that all of the curriculum directors spoke about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing that we would just high level, because presentation, would just be that to recap a little bit, our focus here at the public schools has always been on the whole child throughout the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that balance of making sure that students

[Suzanne Galusi]: social emotional needs are met will also increase their academic outcomes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We had a lot of responses to make sure that that balance was there for students in terms of the responsive classroom and Nexus and Camp Mustang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the list of things that we've done to help mitigate that learning loss to meet their social emotional needs will continue for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then all of the curriculum directors spoke, we've had questions about the NWEA, but that is the progress monitoring piece just to remind you that is three times a year, so that that allows for the progress monitoring so that we can triangulate that data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the things we are doing is

[Suzanne Galusi]: having the data teams to talk about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The curriculum directors are doing with their departments, but principals are also doing it with their staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that between the MCAS data, as well as the NWBA data, we're able to have data team meetings for progress monitoring, bring in the SST or the student supports plans, if need be, in order to create the supports that students need to make growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think first, I would probably speak to part of the shift to the data is that's something that we're still kind of honing that practice in terms of like the data teams.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The trend, so three of our four elementary schools qualify for Title I services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that is, so the two schools with the neediest population,

[Suzanne Galusi]: require the more support in that area.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they have more staff put towards servicing students in those areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think as Dr. Riccadeli spoke to it, the need for the support is there, but there also is still the need for like the continued professional development and the focus on standard two, because the tier one piece is,

[Suzanne Galusi]: really a big focus of where we're going right now, because the standard one is professional knowledge, and that piece I think is there, but the standard two of teaching all students and meeting students where they're at is the piece that is our continued work, so that we're also focusing, because for the standard two and meeting students where they're at,

[Suzanne Galusi]: ensuring that we're meeting the needs of all of our students, that's general education students, that's our subgroups, that's the supports we're talking about globally and across schools, across grade levels, and across the district, and the enhancement of the professional development, the student support teams, the SSTs, the data dives, all of that is the work that we're putting in place right now so that we have clear

[Suzanne Galusi]: student support plans that are going to meet those needs and then also uncover if there are other layers of support that we can add to those buildings that are going to be beneficial and meaningful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are, we are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think that's part of something that is not going to be done overnight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's part of the, the partnership here between Dr. Rigodelli and myself in doing, and with Joan Bowen and Paul Texera and having

[Suzanne Galusi]: looking at the data and having those meetings to see where the supports are needed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is definitely a part of the conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mayor?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm advisories at the high school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, we can compile that list.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of them were highlighted in this presentation this evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, it will be reiterated as we present the NWEA map results in terms of our focus.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think it's important to note that in part of the restructuring that the superintendent did over the summer, and Dr. Riccadeli and I

[Suzanne Galusi]: Working even more closely, one of the structures that we are implementing starting this year is having those leveled conversations with building principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that we're going out once a month to meet with the middle school principals to meet with the high school principals to have some of these conversations about data and using the data to inform instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and what they're doing in their buildings to build those support systems and how they're working with their teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's something that we're starting this year and will be ongoing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is an opportunity exactly created for what you're speaking about member McLaughlin, so that we'll be able to have those really deep conversations about supporting all of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's a great question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First, there is a mathematical way in which I have to put the supports based on the grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first, and of course, again, it's supplement, not supplant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if I take where you just mentioned the Roberts, the Roberts has one Title I teacher, two remedial reading.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Brooks has two reading.

[Suzanne Galusi]: not associated with title one and then the needs increased so the staff increases across the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the shifts we've done during the pandemic is we're no longer using that ratio in order to determine students eligibility for receiving those tier two services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because just like that calculation where it used to be the lowest six students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so what we're doing is we're looking at the student need across grade levels.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the lowest percentage of students

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're assessing those students for their eligibility to receive the services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That way we're able to really service the students that require it the most.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And again, also, I know I've said it but I'm just going to echo it again, or punctuated because of member McLaughlin statement is that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The tier two services need to be there to support 100%.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's one of the things that I'm looking at.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But there also still is a need for the tier one, which is what is happening in the classroom, and what may be missed opportunities or what can we do to enhance like the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: the tier one instruction to make sure that all teachers have what they need in order to meet their students needs within the classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because sometimes if you do look at the data, sometimes there are blips in where it's not necessarily a school with the most vulnerable where we see a dip.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we have to look at that data too, because, oh, there might be something going on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: this school at this particular grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then yeah, there's a lot of variables.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not that that's just my only point.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I don't know, I probably got a little off track.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To be continued because that's one of the things that

[Suzanne Galusi]: we're looking at right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think it's also a dance in terms of, so last year, the McGlynn Elementary was, per the data, the school that required the most services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And now for this school year, it's back being the Mississauga.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So both of those schools are the two that need the greater assistance.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, meaning that now this year, I'm sorry if I was not clear.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year, the MSITUC, in terms of state data, is the school in which required, has the most need, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, we are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to be using our partnership with Hill for Literacy, the company.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're going to start in January, and they're going to do what's called a core program review, which means they'll be working with all of the staff in each building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So everyone will kind of have a hand in that process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it should culminate with a selection of a new program by May.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, no problem.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, I'm just starting with the introductions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm so pleased to be here this evening with Dr. Riccadeli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's going to speak this evening to you about our MPS Educator Induction and Mentoring Program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I just wanna say that since Dr. Eduard Vincent restructured,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Riccadeli and I have been working very closely together so that we're aligned in some of this work and I look forward to our partnership moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So without further ado.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She's going to discuss the program and then I'll just kind of wrap up at the end.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Dr. Riccadeli highlighted on this piece just a little bit, but as of last year, the Department of Education now has similar requirements for induction and mentoring for administrators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Don't really know what took so long, but.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Here we are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So one of the things that Dr. Riccadeli and I are doing is pretty much trying to build that program very quite similarly to what you just heard for educators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that the professional development and mentoring opportunities for new administrators are also sustained throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they will have their, just as the teachers do, these,

[Suzanne Galusi]: ongoing professional development opportunities that you just heard referenced, the seven, that is in addition to, as Dr. Riccadeli mentioned, the individual mentor sessions that teachers have to cover various other topics.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that similar platform we're utilizing right now to create the administrator one, and we'll have a little bit more detail for you on that once it's finalized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if you have any questions, please let us know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: putting the finishing touches on some of that, but we are looking to capitalize on the resource that we do have within the district, as well as partnering with some of our organizations externally from Metro Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it kind of depends on the topic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of that, I believe, let me just pull it up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The part of that is, well, first of all, I do want to just say that part of that work, it's not another.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's kind of the equity piece, the DEI piece is woven into everything that we do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But specifically the topic about bias and assessment curriculum and learning will cover

[Suzanne Galusi]: a piece of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's where we're looking for both internal and external partnerships.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I guess we were timed out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to be partnering with Joan Bowen, director of student services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I believe, I don't want to speak for her, but I believe that work is now being done by Lauren Perillo and Kim Clinton.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, and Julie Santos.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So both coordinators, excuse me, special education coordinator Lauren Perillo and special education coordinator Julie Santos.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, so elementary, the two weeks preceding the start of school this year for the 22-23 school year, we held our academic step-up camps.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The effort to do that was to help students transition back from summer and any gaps that may have been lost over the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the intent was to have half-day academic programming for both reading and math entering grade level skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this was for rising first grade through fifth grade students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Originally, I will say we were kind of hoping to maybe do this at each of the elementary buildings, but due to some staffing, we held it at the McGlynn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was the centralized location.

[Suzanne Galusi]: worked out very well, and we were able to have one to two sessions per grade levels for the reading, which was held Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday from 9 to 12, and for math, which was held on Thursdays and Fridays from 9 to 12.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The day consisted of academics with us provided snack and a recess period.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do want to note that for a lot of our programming this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We partnered with the food bank through the Malden YMCA they provided all of the snacks and the lunches the grab and go lunches for

[Suzanne Galusi]: academic step up as well as the credit recovery.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mr. extended all of the summer programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Big shout out they were great to work with and I think that it's important for people to know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the content, as I mentioned, was just grade level entry skills so that students could get back into those routines, especially like around reading, for students to get back into the routines that we have been using, using equity, getting students used to that vocabulary again, and just kind of getting their like student mind working.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If we just go to the next slide, there's just a couple of pictures.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These are a few pictures from the

[Suzanne Galusi]: reading, in which students were sharing some of their reading and writing skills and working collaboratively.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the next two slides have to do with math, math groupings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then again, like Mr. Texera had mentioned, I'm very grateful, you can advance to the next slide, for the teachers that

[Suzanne Galusi]: Participated in this and gave up the last two weeks of their summer to come and help support our students, which I have to give a shout out to because I'm Laney Cahill.

[Suzanne Galusi]: also came and worked a day for my program as well in someone's absence.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Maria Michelli, Lauren McCarthy, Ann Smith, Donna Mazie, Kathleen Polino, Debbie Notaro, Lee Chasteen, Alyssa Randazzo, Lee Azarello, Carissa Maturana, Laney Cahill, Adeline, known as Laney, and some academic support by Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Nancy Gersick.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just wanted to thank them tremendously for their work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Moving to the next slide, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to share on behalf of Haley Rello, who's our new coordinator for Performing Arts, that Medford Jumpstart Instrumental Camp was back for summer two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was very exciting and pretty much doubled their numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when we presented last year, there were about 40 students that participated in this, and this summer there were over 80.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so this is for rising fourth through eighth grade students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was both strings and band, and it was also half day, but they had a great schedule in terms of mixing in kind of those, they even had like Olympic type activities, as well as the musical instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It all accumulated in, as you can see from these two pictures,

[Suzanne Galusi]: a concert in Marsha Caron Theater for families to come and witness.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the last slide, I love this picture.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They were able to capture part of the activity each day was really getting students exposed to other instruments or other ways to make music.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so, as you can see here, this was a drum circle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think you could make out some of the barrels and unique objects that were used for the drums.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so Haley Rello was the coordinator for this program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She was there and on site organizing everything, but special thanks to the educators who worked with the students directly, Kristen Turner, Sarah Grant, Emma Baptiste and Sophia Chang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Let us know if you have any questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in speaking with Dr. Key, as I will say, some of the feedback at the secondary level was that the tests were taking about maps.

[Suzanne Galusi]: feels that each test should take about an hour, but because of the adaptability, there is variation in how long it takes individual students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some students, it may take a lot longer as the questions increase in difficulty and challenge to get to their proximal level there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the elementary level, it also varied.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So one of the things that we're learning as we're going through this first implementation year,

[Suzanne Galusi]: is that we kind of left, at least I'll speak for elementary, I left the assessment in terms of the teachers, in terms of how they wanted to give it, when they wanted to give it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They knew they had two to three topics of assessments to give students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so some teachers gave them during, let's say, their prescribed or scheduled ELA block, math block.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those, from the feedback that I'm getting, those took longer than the teachers that said, we're going to take like this morning and get it done in one shot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because I think by the time you set up students for an online test, go through the directions, you know, the block, you don't have much time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think it's really hard to stand here and give like a concrete answer in terms of how long it took, because it varied depending on how the teacher

[Suzanne Galusi]: decided to administer the tests.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's something that I'm, that we're going to be in conversation to talk about, uh, the next best steps in terms of administering it moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean, I can speak to that a little bit for elementary, but I do want to just say that this is something that we're building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I don't think that this is a, uh, something that can happen overnight and especially rolling out this implementation during this still pandemic year, it was tricky.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Like our assessment schedule was thrown off completely come January.

[Suzanne Galusi]: when even the state moved the MCAS schedule, the access testing schedule, which then had to alter our MAPS testing schedule, which nobody, it's not ideal to be doing all of this in the month of June.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think we still are gonna, it's gonna be a process to work out the best way to implement this and to work with the data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, uh, Dr. Chiesa spoke about how the curriculum directors are working with this data at the secondary level and at the elementary level, the work that's in progress is using like the CPT times where principals work with grade level teams.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Uh, and that's something that will be like fully implemented next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year, there've been conversations with principals and grade level teams around the beginning phases of looking at this data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there is so much data that's available for teachers to use on this platform that it's almost, it's a little daunting and very overwhelming for everyone to kind of navigate to decide which report is best to use.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are ones that will align as you are speaking, reports that align the standards to have a student's scores are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are also quadrant reports that will show the teachers

[Suzanne Galusi]: if they take their entire class, where the growth is in terms of students that are achieving high growth, high achievement, and then the students that may be showing growth, but their achievement is still below grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's multiple ways to use the data, and that's part of the conversations that are happening around common planning time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that way, if we're able to look across a grade level at where the students are achieving and where they need a little bit more support,

[Suzanne Galusi]: then we're able to, teachers are able to add those supports in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, some of them are tier two, but a lot of them are tier one during that wind block time as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if I was.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I still want to be very clear though, that this is one measurement tool understood in order to

[Suzanne Galusi]: show student achievement one and it is an online assessment so for some students that might be a struggle in itself and one of the things that that I just thought of is we were talking about the testing and why it might take some students long because it is pushing the students and it is adapting to their ability they're unlike the MCAS students don't have the ability to skip if they're stuck on a question they don't have the ability to skip to the next question so some students

[Suzanne Galusi]: if they're perfectionists at all, are going to get stuck on that one question, which will also increase the time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so part of that is also teaching students how to tackle some of these things as they come along.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So yes, there may be discrepancies when they get that family report at the end of the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I always encourage the conversation, but I don't feel that necessarily.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So two things, one part of this is with the testing coming out this late.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It does hinder the conversations, which is something that we're going to adjust moving forward, but it doesn't mean that just because it's the last day of school conversations necessarily have to end if there are parents that have concerns they can reach out to the principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: are still accessible via email, they can reach out to me as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we're gonna be able to start the year with this data right here to inform our decisions and our instruction from the very beginning of the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And again, I know I just said it, but I just have to stress that it's one form of data that we use to measure student achievement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's an old list, remember yourself.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will update that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, sorry, I'm in a remote satellite location here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think for me, yes, I understand that this dress code is gonna serve pre-K to grade 12, and so,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know about the specificity that you want to get to but I think when we're talking about young students so right now, what the policy is at the elementary level is that we do outdoor recess.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If the real feel is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: above 25 degrees or higher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students need to make sure that they, you know, we have, schools have ways to make sure that if students need additional clothing or if things are needed so that they can participate in recess, that's provided.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think in terms of students playing on play structures and being warm enough,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of the pieces for me is just to make sure that students have the proper attire to be able to participate outdoors in a safe manner, which is the only reason why I had those two pieces on there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I couldn't hear you, member Ruseau.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, I apologize.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I apologize.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's okay, I just wanted to clarify a few things.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not as less, I'm not as tied to the word profanity as maybe I am about swear words.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And again, I think I'm coming at this looking at an elementary lens as well, though I do have two high school students myself.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But part of the work that I did with my principals was just to go through this proposal and make sure that I got

[Suzanne Galusi]: you know, input from the principals in the buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for me, I think I want to ensure that students are not coming to school, especially at my level, wearing clothing with swear words on them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I wanted to clarify that profanity to me has nothing to do with the examples you gave and everything to do with what I guess we could clarify instead of profanity as swear words.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, I know they're drastically different, right, in my world versus the secondary world.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Although I'm open to member Graham's wordsmithing again here, because I just feel like

[Suzanne Galusi]: capturing something that just states that students, you tried covering it a little bit above about how certain private areas have to be covered, but I'm just concerned a little bit that if there's just not a little bit more specificity to the language that you also in turn are gonna get some students to probably purposely push the envelope just a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will be brief.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to say one thing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Full disclosure, I was

[Suzanne Galusi]: not aware necessarily that this entire document was going to be shared with the edits.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when I put- I'm sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But when I put in here suggestion to cover, I meant discuss.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's for one, because this document was at first internal and I was having discussions with my school leaders as well as the central team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I don't want people thinking that that's in there saying to cover up just because the semantics of that have been going

[Suzanne Galusi]: I've been listening to it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do like in where the superintendent was headed in this discussion, because I do think it is covered a little bit above.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think if we put a similar disclaimer that member Graham was talking about, that would probably cover it in my eyes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when I wrote this, it had,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, I will state that I am the proud mother of two daughters, so this did not have anything to do with the difference between what girls are wearing and what boys may be wearing to school or what any student is wearing to school, as more as it is that some students would come in their underwear and rather than having

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just feel like there are areas in which I wanted to have a discussion around it, not necessarily the exact language, if that's clear.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing that I would add is just at the elementary level right now it's a little scattered in terms of like library rotation so kindergarten through second grade really tends to go to the library weekly.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the offerings and when they're at the library it's kind of primarily.

[Suzanne Galusi]: with the sole purpose of like signing out books.

[Suzanne Galusi]: By adding this piece and full librarians, it would allow at the elementary level for a more instructional component in terms of library and media.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would also bring in on a more consistent basis for grades three through five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The logistics of like this, the planning and scheduling are the things that would have to be worked out just to ensure the balance of like time and learning, but it would add an instructional lift to the library offering that's currently in place right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so thank you and good evening, Madam Mayor members of the school committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, as Mr. Murphy just explained, I'm this right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if you notice I put the date for today's date.

[Suzanne Galusi]: enrollment for general education classrooms, K to four.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I received this information from our data analysis analyst, Kim Miles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what is not reflected in these numbers, which I think is important to note are our MEEP enrollment, which I do want to just as a side note, because it was discussed during Mr. Fallon's presentation and

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Brooks School currently has three MEAP programs, the McGlynn has one, the Misituck has one, and the Roberts has two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that adds to the total enrollment of the building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Also absent from these numbers are the newcomer numbers for the classrooms and the special education programming numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is just the general education classroom numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These numbers, absent of the other enrollment that I just spoke about, total, I do not have the totals, I apologize, I can add that later, but the total enrollment right now at the Brooks is 480, at the McGlynn's, 444, at the Missituk, it's 465, and at the Roberts, it's 492.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing, if you could advance, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So all I did was take the information from that previous slide and show you the four classrooms that we're just keeping an eye on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So currently right now, the second grade and the third grade at the McGlynn have really low enrollment numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have four strands per grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So right now in second grade, there's only about 14 or 13 students in a class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in the current third grade right now at the McGlynn there's only about 12 to 13 students in a class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if we were going to consolidate those strands, so that would be the rising third grade, and the rising fourth grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and consolidate four strands to three strands, that would still have numbers as you can see here reflected of below 20 and allow room for growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that especially in students, that's like the older part of elementary school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're talking about rising third graders and rising fourth graders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We still have with 17 or 19 per classroom, some wiggle room for students to move in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we do feel at this moment that

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's kind of a safe bet for consolidation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, I do want to say as I started out these are the current numbers, right now, as I received from Kim miles, we are constantly getting enrollments through our parent information center, our registration, I am in constant communication with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Mr. Teixeira about not only enrollment numbers, but what it is doing in terms of like some of his classrooms and populations, as well as ironically, the two buildings that I'm speaking to you tonight about in terms of consolidating also are the two that he's looking at in terms of the newcomer strands.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it would allow a little bit of room to be able to have the space for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you notice a little bit, if you look to the Missituk, I did kind of shade the first grade, the current first grade right now, a little lighter gray, because this is one of those classrooms we're gonna keep an eye on very closely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the Missituk, currently right now, they have three sections in grades one through four.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently their fifth grade has four sections but they're moving on to middle school, and their kindergarten has four sections that will roll up to first grade next year and so they will have four sections, but this rising first grade which will be second graders next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If we were to consolidate this from three strands to two, as you can see here, we would start the school year right now with 21 to 22 students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That does not give us a lot of wiggle room in terms of growth over the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in terms of priority, this is the one classroom that we just may feel it's better to keep at three strands and not consolidate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Whereas if you look at their current fourth grade numbers, which are rising fifth graders, they only have about 12 students in a class, only 37 total.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So consolidating from three to two seems to make some sense.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to pause here for any questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will say that for the grade levels, some of it is movement for sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But in these four that I've highlighted here, there has been a little decline, but not much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will be honest that we did start on the low end.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But if you recall, when we started the school year, we were still in full COVID protocols.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We were still doing distancing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we had a lot of those safety protocols in place that we just felt it was prudent to kind of

[Suzanne Galusi]: try to ensure as much, as much spacing as we could for students in classrooms and not really knowing how we were going to transition back.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's a little bit of both.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just making sure that people knew the numbers that were reflected in the previous screen were just for general education classrooms, K to four.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What I wanted people to know is that it does not reflect total enrollment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it was absent the newcomer classrooms, special education programming and MEEP classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I did just go through how many MEEP classrooms there are in each building, but I did not speak about a waiting list.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this, what I'm speaking about right now does not affect those three programs whatsoever.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, before I move on, I just didn't know if there were any other questions about the enrollment or possible strand consolidation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not quite sure if I have been, oh, I do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so moving on and staying in the elementary land.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other thing that I just want to make sure people are aware with is we would like to continue our partnership with Hill for Literacy that we have gotten so much benefit out of this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As you know, I've reported several times about our commitment to the ECRI program and our very beneficial partnership with Hill for Literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I had the wonderful pleasure of working with Eleni Stedman, who's one of our consultants through Hill for Literacy, two weeks ago, as we sat and really planned the literacy plan for next year, school year 22-23.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the priority goals for our literacy plan at the elementary level next year is going to be around leadership, instruction, professional development, and assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And what that means is basically we're continuing with every so for the teachers that have had the full year of that it will be just the maintenance and maintaining every routines for any new staff that's coming on board we're going to make sure that they have the full training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and there's implementation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're also going to expand the ECRI to include grade three staff because we know that our rising second graders are going to come in with that skill set and we need to now make sure our third grade teachers are versed in the methodology and the instructional, the explicit instruction of teaching practices.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we're also going to loop in our tier two staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That has started a little bit here at the end of the year, but for our,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Title I reading interventionists and EL staff, they're going to be brought into the loop of the professional development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also one of the things that health literacy is grounded in and the Department of Education is grounded in is the science of reading methodology and pedagogy so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So much so that the Department of Education is also in the middle of creating an mtel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To make sure that college candidates and anyone entering the education field at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: is going to be versed in this methodology for teaching reading.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Hill for Literacy provides a science of reading course.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a 10 month course.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have two strands of it for K to two staff, and then one for grades three to five staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This will be an offering for all of our elementary staff, including administrators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other piece they're going to help and assist with is leadership meetings, so that we're working with our school leaders on the ECRI program, explicit instruction, proper and most beneficial effective use of our CPTs and wind blocks, and differentiation techniques with our staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also are still, Dr. Chiesa and I are still in the process of meeting with HILFA literacy, but we would like to utilize their expertise in assisting us with a curriculum core review process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is also best practice for DESE in terms of the best manner in which to select our next English language arts curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not through a traditional

[Suzanne Galusi]: pilot process, it's using this Hill for Literacy in a consultancy manner to complete a core review process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Once I have more specifics on that, Dr. Keyes and I will definitely be presenting to this body, but we're still kind of working out the logistics of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not quite sure if there were any questions on that one, but... Before we do questions, can I just point out that

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Were there any questions on this before I move to the next slide?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And last for me is with our continued commitment to the implementation and full adoption of the responsive classroom program in all of the elementary schools, we're at the phase now we have provided ongoing and continuous professional development at staff meetings and both at the district level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As a matter of fact, they're gonna be finishing up this month with a three-part series

[Suzanne Galusi]: at the district level about leadership and language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the next piece would be a lead teacher role at the elementary level so that an educator who is fully certified with responsive classroom to coordinate with myself, as well as offer support and assistance to the responsive classroom support teams at each building so that we can just maintain and sustain

[Suzanne Galusi]: the ongoing professional development and support for our staff and our teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would also, this person would also be tasked with maintaining their own certification with responsive classroom to ensure that we are compliant and that we are current with best practices.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they would also create and provide district-wide

[Suzanne Galusi]: professional development, both in the, through the mentor program, as well as the initiation program for all new staff at the beginning of the year and ongoing throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now, currently, there are some lead teacher roles at the secondary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We really don't have many lead teacher roles at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are continuing with our CPT coordinator role that has already been in place, but I think this one would be very beneficial to our ongoing work and commitment to responsive classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Not right now, unless someone has a question specifically.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, no, that's a great question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, when it says tier two and tier three, that is not for classroom teachers, that will be for like the reading specialists that fall under me, and maybe some of Joan Bowen staff so in this science of reading shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What is happening is that a lot of the teachers, a while ago, it's been baby steps to kind of make this shift and so one of the pieces that teachers were utilizing as part of their like triangulated assessment with students was FMP and DRAs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those are not really best practice anymore and don't really get at the specifics of how we can really help students with their reading needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so DIBLS has both the phonological piece as well as a comprehension piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is training that we are utilizing Hill for Literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to conduct with teachers tier two so that they have a similar profile to what the teachers are using.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is just for tier two and tier three staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When I got here, it's been kind of like a slow decline.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this year, teachers are aware that it's no longer utilized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the year we've shifted to map and we're trying to build in so that there are multiple measures.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We don't wanna over test students, but we also don't, it's very important that we're not informing our instruction based on like one data set.

[Suzanne Galusi]: if that makes sense, but we are not, it has been communicated through my elementary updates to staff that DRA and Fountas & Pinnell are really no longer part of the science of reading alignment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so those are phasing out, which is why we're bringing the DIBLs in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's so previously classroom teachers for grades K through three were given the developmental reading assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is a tool, as member McLaughlin just said, that people that teachers utilized to assess a student's reading ability.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Grades four through five, as well as tier two reading staff, utilize the Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment system.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Both of those systems, especially DRA, no longer fit the new best practice around explicit reading instruction, which falls in line with the science of reading methodology that the Department of Education

[Suzanne Galusi]: endorses it all also dovetails into their requirement for us to have a K to two screening reading screener for all of our students that is a statewide mandate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so, both the Fountas and Pennell, and the DRA no longer meet the requirements of getting to the explicit

[Suzanne Galusi]: components of a child's reading development to help us really put in the supports that we need to move that student's reading to another level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The DIBLs will do that, which is why we're going to train some tier two and tier three staff in that program as we shift away from the other two that are really no longer supported for best practices.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In regards to student enrollment?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, well, the two highest student enrollment schools are the Brooks and the Roberts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They both are around 520 to 540.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The McGlynn would be next in line.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are, I believe, at about 480, but I would have to double check that number.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the Missituk is a little closer to 425.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Again, I would have to double check those numbers, but that's just the broad range of the four enrollments for the schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, you know what?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, member Ruseau.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think for me, the only concerning piece I have is that if I'm, what I'm listening to this conversation seems like it kind of weighs a little bit heavier to the secondary piece, which maybe Dr. Cushing can speak to in a minute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because if there's a violation, at least at the elementary level,

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, students, for the most part, are contained to the same classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think that it's not always as cut and dry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I think we'd really have to have a conversation about how's the communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: First and foremost, we don't want students to be embarrassed or have their education disrupted.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But if there is a violation, trying to get them in a transition period from one class to the other,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know how realistic that is in terms of like, by the time the teacher maybe even alerts an assistant principal, the student might be in the next class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just worry a little bit about the strictness of the language there in the third paragraph.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if it's just like best efforts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't want to see students disciplined, but I think just the stark nature of the language doesn't really lend itself to a lot of flexibility in how the conversations can happen.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I actually could not hear you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can't, sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're sharing the same audio.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're all in the same room.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the one for me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not, I appreciate the conversation with the caregivers that I have no problem with that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just curious as to like in real time and taking into account the varying levels.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I personally would appreciate that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know I had two meetings prior to this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is the first time I'm seeing the language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I personally would prefer that, but I don't want to necessarily speak for everybody.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The superintendent is just logging on right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, we can give her a minute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think what might be just a little important context for this discussion is we have kind of what was in place pre-COVID and then what wasn't in place during COVID.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So pre-COVID, there were letters that were created, I believe, with attorney Howard Greenspan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They were at increments of 5, 10, and 15.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So those were the levels in which the letters went home to inform families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that piece is correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: During COVID, there were, of course, different circumstances for why students were absent, and there were quarantining needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do know that those letters, or at least to my knowledge, those letters were not going home during the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But in terms of, and I know the DESE has, I believe it was this past February, has put new updates on their website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which I haven't combed through all of it exactly, but in terms of like aligning our policy that we're following here for next year makes sense to me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, they're really supposed to be unexcused.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because if there's been a communication or extenuating circumstance so that you have five absences that the building administration or staff is unaware of, then the letter is like a notification piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that first letter is that first one at five unexcused absences is literally just a notification.

[Suzanne Galusi]: or it recommends that the family can reach out to have a conversation, but it's not really actionable.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When you get to the 10 unexcused absences, that results in a meeting with the school principal and maybe other associated staff, but it kind of builds in the level of notification and need, if that makes sense.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think all I would comment on that is that each lesson has three levels of addressing learner needs so that there is the intervention, the differentiation, the practice and the extension so that that's covered in every lesson.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing and I are just going to present an overview of some of the summer programs that we're looking at in the process of planning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These are not the final detailed plans because they're still in progress, but we're here to just highlight some of the planning that's going on right now and are more than welcome to answer your questions at the end of the presentation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're going to start off with Summer Fun as well as a new opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Summer Fun is an annual tradition here in Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's part of the community schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's back.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to, it was very successful at the Missituk last year in its combination partnership use with the Tufts Pool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're going to have Summer Fun back at the Missituk this year with the adjoining Columbus Park.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in the air-conditioned facility, it makes for a really nice place for summer fun.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Summer fun offers various activities for children ages five to 11, including arts and crafts, sports-related activities, academic-based activities, and of course, as I mentioned, swimming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The flyer went out last week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The director, Mr. Anthony Petrellis, fifth-grade teacher at the McGlynn Elementary School, is back, and so he sent out all of that information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do have it here hyperlinked for you, but it did go out to families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It will begin on July 5th and end on August 12th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Something that's new this year that we're kind of testing out a little bit, there was this outside organization called Kids to Pros, and they reached out to Mr. Maloney in community schools with an opportunity looking to rent one of our buildings for their enrichment summer camp opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The way they structure their camps are they provide families the opportunity for students to select like theme-based activities in the areas of either STEM, sports, or art.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are going to kind of trial this to see how this program's offerings could maybe support the families of Medford and or inform our offerings for summer fun, which is why we're just going to rent the Brooks School and

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you look at the dates from July 5th to August 5th, so just about a month for us to kind of get to know the organization and learn a little bit more about the offerings to see how it could enhance our current programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: More information will be shared with families in terms of enrollment if they so wish to participate in this opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And per Mr. Teixeira, for the English language learner opportunities this summer, the first one, the EL students were offered this wonderful opportunity pre-pandemic, and so it's back this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the STARBASE, which is a STEM

[Suzanne Galusi]: related camp for students in grades six and seven will be able to participate in this program from June 27th to July 1st.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You'll see that it is at Hanscom Air Force Base and Medford Public Schools will be transporting the students that participate in that camp so that the transportation is on the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a free camp, but students are able to engage in STEM related activities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a wonderful, wonderful opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the following are English language learners enrichment and or assistance for over the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You'll see that he has broken it up into three levels for the dates for elementary students, middle school students, and high school students throughout the summer for the month of July.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He does, he is very clear that the EL enrichment programs are dependent upon the hiring of certified ESL teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And on the next one too.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so in looking at starting next year off and helping some students transition academically to the next school year, one of the things that I'm in the process of planning right now with staff is for some, as I'm calling it right now, but step up to academics opportunities to go over reading and math skills in the month of August.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this way,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our teachers and our students will have July to enjoy and rest and recuperate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for those two weeks where the camps have ended and we're transitioning to start the new school year in August, we're looking to have some academic step-up opportunities for students in grades one through five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so what we're looking at right now is having those be probably about 90 minute sessions, two to three times a week, where students would come to their respective schools

[Suzanne Galusi]: and have some skill-based instruction in reading and in math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As I said, we're in the planning stages still, so I'll have more finalized information for you a little, probably next month when we send it out to families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And as this committee knows, we started Camp Mustang in the height of the pandemic as a way to keep students anchored to their school buildings and to make sure that we kept that focus on the social emotional needs of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this year we've kind of called it Camp Mustang 2.0 just because we're trying to

[Suzanne Galusi]: keep current with the needs and the demands of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the format of Camp Mustang 2.0 during the February and April vacation seems to be quite successful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have a lot of enrollment right now for the April vacation as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think what we would like to do in order to plan thoughtfully and meaningfully for camp Mustang in August is for the participating families that took place in camp Mustang for February vacation and April vacation will be sending out a survey.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to elicit some feedback based on the format, student satisfaction, the program that we offered, just so that we can use that feedback to guide our plans for the August Camp Mustang format.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there'll be more information on that once the survey is sent out, and we'll keep you updated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think the greater differentiation would be that the camps that are run through community schools probably have an associated cost.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the opportunities that are run through the school side, Metro Public Schools, are free of charge.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when we're talking about the academic base, the Camp Mustang, clearly ESY and what Mr. Paul Teixeira for EL, those are free of cost.

[Suzanne Galusi]: summer fun, uh, the camp based ones and the camps that Dr. Cushing spoke about for community schools probably have associated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I'd be happy to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Do I have to turn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's twofold.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think one is that the teachers are actually seeing the effects of the sustained training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think the format of it was sustained mentoring throughout the entire year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So every month, one of the consultants from Hill for Literacy came and worked with every kindergarten, first grade and second grade staff member.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So one month they may come in and they may watch the teacher teach the ECRI routines, give them on the spot feedback so that they can grow their instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then other months were virtual trainings where they spent 90 minutes a month with that consultant per grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the kindergarten team met for 90 minutes, the first grade team for 90 minutes, the second grade team for 90 minutes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And not only were they given specific professional development on the content of ECRI, but they were also able to get on the spot coaching in terms of I've tried this, it's not working.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How can I walk back the skill when I've done this and the students aren't getting it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they have really been able to get that sustained like coaching model throughout the entire year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'm happy to say they'll be back next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, and I think that part of that is that even in the, with everything that was put on teachers plates this year and how difficult this year has been and how trying to do like this new PD in, in this year alone, it's difficult in any year, but this year alone, it was really challenging for teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think at the beginning, there was a lot of apprehension, but they have really seen firsthand.

[Suzanne Galusi]: the positive effects that students are having and that they're seeing in their reading development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's been very meaningful for them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That help?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're here to present just a little update on how camp Mustang the first of the school vacation weeks went for February vacation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: On this first slide we discussed this as we explained camp Mustang to this body previously we just wanted to have this slide in here just to review a little bit of.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The purpose for camp Mustang for both of the vacation weeks, so it is a way to keep students anchor to school throughout the vacation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this way they have time to still socially engage with their grade level peers from across the district, as well as have an opportunity to participate in some enrichment activities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students were provided with several different choice activities, which Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen will explain and discuss on an upcoming slide, that were prepared by Medford Public Schools employees.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The offerings, as we previously said, focused on both academically rich enrichment opportunities, as well as movement and physical opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students from kindergarten to grade 12 were invited up to Medford High School on the Tuesday of the vacation, February 22nd, and the Wednesday, February 23rd.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The morning session was dedicated to our elementary students in grades kindergarten through grade five,

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the afternoon was dedicated to the secondary students in grades six through 12.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of these offerings took place at Medford High School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as you can see here, we had a little bit over around 100, excuse me, 300 or a little over active registrations when we sent this out to families in Medford.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As you can see for the first day for the elementary morning session, we were expecting 187 students, but 148 showed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for the PM session for the secondary, we were expecting 56 and 47 students participated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: On the second day, our numbers went up slightly and at the elementary, we were expecting 212 students to arrive and 171 participated in the activities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in the PM session, we were expecting 56 secondary students and 42 showed up for the camp.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen expressed, we have gotten some great feedback from families as well as staff and students about the opportunities that they had on the February vacation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have already planned to bring it back for the April vacation, as you can see here for the same two days.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it would be the Tuesday and the Wednesday following a similar format, culminating both of these

[Suzanne Galusi]: activities for the vacation weeks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to follow up with some surveys so that we can gather some input in terms of like plans moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we're going to keep the same format for this right as for right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Many of the same opportunities are going to be offered again to families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are just finalizing that registration form now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do have a few staff that were unable to offer something in February.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there will be, they're able to offer in April, so there will be some newer opportunities as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think throughout this pandemic, our goal for Camp Mustang, which we launched last summer and we call it, now we've called these vacations, 2.0, but the goal behind Camp Mustang was always to offer an anchor for students to the schools, to keep them engaged in the school community and with their peers and with like the trusted adults that are in the building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is something we're definitely looking into for the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we want to gauge some information from the surveys.

[Suzanne Galusi]: However, we would be looking towards the month of August as a way, again, to transition students back to the school community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so most of the morning, I'm going to just explain a little bit about the map growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this was our second opportunity to do a data dive, excuse me, with staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first data dive happened towards the beginning of the year, and it really focused for teachers on the platform and the format, and the family report that is sent home to families to understand how their children are doing growth wise.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This focused on the professional development day on the other resources that are available to educators on the platform, because there are several reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as you can see here, the four bullet points, educators were grouped by discipline and grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they were grouped by their department and or the grade in which they work for the training sessions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They reviewed the current data in both the math

[Suzanne Galusi]: and their reading scores.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Time was provided for teachers to access their class data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So teachers were provided after this training with MAP Growth, which went for two hours, they then had the opportunity to work in leveled groups, grade level, or their department levels to really work with the data with their school-based teams and principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Teachers were given the time to examine the reports that were available for educators to shift instructional to shift instruction and provide supports for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: learning targets to identify impactful uses for map growth data throughout the school year, explore components of strengths, strength-based conversations to support and interpret the application of data, and to accurately communicate assessment results to stakeholders.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in the participation, Dr. Cushing and I were a part of these trainings as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We stuck with one

[Suzanne Galusi]: particular level, Dr. Cushing can speak about his, I stuck with kindergarten, just to make sure we heard the complete, we were part of the training for one complete source.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so teachers were brought through various other report forms and shown exactly how to access the data to create student groups, to move instruction, as well as to really target the growth that students are making throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the school committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In a minute, Dr. Cushing will display the brief slide deck I have just to explain the extended day math opportunity that we have for students at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, I'm, I know this goes without saying, but as a result of the coronavirus pandemic math instruction has taken a pretty big hit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In a recent study from the NWEA, student performance in math when compared to any other content area has seen the largest deficit throughout these three years of the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's several reasons for that in relation to the other content areas, but some of them are highlighted here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So lost math instruction really cannot be duplicated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when students are absent for various reasons throughout this pandemic,

[Suzanne Galusi]: mostly quarantining, the direct instruction that they received from the teacher cannot be replicated.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students really, many students struggle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when they are not there for the direct lesson, and all of the learning that comes through during that lesson, it's not so easy as having parents work with them at home, or send a remediation pack at home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that that instruction is key.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Unlike title one and remedial reading services in Medford, any tier two math supports are provided by the classroom teacher in in the elementary schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think oftentimes parents

[Suzanne Galusi]: Not all, but I think some feel more comfortable maybe working with their students on reading and at home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think sometimes the math piece can be a little difficult for families to help their students while they're at home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So therefore, we would like to offer an extended day opportunity for math for targeted students that have lost instruction due to various reasons, mostly quarantining, throughout these three years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are going to, we're in the process right now, I'm in the process right now of working with educators to look at various data forms in order to target students that would benefit from this opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that includes our math data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for this year, we've had two rounds now of data that teachers have to be able to work with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do have MCAS data for students that are currently in grades four and five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We can't include grade three yet because they didn't take it last year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will say though a little like asterisk to that data point is that last year not every student took the MCAS and then some students were home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in terms of like the validity of data we're really looking at like the math

[Suzanne Galusi]: map data, as well as corresponding math data that teachers are using in terms of their curriculum assessments and associated work, along with attendance reports and quarantining reports.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of that data, teachers are working through, they are providing student names for eligibility, and we're having a panel review to go over that data for eligibility.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Then letters and emails will be sent to families telling them that their child would probably benefit and inviting them to this opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The format for this, we would like to start the week of March 14th and have it be twice a week after school until 4 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Knowing that dismissal is at about 2.35,

[Suzanne Galusi]: we would have a brief little transitional period with a snack and have a solid 60 to 70 minutes of math instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would, and then the 4pm dismissal time families can come and pick their children up from school, and we are also going to provide a late bus for some families if they need that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And or if some families attend if the students also attend other after school programming in Medford the late bus could bring them to you know the YMCA.

[Suzanne Galusi]: or some of the other locations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm working with Megan Fidlecari and David Murphy on the late bus transportation piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is an opportunity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What's different from this than some of the other opportunities we've had that were like strictly focused a little bit on the MCAS, which was really just for grades two through five, this will be for grades K through five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we would like to keep the groupings somewhere between 12 to 16 students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: we are going to be using ESSER funds to pay for the stipends and the late busing and any associated materials.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I've spoken a little bit about some of the data sets, but just so that you are aware in terms of like the content that we're going to be providing students, because this is also an interesting year in the fact that we're doing three math pilots.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And three math pilots that have three separate scope and sequences.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we have to look at at materials that are going to kind of align all three of those and really target where the students are, which is why that the map math data is so crucial because it gives us not only standard trends.

[Suzanne Galusi]: at each grade level for each school, which is what Carmen Williams and I have been working on, which I greatly appreciate her help.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That way we'll be able to provide teachers with the data trends at their school for their grade level, as well as the individual student needs that are gonna be in that group.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is gonna help us develop the lessons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we will be using the current programs as well as pulling from illustrative math tasks, which really has students working on their problem solving and application skills and some Eureka math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if you have any questions about this opportunity, please let me know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Per grouping, so let's say at one of the schools for the fifth grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're looking for the fifth grade class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would be about somewhere from 12 to 16 students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now it we're using the data to inform our, our groupings, because we really want to target those students that had that lost instructional piece because, you know, math builds on one another and so if students are missing the foundational skills they're going to have a tremendous time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: then moving to fractions, let's say, like fourth grade's very heavy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're supposed to come to fourth grade with that solid number sense of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But for some of those students, they lost that in third grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so now when they're in fourth grade and they have to use that applied knowledge to do fractions, some students didn't feel that impact from the pandemic,

[Suzanne Galusi]: some did.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we're trying to create a space for them to catch up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, that's right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's going to be the piece of the panel review.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're going to wait and see where the data leads us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if I'm able to staff it, then absolutely we can increase it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I have to wait for the review piece of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, no, no, no.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's why I'm facilitating this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's going to be the same

[Suzanne Galusi]: the same data sets, the same panel review, the same process, because I'm facilitating that process in conjunction with Faiza Khan, the math director.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other piece, just because I just wanted to say, so one of the things that I've worked really hard to do as well is make sure that our reading department, like creating the elementary reading department,

[Suzanne Galusi]: which includes Title I, as well as remedial reading teachers, so that we're using the same criteria, even in buildings that don't qualify for Title I, so that we are servicing the students where the need is.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Just because we're just trying to tweak that process a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, I just want to make sure that I see what the groupings look like so that I'm not exposing the confidentiality piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of this, that kind of varies a little bit, Jessica, from school to school, because some of it was, this is an opportunity for staff as well to participate in the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There is a stipend attached, but there are different staff that are participating within each of the buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But this is an opportunity to help students

[Suzanne Galusi]: that have missed instruction due to quarantining and the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is open for students that are on IEPs, newcomer, EL.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have to look at the data and to decide the eligibility for the program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But it varies a little bit, Jessica.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you want, I could reach out to you and have a conversation with you about that more specifically for your son.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just to clarify that is correct title one is supplement not supplant, which is why all of the schools have remedial reading teachers, and then the schools that qualify for title one services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Additionally, have title one reading teachers, so that piece is correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that clarification just in case there are people at home that didn't understand that difference.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I completely agree with the hands-on interactive, which that's the piece that the illustrative math tasks bring in to this program so that students can take some of the applied math skills that we're going to be remediating and enriching and use that to create or complete the hands-on tasks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The data that we're using is from, as I said previously, it's from the math curriculum that they are using in the classroom, the assessments and the associated work, as well as their performance on the math testing, which students have now gone through two rounds of that so far in their schooling.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so,

[Suzanne Galusi]: and their attendance record to see if they've really been impacted by absences due to quarantining, maybe any other associated medical issues or any other reasons for absences.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But they will be with their grade level peers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I actually was going to say the same thing, but Dr. Cushing said it beautifully.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want you to be also mindful that when situations like this do occur,

[Suzanne Galusi]: we are notified and so the conversation then happens between myself and oftentimes Joan Bowen if it is a student as you have described that would be on an IEP even today.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen, Director of Approval Services, and myself had a meeting very similar at a school about this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's definitely a conversation and things are definitely addressed between myself and the principal or the team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Documentation is reviewed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think that it is a very, as we're explaining to you here, I mean, it is February and out of four schools, we only have

[Suzanne Galusi]: to across the schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's very infrequent because other supports are in place at the schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so conversations are happening around the need for a suspension if that comes up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And a lot of them are really not the suspensions necessarily the way that you may be thinking.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of them are more therapeutic in nature.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think the situations are very sensitive and

[Suzanne Galusi]: confidential and just handled at the school level with the support team that's in place.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then other offerings will be in the realm of movement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some of those possible activities will have students engaged in like yoga, mindfulness, cooperative games, team sports and activities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen said, we have the teachers finalizing those offerings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The dates on the next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So right now we're looking at two days during the February vacation and two days during the April vacation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We wanted to be mindful of everyone's, you know, vacation times, but also keep students connected to school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So both of those offerings are on the Tuesday and the Wednesday of each vacation week, so that they have the Monday holiday to celebrate with families and hopefully re-engage with school a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen said, we're going to have the elementary students coming in in the morning for three hours from 8.30 to 11.30 and then the secondary staff coming in from 12.30 to 2.30.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of this will be housed at the high school so that it is a district-wide approach and students are engaging with district-wide peers for these offerings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The registration information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So after, as Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen said, we met with staff today.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have to say we are so grateful and excited about this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have about 24 to 28 staff that have come up with some fabulous activities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To offer students of Medford and we're just so excited to release this this week, but we're compiling the activities and then a flyer and a Google form for the actual registration link will be provided on Thursday.

[Suzanne Galusi]: so that it is separate that will go out to all families and then it will also be embedded in the superintendent's email on Friday.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We will have a hard copy flyer so that it alerts families to and to tell them how to get to the Google form and we will also send it out clearly via email.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It will be translated and accessible for all of our families to sign up with the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it goes without saying, but I'm just going to say it anyway, that this is an offering that we are doing for students free of cost.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So families will just be able to have their children sign up and attend.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the only thing we would like is that we want the students to try and have just, if they're signing up for both days, we're going to encourage them to sign up for two different activities so that they have a varying experience.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hopefully, maybe they'll pick

[Suzanne Galusi]: mind and a movement activity but we will note that in the registration information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're hoping but dependent upon enrollment there may be some activities that we previously thought we could run that we wouldn't be able to run and we'll just let the staff and the families know about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a great question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm so glad you asked that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's probably going to be two ways.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we did receive a grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We got a reimbursement grant for our Camp Mustang offering last summer because it was an SEL offering of $42,000.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of that reimbursement will be clearly put towards this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Depending on some of the offerings, especially coming out of vocational school, we may have to dip into some Easter funds as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Did you think you did?

[Suzanne Galusi]: You have me reading four pages every meeting, not a sentence.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think being part of the student sessions as well, it was very interesting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have to just echo what was said about this just being a really challenging time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think information that's coming in can be overwhelming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I know my level is pre-K to five, but I'm the mother of two high school students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I mean, I know what both of my email inboxes look like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when email is sent and information is sent to families, I think it can be overwhelming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was interesting to me to listen to the students say that they wanted information almost in methods that we had in place like before technology.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, they wanted those conversations in their homerooms or in their advisory blocks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is like what Stacey was speaking to, to like

[Suzanne Galusi]: have it woven through the year and have it like varied modalities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if there are things that we can have on, um, even like through the city side.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Like if I look to our local community TV stations, um, both the school one and the one that's on the city side, if maybe there's like, yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A way to put like a ticker or something on it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, and I know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're also in the process of updating and creating a new website, which I think will be a little bit more user-friendly to our community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that that will also be helpful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because I know during the pandemic, Stacey had created her own kind of resourced website, which is linked to our website.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I think sometimes coming up with other

[Suzanne Galusi]: Facebook.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to touch a little bit on the elementary portion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This slide just, I know I've spoken to you about the responsive classroom implementation and initiative over these past two years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so these are just the dates that I've presented about responsive classroom to this governing board with the link to those presentations just for your review.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But what I want to do on this next slide is just remind everyone.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the elementary level and response,

[Suzanne Galusi]: to this proactive approach is the responsive classroom program, which is woven through everything we do at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Responsive classroom is a set of practices that build academic and social-emotional competencies.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a belief that children learn best when they feel safe.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Classroom expectations, routines, those are all discussed with students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are modeled with students, so students know what it looks like and sounds like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: within their learning environments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The language that's used throughout this, and this is the piece that we're focusing on this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Last year when we brought responsive classroom in, at all the buildings, it was that like foundational level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So all the training with staff, all the work we did in the buildings was on the first six weeks, setting it up in the classrooms, and it was on morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does that look like?

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it was all of those foundational pieces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year, that is still there, and it is still reviewed, but we're adding in the next layer, which is the language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because the language that we use as professionals with one another as colleagues, as well as with students, really can set the tone.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the leadership style that we have and the language we use with those around us in that environment is what we're focusing on this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do want to say that like Stacey Shulman has been my partner in this work from the very beginning, our first presentation to you was together.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the next piece which is the nexus was also a combination of Stacey and our work last year when we knew returning from the pandemic was going to be difficult for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we added this fifth special into our schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students, so the responsive classroom piece is the woven embedded part and nexus is this explicit teaching of some of those social emotional skills, as well as the executive functioning skills that can limit the social emotional pieces as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We created this together as the fifth special so that students once a week have this

[Suzanne Galusi]: Learning in their schedules and part of the curriculum that they're doing in there is our Michigan model zones of regulation pieces where students are working on self regulation and social emotional skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's something that we're clearly actively working on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have been all year long.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will say that the first job fair that we hosted,

[Suzanne Galusi]: yielded 22 new quarries.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So HR has been in the process of onboarding all of those 22 people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some were interested in daily substitute positions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some were interested in more permanent positions like a paraprofessional or SSAs, because they might only be able to commit to like half days or a day here or there through the week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we were pretty pleased with 22.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And part of the ongoing conversation is,

[Suzanne Galusi]: doing another one come January.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the time where some college, we get some assistance from college students that come home, but we're just actively working on it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's continuously posted on our website and we're looking to host another job fair.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do know that the 22, some of them have been actively working already.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So when we've presented on this before, you've seen this graphic in some of our other presentations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the important piece here, Dr. Christian, if you could just, yes, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the important piece with this graphic, this is part of the Department of Education's graphic to display the multi tiered system of support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can just see here all the layers of how we are, what we're doing to address individual student needs, and that we're looking at all the tiers of what students need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So really quickly, what we're going to do in the next slides, the next few slides, is talk about how we are addressing student needs within every tier and how that envelops the science of reading for the early literacy grades.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first slide, tier one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So everyone here has spoken about this piece, but here for tier one, that's all students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's everyone in the classroom, all students together, learning during literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the elementary level, there are two literacy blocks every day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One is for tier two and tier three intervention purposes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other is whole group learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: During that whole group learning, that's when we're doing ECRI.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So every single student is getting ECRI regardless of what their individual support system may be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What are we using for tier one?

[Suzanne Galusi]: In addition to ECRI, we're also using the journeys materials, Lexia, Noozella, some of the supplemental materials we're pulling in as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It happens in the classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Moving on to tier two, tier two can look different depending on the student.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tier two can be a small group that the teacher pulls aside and the students are staying within their room.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tier two could be for remediation as well as enrichment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tier two can also be students that may receive EL services as well as remedial reading services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so they just need a little, the next layer of support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In terms of what we're doing for tier two to address the science of reading, this is where the Hegarty program has been brought in, because it is well aligned to the science of reading.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students that are having a little bit of difficulty and need that, those reading services, they're going to be using the Hegarty program to get that additional foundation of the phonics and the phonemic awareness piece.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In addition to that, some of the other pieces that we're using for tier two instruction are Alexia Learning, reading A to Z. Houghton Mifflin has many components for tier two, the decoding power, as well as the write-in readers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And those are utilized in the classroom, as well as smaller classrooms outside of this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the second literacy block that I spoke about, which is our wind block, when tier two is occurring, as well as tier three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Which I'm going to toss back to Katie.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just want to thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just want to thank this wonderful team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We meet frequently to have these thoughtful discussions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if you have any questions, please let us know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Can you just, I'm not quite sure which slide you're referring to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I last week I sent out an update to elementary families just because this week starts the report card conference week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so part of the letter spoke about the report card conferences, but I also spoke about map growth because it's newly adopted.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I did provide some resources links in that communication to families so that they could see ahead of time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of those links walk the parents through what the screener looks like and can answer some of the questions for them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In terms of the bigger picture of how it relates to the mass dyslexia piece, I think that right now, one of the key pieces of communication I wanted to get to parents is that because we've fully adopted MAP,

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Mississauga was the only school that was using that as their pilot.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for three fourths of our families, they're going to get these family reports to be quite honest, they'll see some baseline data, but there will be no growth, because this is the first time they're taking this screener.

[Suzanne Galusi]: from that growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Missituk families, if their children were in the school for kindergarten and first grade, they may see some growth if they were there because they were part of that pilot last year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're kind of in flux right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As we get this data, as Dr. Keyes was talking about, as this data becomes

[Suzanne Galusi]: more at our fingertips where we can kind of start to see the pieces of the areas and where the students are growing versus their learning edges that we have to address, then I think that's when those thoughtful conversations will happen.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of what we're doing in school buildings is that when teachers are concerned and they're seeing that there is a lack of growth or there are areas that they need to work on with students,

[Suzanne Galusi]: we have in place our student support team and that's where we start because we wanna see those tier one interventions first.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So teachers will come and they'll work with administrators in the building as well as their colleagues to see what are some supports we can put in place tier one for these students, maybe tier two too within the classroom and track the growth, look at the progress monitoring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then if there are further concerns,

[Suzanne Galusi]: we just kind of like go up the level, but those conversations, the parents are informed that their child is being brought to a student support team discussion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And fall, winter, and spring.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, most definitely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So NWEA, I think we heard about this at a previous meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The map growth piece goes all the way, as Dr. Chiesa said, to grade 10.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students are going to be continuously progress monitored and assessed for these skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only difference is on NWEA map, there are two tests for the K-2 level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The one we're using is the K-2 growth because it has the screener piece that checks that box from DESE that

[Suzanne Galusi]: that is the screener that meets the dyslexia guidelines rules.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other test doesn't have the nitty gritty components that we presented to you on this evening, if that makes it clear.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But when students move on to third grade, those five elements of reading, they're going to have that continuously monitored through map growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Am I missing anything?

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no, that's perfect.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So MAP growth is a computer adaptive test, which means that when students take the assessment, they will be challenged with questions if they need to get a little harder, or they will decrease if the students need the questions to be a little easier.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What that looks like broadly is that when a student, you can see here, when a student takes the test, if they're doing well, they're going to keep increasing the level of questions that the student is being asked.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When the student gets a question wrong, they'll dip for the next question and it adapts to where the student is to get their scaled score.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You will see here map growth not only helps groups of students based on achievement level and common zone of proximal development, but it also helps guide with scaffolding and differentiation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, there you go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so part of the data that teachers will also get out of these assessments are ways to help them with the scaffolding and differentiation in the classroom so that they can see the students that need a little bit more remediation versus the ones that need to be challenged a bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, let me just speak to that one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think there are where we are taking students are taking map growth at all levels K to 12 that's the title of the of the test that students are taking.

[Suzanne Galusi]: there are other components on that platform in terms of like varying tests that you can, that teachers will have access to that they can utilize for like quick skill checklists and things like that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the data that we're looking at first and foremost is the map growth assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the K to two level, that's the early literacy screener.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it is K to two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not quite sure in that instance, mayor, I can look into it, but if there was,

[Suzanne Galusi]: If your child or some other children received the wrong test, I can look into that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The section that I was just about to speak to is that MAP growth, there's the accessibility and accommodation aspect to the test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So any students that require any sort of access or accommodations on the test absolutely receive it when they're taking the MAP growth test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Many of the accommodations and accessibility features are embedded, just like they are on MCAS, and so some of them are universal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you want to go to one of the screens, like this is, I know it's really small print, I can just name a few, but like there are universal ones that are like highlighter tools or amplification, text to speech, especially in math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: then there are also going to be some accommodations that are front loaded in the platform by our educators for students that require like an additional level of accommodation per an IEP or a 504.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if students are require having a test read to them by a human reader,

[Suzanne Galusi]: or for math by the actual test that is going to happen during this assessment period as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The teachers accommodation features onto the platform, so they are there for the student and ready during the testing session.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do think.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, sadly, this is the first year we're doing this, and I do think there's definitely going to be a little bit of a learning curve for students as well as staff in terms of administering this assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do not certainly like to hear that students went home sad and upset over an assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can absolutely look into that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was not aware that that happened,

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so, you know, I do apologize for that, but I do think there'll be a little bit of a learning curve this year until students and teachers are comfortable with the platform.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're, I don't know if maybe we should finish the presentation and then take questions because some of your questions will

[Suzanne Galusi]: be answered in just a minute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Does that make sense?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Or should we just answer?

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK, so I think there are these slides here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I know you have a copy of this that you can see some of the other examples of the accommodation features.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then I think just one last slide just shows an example of what the test looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can see that there are icons at the top for students that receive any sort of accommodation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when students take this test, it does lock the computer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It locks the Chromebook so that all that they can access is this assessment so that they can't kind of get out of it and, you know, get lost in something else that would be accessible on the computer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's important to note that we made this shift as a district, and as Dr. Cushing said, it was pretty unanimous, the people on the team, the administrative unit on the team, and educators, that this is the shift that they wanted out of the three assessment tools that we were vetting out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you recall, we had a pilot program going for our literacy screener, which we are mandated to do for the Department of Education, have a literacy screener for students in kindergarten through second grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The teachers and students at then Columbus were using Map Growth, and the other three schools were using Lexia Rapid.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of the shift to jump fully on board for MAP, there were a couple things at play.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One was we did feel that this would be much more streamlined for parents, so that they're not receiving a separate set of parent reports in math and in science from MAP growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and then a literacy screener from Lexia Rapid.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Additionally, when the literacy team did our work with Lexia Rapid, they were very honest in letting us know that they're pretty much going to be dissolving Lexia Rapid in the next year and putting all of their kind of time and effort into Lexia Core 5.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think they themselves as a company are making the shift out of the screening game and more into the

[Suzanne Galusi]: the content game.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that also was a reason for this shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the families and the staff and the students at the then Columbus, now Mississippi are going to be very familiar with math.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's what they've known for the past two years.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just now it's a big shift for the other three schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as Dr. Cushing said, it's math and ELA from K all the way to grade 10.

[Suzanne Galusi]: science will start in grade three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I believe science will start in grade three mid-year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're doing these assessments three times a year, October, February, and June.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The official October date for the opening of assessment is today.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It will close November 5th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There were many teachers that were eager to start the process early, especially those with the MISATCH, because they're familiar with this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Dr. Chiesa and I did open the testing window a little early, knowing that there'll be a learning curve for three schools and that it might be a little easier on the staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are some staff and some students that have already begun this process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All elementary staff were trained and all secondary staff are getting trained on the platform and the assessment tool Wednesday.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year, we will also have staff will be engaging in data dives with the math growth trainers so that they will come in and they will work extensively with our staff on the data components and the data sets, how to utilize it, how to read it, how to explain it to families, and how to use it to then push their instruction and student growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Before we begin, I just want to clarify, or we want to clarify rather, that what we are going to present right now are our year long professional development initiatives and opportunities for staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Of course, there are many other professional development trainings and opportunities happening throughout the school year and throughout the district, but what you're going to see this evening is a snapshot of the year long

[Suzanne Galusi]: initiatives, and we'll start with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for elementary, we have two year long professional development opportunities happening this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One is our continued partnership with Hill for Literacy and the ECRI program, and the other is responsive classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for ECRI, which stands for Enhanced Core Reading Instructions, it is a multi-tiered program that utilizes predictable and explicit effective teaching routines designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of reading instruction K to two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is researched by the National Center on Intensive Intervention and becomes highly recommended.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is used with our journeys program and it is utilized for tier one during the whole class literacy block throughout the day so that every student is receiving this instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A typical ECRI lesson takes about 20 minutes from beginning to end.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Prior to this year, our staff have had about four separate trainings for ECRI, from the science of reading to the ECRI program and what it looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year, what we're doing is really doing, taking like that embedded PD model so that trainers are working with our staff directly through coaching and sustained training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what does that look like?

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you don't mind, Dr. Cushing, going on the next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is just a graphic to kind of like illustrate what the training looks like this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there will be two models.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There will be the training model in which teachers are working with trainers and getting that explicit push to their content knowledge and pedagogy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there's the in-person on the spot coaching model, which is really the piece that is said to kind of like push the teacher's learning and push that instructional growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which benefits students, of course, in the outcome.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is done through in-person sessions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you could please go to the next slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have two coaches through the Hill for Literacy this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have Eleni Stedman, who's been with us from the beginning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this year we also have welcomed Katie Leonard, Dr. Katie Leonard.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Lenny Steadman is working with the McGlynn and the Roberts, and Katie Leonard is working with the Missittuc and the Brooks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the training is monthly, and it is a balance so some months, it is the training session, and it's 90 minute blocks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: so that in a day of training, and actually the Missittuck just had one last week, the kindergarten got 90 minutes, their classrooms were covered, and learning still goes on for the students, but the teachers attended a 90-minute block of training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This happened in first grade, and it also happened in second grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's happening monthly, then three months out of the year, this school year, there's an in person observational, this is where the coaching takes place.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And those trainers are visiting every classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We had our first one last September, excuse me, we had our first one last month in September, where the trainers came, they went into each classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and watched the teacher teach in every lesson.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it provided the opportunity for immediate feedback on those routines that they're doing a great job with, and those routines that are like a growing edge for them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they were able to get that debrief at the end so that they knew what the next steps were going to be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Could you just go back to the next slide?

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's also, I won't, oh yeah, there's a video here that just, this is our trainer, Eleni Steadman, when she was at the Roberts, and she's just doing a brief demonstration of what the EPRI lesson looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can watch it in full a little later, but we can just show a few minutes if the audio works.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a first grade classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you watch that, you'll see more than one routine that she models because there's like five routines in a lesson to lead students through all of those foundational reading skills that are so essential at each grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The second initiative for professional development this year is responsive classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I wanted to start, I know that last December, Stacey Shulman and I presented to you about our responsive classroom initiatives.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at the time, this was our final slide, which was titled Next Steps.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and to date we have met all of these next steps and so I just think it's important to like start here just so you can see where we're going this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So last year our next steps were to continue responsive classroom for this year which we are doing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was to make sure a morning meeting is built into the schedule and so that they can start their day with their peers and it continues to be.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We talked about training and having coaching sessions for staff, which we did over the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We created that responsive classroom support group, or support team, rather, for each school, and we were able to provide responsive classroom training for all new staff during the induction week, as well as during the first week of school for all returning staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The train the trainer model for that responsive classroom support team at each school was held in July.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So now each school has a built in support team for teachers to rely on for guidance and support when they need some help, as well as to provide training within the building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and expansion of training to include power of our words component.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is our goal for this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if we go to the next slide, this is what we will spend some time on the professional development day on November 2nd, providing staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, sorry, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are going to shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now that teachers have somewhat of a solid understanding of morning meeting in the first six weeks, we're now going to focus on

[Suzanne Galusi]: the power that our language has when we're dealing with students and even our colleagues.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're going to take a look at our leadership and our language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so just here is just some of the language that responsive classroom will dive into.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that there's reinforcing language to show students the positive effects

[Suzanne Galusi]: that they can have academically and behaviorally.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's reminding language when students have to be, you know, reminded of expectations, redirecting language, and then envisioning language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So these are the components that we're going to be covering on November 2nd and in accompanying staff meetings for the remainder of the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm gonna ask just to advance, I'll speak on this slide, but I'd like the pictures to be shown as I speak.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the elementary level, we had the wonderful opportunity to offer two accelerated learning programs over the summer per, as Dr. Cushing mentioned, the DESE grant.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first one was focused on early readers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that was for students that would be entering kindergarten, first grade, and second grade, because we know that the pandemic caused a large disruption to those early reading skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the pictures that you see here are just snapshots of some of the activities that happened throughout the week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So these accelerated camps were a week long and it was all day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it was like a typical school day, 8.30 to 2 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It did involve a period of physical education and lunch and recess.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At this camp, it was dedicated to early reading skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have, as I've previously mentioned at a school committee meeting, we are partnered with a program called hill for literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and they are offering professional development year-long this year to our K-2 staff on their ECRI program, which is Enhanced Core Reading Instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we utilized the staff from Hill for Literacy to provide professional development to the licensed Medford educators that worked this camp.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they were able to work with Hill for Literacy and myself on streamlining the ECRI piece to go back into our curriculum and pull out those needed skills that would help advance them for the next grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In going around to the schools, it was just wonderful to see how engaged the students were and how wonderful the teachers were.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Each kindergarten, first grade, and second grade at each school held a program from a licensed Medford Public Schools teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some classrooms, if needed, a paraprofessional was there for support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The second wonderful opportunity, if you don't mind Dr. Cushing advancing two slides.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The second wonderful opportunity we had was to offer a math acceleration camp that was for incoming grades three, four and five students at every building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For this, we offered the teachers training from a company called Better Lessons, but specifically targeted on differentiation techniques in the area of mathematics.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the day and the schedule was set up the same way.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was a full day of school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students were engaged in physical education, math and recess, but they also were engaged in various math activities throughout the day from core content knowledge to math games, centers,

[Suzanne Galusi]: We wanted to get the core curriculum in, but also make it feel like it's summer camp, which increases engagement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So here you can see pictures.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The one on the left was of a fourth grade classroom where they had to work on real life tiny house project, where they had to map out to scale.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I believe it was called tiny house, but I believe this is a scaled school bus.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then on the right, you can just see some of the fun activities that students engaged in to help with the core content, but also make it that camp feel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think, and now I'm going to just pass the microphone to Dr. Cushing to speak about his.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so the, the other wonderful opportunity that we were able to provide method public school students is camp Mustang camp Mustang which we had said connecting for a new school year had a social emotional.

[Suzanne Galusi]: priority.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So unlike the acceleration camps where we had to use data to invite students that we knew would benefit from that opportunity, Camp Mustang was open to all of our Medford Public Schools students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We had that at every level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in the elementary, there were three days of Camp Mustang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: at the middle school two and at the high school one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will just speak, if you don't mind, please advancing to the, we're going to just show you some pictures from Camp Mustang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So because this was a social emotional priority, the whole point when we think of students that needed to have this transition to connect again to school,

[Suzanne Galusi]: We wanted the students that may not have been in school for 18 months.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We wanted the students that were a little anxious of what school would look like because last year was so atypical.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so when the students came in, our focus was on building back that trust and those relationships with the school, which is why our priority was to have Camp Mustang at every single building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: not a district-wide program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We wanted the students immersed in their buildings.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some of those activities, we had activities where they were within their classroom, their grade-level classrooms, and then activities that were building-based.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So scavenger hunts, or you can see here the use of the gymnasium, the use of the art rooms, so that they're getting used to those spaces all over again.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There was a snack

[Suzanne Galusi]: time as well as a recess time so students were able to work with their peers throughout that morning activity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next slide shows some pictures.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, so the next piece that we're going to present on is actually Dr. Riccadeli's Medford Jumpstart Instrumental Camp that she offered to families over the summer for rising students in grades four through eight.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as many of you are aware, our instrumental programs and our

[Suzanne Galusi]: band programs start in the elementary schools at grade four and grade five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there has definitely been, because of COVID, a decline in enrollment and participation in instrumental and band opportunities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so Dr. Riccadeli,

[Suzanne Galusi]: really worked hard on this as a way to build up participation in our programs throughout the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it was a big success.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have some pictures here that she supplied for us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But students, as you can see, strengthened their musical skills and techniques while covering topics including note reading, rhythm skills, sight reading, tuning, intonation, and instrumental terminology.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The district supplied violins and various percussion instruments free of charge, so that was not a burden on families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If students were interested, they were able to join and were provided the instruments.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the conclusion of the two-week program, students presented everything they learned in the little theater up at the high school to their families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was largely successful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The students were very happy to be there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know that she's looking to continue a program like this next summer as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we just want to also mention, I know that we have reported on this before, but this year our big focus for school year 2021 to 2022 is on social emotional learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so at the elementary level, what does that look like?

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have responsive classroom, which we were able to implement last year during the pandemic and continue this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So over the summer, we were able to create support, responsive classroom support teams at every building, and they participated in a week-long training, like a train-the-trainer session this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was very intensive, but it was very rewarding.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so what we were able to take away from that experience is not only support teams at every building, but district-wide trainers, so that we can continue offering responsive classroom training for our staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have continued with our schedule to maintain that morning meeting time where every student starts their day from 830 to 915 with their peers during morning meeting and academics and services begin after that time so that all students have that opportunity to be with their peers and start their day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: collectively.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That will build that trust, that community that we want learners to have so that they can take those academic risks and feel safe in their learning environment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we are going to be continuing that training throughout the year with the use of that staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also made sure that we trained staff during the induction week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some of those trainers went to the new teacher training and provided responsive classroom training for the elementary teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other thing that we've done this year that I know I've reported on, but I worked collaboratively with Stacey Shulman, and we created the fifth special, which is called Nexus, and is, at the start, completely in response to the pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we know the need for targeted social-emotional assistance, as well as executive functioning skills that were lost during the pandemic time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we know that this class may kind of like evolve over time to suit the needs of the students but at this moment for this school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a strictly social emotional focus so the curriculum that we're using when students come once a week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: is a Michigan model, which is our health curriculum as the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we only focus on the social emotional lessons of the Michigan model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So instead of the classroom teachers doing those lessons, the nexus teachers will now do those lessons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're also using the zones of regulation, which has been primarily in grades K through two across the district, but we're going to expand that because those skills are just as important for grades three, four and five.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that program adapts itself to the appropriateness of the grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just to give you like a snapshot, some of the things in the zones of regulation are not just how to work on self-management skills, but it's also, there's a whole piece on like growth mindset versus fixed mindset, which are important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: important skills for students to have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the other piece, once a month, Stacey Shulman and I are working hand in hand with the Nexus teachers and staff every week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to weave in a executive functioning skill that is appropriate for the grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that was, those are also pieces that were lost a little last year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So

[Suzanne Galusi]: how to pack your backpack, how to work with a two pocket folder, how to take notes in the upper grades, whatever the skills are, we'll be working in collaboration with staff as well to weave in some of those executive functioning skills that were lost, but crucially important for students to be independent learners.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in closing, we just included the enrollment numbers for you as of last week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To note, some of the increases are at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have increased one kindergarten section at three out of the four schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the Brooks and the Roberts have five kindergarten classes this year, and the Missittuck has four.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also increased, I don't know if you wanna speak to it, but some of Joan's specialized programming so that at the Roberts, there is an additional connections program.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at the Brooks Elementary School, there's also an additional language-based classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of these increases were based clearly on student need and population.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no, I was just going to echo what you were saying, Mr. Murphy, and just add, you know, one or two points, which was because you did such a great job, but which was, of course, we're taking the same approach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, with camp Mustang, as we will with our other summer camps.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it is in collaboration with Joan Bowen and the, and the training that she offers the summer fun.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In addition, we were very mindful of the week that we picked to run this camp because we wanted to make sure that it was after the ESY programs and the EL programs were completed so that all students would be able to participate in this social emotional camp.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And may I, Mayor?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, no problem.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Camp Mustang was born out of the need that we know some students are going to need a transitional period back to school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for some of our students, they missed 15 months of school working remotely from home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we know that that transition back, just the transition back into a building is going to be a lot for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the whole point of Camp Mustang is a social emotional camp

[Suzanne Galusi]: where students can get re-acclimated to their surroundings and working alongside their peers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's going to be activities that are school-based and using all of the locations within the building so that you may be playing in the gymnasium to remind them of what that is like in that space.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll be eating in the cafeteria.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll be doing scavenger hunts throughout the building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll be doing team building, collaborative.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It will start at the elementary level with a morning meeting, which is how we start the day every day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just to build in those routines and locations to just help ease their transition back to school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I had sent an update to all current families last week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mentioned the summer offerings and I had said that more information about signing up will be coming out at the beginning of July.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But that absolutely is our hope.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's, that's the whole purpose of the camp is for students and families that feel students would benefit from this experience.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, um, once we send out the, uh, signup forms, we'll have a better sense as to how to adjust staffing and what the groupings will look like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I mean, we want to keep the specific groups, um, to a manageable number, but then that would just mean bringing on some staff, some additional staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll just wait and see what the enrollment looks like.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, so I know we're probably all gonna echo the same sentiment when it comes to Tony, but I just wanna say her leadership, she's measured and thoughtful and just so knowledgeable and so collaborative.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And as both a principal and in this new role this year, it's just been an absolute pleasure being able to work with her.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is very bittersweet because we're so very happy for Tony, but very sad for us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is a little retirement bag of treats for the summer with some cards from elementary students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, how sweet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you can just advance to the next slide in the interest of time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You'll notice hyperlinked on the front page of the plan for our strategic improvement is going to be a hyperlink to a glossary of terms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is just a small sample of what would be included in our glossary of terms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are other educational terms that we will be adding to this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a draft, but just as a sampling to show you some of the terms, just to make sure that the greater community understands all of the language and terminology referenced in our plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have here the term and then the definition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for example, you can see listed what a 504 plan entails and how you qualify for one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: terms in terms of positions, you have the BCBA, BTA, the difference between the two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And one other example is the credit for life.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is something that happens at the high school level with the junior class for financial literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just so that the greater community has an understanding of all of the terms listed in the strategic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: From here, I'm going to kick it off starting the, we're gonna dive into, thank you, the ACEs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first bucket, the A, is achievement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the objective for the achievement part is to develop and implement strategic wide curricula, instructional strategies, and assessments that allow learners to reach their potential as knowledgeable, ethical, and critical thinking citizens.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So today, myself and Dr. Riccadeli are going to present the achievement bucket.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first one in achievement, there are four initiatives and I will speak to two and Dr. Riccadeli will speak to two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This first one, you'll see it's their listed initiative A1.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is establish an ongoing curriculum review cycle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the anticipated outcomes for the curriculum review cycle would be to ensure that our curriculum is aligned and updated and current with Massachusetts frameworks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Assessing curriculum for bias and professional development to support curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now those are the the broad anticipated outcomes underneath the anticipated outcomes will be action items.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just as a brief example.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the action items that align to these anticipated outcomes would be right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently, we are in the process.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Many departments are in the process of updating

[Suzanne Galusi]: their curriculum to the Massachusetts frameworks which have recently been updated so departments such as humanities and fine arts.

[Suzanne Galusi]: health, world language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're in the process of that now, and the action item would speak to that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're also in the process of vetting and piloting to implement new curriculum based on making sure it's updated with the Massachusetts frameworks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those, as you know from probably some of the budget hearings as well as curriculum subcommittee meetings, we have mathematics, science, and humanities in the process of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Every year, annually, we use a rubric tool to assess our curriculum for bias, and that will continue, and professional development is part of the curriculum review cycle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to now pass it to Dr. Cadell to speak about A2.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now moving to a three.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have the curriculum piece, and we have the instructional piece assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so an achievement, a three initiative is to implement common assessments to inform instruction and make modifications to our current curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is the piece that's going to drive

[Suzanne Galusi]: a lot of the decision-making in the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And our anticipated outcomes would be how we are utilizing this student data to inform our decisions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's kind of like the big umbrella piece to this particular initiative.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So below that is data to better identify student need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is if students that need remediation as well as enrichment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Determining the growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and achievement of each individual student.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then streamlining and updating our district-wide assessment schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what this looks like is we currently have some district-wide assessment pieces that we look at per grade level, per content.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we also want to try and work on coming up with a more streamlined district-wide assessment tool.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that would be common from, let's say, grade three through high school, grade 10 or grade 12.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That would be common, so we would have a common platform as well as common language amongst educators and administrators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This would give us streamlined data so that we could really drill down to the specific needs of our students as well as making sure our curriculum is filling the needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the other piece is enhancing and building upon the data teams that we currently have at each of our schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that especially next year, that's gonna be very important to bridge the gap to this break in instruction that COVID has caused.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So those are two action items in relation to the anticipated outcomes for assessment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there's one more initiative in achievement, Dr. Riccadeli.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now it's back to Dr. Cushing and Mr. Tucci.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, I see the superintendent's hand.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll defer to her, and then I'll follow up if.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just personally wanted to say that the coaching to me is the

[Suzanne Galusi]: more of the key point in working with the staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The interventionist, to me, is a structural piece that is a very delicate balance when it comes to mathematics, because we don't want to put interventionists to pull students out of a math lesson that they're going to miss core content.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And right now, if you have the coaching to work with the teachers on part of the math curriculum,

[Suzanne Galusi]: like we were talking about, the interventionist piece is a little bit more of the scheduling and the structural piece of how to have interventionists be effective and actually compliment the math lesson.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know if you're understanding what I'm saying, but when a teacher has a math lesson for 60 to 75 minutes, it's really not, at the elementary level, it's really not all that

[Suzanne Galusi]: effective to remove students from the class for intervention.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They need to be there for the lesson, the activities that follow, the review.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have to build up the structure, especially coming out of COVID, where the successful piece of using an interventionist would be pushing into the classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for next year, where there's going to be three, maybe four, but at least three different math programs going on, it's not the best use of staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Does, do I, I don't know if I'm.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I understand.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, everyone.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not quite sure if you are going to display something on the screen or do you want me to just I was going to save the slides for the directors, if that's okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'll just discuss the high level priorities that are at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In speaking with Dr. Chiesa, we've worked together collaboratively on all of this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the things that we've been speaking about is making sure that

[Suzanne Galusi]: We know that we're, Dr. Keizer is gonna speak about this, but we wanna make sure that we have the remote platform for ThinkCentral.

[Suzanne Galusi]: next year, because that is going to be the continuation of what the students are utilizing, as well as the early literacy screening tools, which she will be speaking about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As you are well aware, we've been piloting both the Lexia and the map growth.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She'll discuss a little bit of that, but that needs to continue as well for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've really worked a lot in terms of professional development in the

[Suzanne Galusi]: uh, science of reading and in literacy, and we brought in and have partnered with Hill for literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're continuing with that this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, as a matter of fact, this week and next week, there's been some trainings that are happening at grade levels across the district, and Dr Keyes will speak more about that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But that is a need that will continue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um,

[Suzanne Galusi]: as well as the program resources that we've utilized this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Many that were pre-COVID, but a lot that we brought in this year that we want to see continue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And you'll get a little bit more detail on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Should we go to Dr. Chiesa for the speaking with humanities?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Excuse me, Dr. Cushing?

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just gonna say, is it okay if I jump in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, I just wanted to say, of course, there'll be a somewhat of a void in losing the Italian program but I do want to be mindful that

[Suzanne Galusi]: What we're putting in place moving forward for the additional specialist program for students is based on the current need right now coming out of a global pandemic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And what students need right now is a little bit more concentrated and extended focus on social emotional skills, as well as developing some of those executive functioning skills that were lost in these past 14 to 15 months.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I do wanna say that

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'm not minimizing at all the Italian program, but it also did not service every student in the building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this fifth additional special will service every student in the building, especially at this moment in time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I also wanted to mention in reference to your question, member Van der Kloot, that a lot of what you're talking about in that void, that is woven into all of the ELA curriculum, the social studies curriculum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's embedded in part of the responsive classroom and the content that the teachers focus on in morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and as well as the addition of all of the cultural proficiency work that we're doing with staff and bringing into the classrooms every day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that kind of global piece, though it may not be answered by what the Italian program did, but it actually, in all of the other areas of the day, it's more of a broader scope.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to have to hire some new staff for that position.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, perfect.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was a wonderful segue, Mr. Murphy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Before I start talking about the elementary school principals, I'm just going to introduce the elementary representative that will be speaking on behalf of the principals and that is Mr. Kirk Johnson.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If he could just unmute for a minute just to address the school committee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Once that happens, I will move on to the elementary school priorities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Mr. Johnson.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So a result of that collaborative process are the key priorities that we have displayed here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm just going to explain each one of them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if there are any questions, just please let me know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first key priority at the elementary level is grade level paraprofessionals to ensure more inclusive programming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is just to ensure the needs of students and to support them next year, no matter the setting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So these are grade level paraprofessionals that could be supporting students in special education, but also supporting students in general education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We know that students are going to have needs that are academic as well as social emotional, and having some additional support next year will be very instrumental.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next piece is the reading intervention specialist.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what we know will be needed next year is a little bit more support in terms of intervention.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Having additional reading interventionists, especially to target those foundational years that were interrupted

[Suzanne Galusi]: two years in a row.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what would be next year's second grade and third grade will be really key in making sure that we are giving the interventions and the supports to students that are having a little bit more difficulty closing that gap.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Building-based professional development, that's something that I'm really excited to see part of the budget this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As you know, it's something that's important for principals to be able to have some professional development funding in every year, but especially coming out of COVID.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This will allow principals to be able to use some funding

[Suzanne Galusi]: that will specifically target some training and professional development within their school buildings, which will be a little bit more drilled down and focused than district-wide professional development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Increased adjustment Councilor services.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in my work with Stacey Shulman and in speaking with her, this is something that she's also looking to do, which she'll probably report to you on later on in the week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What she's doing right now is she's reevaluating the support levels at each and every school and going to make sure that they are streamed line for support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: instituting additional specials programming responsive to COVID-19.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as you're aware, Italian is no more, and at the elementary level, we will be needing a fifth special.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Mr. Murphy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You are correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this year it was not a factor in terms of scheduling for students within buildings because of the remote academy and we were able to staff remote academy specialists.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that way students were able to get what they need and the schedule in the buildings were able to proceed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next year in response to everything that is happening, I am also working with Stacey Shulman as well as some principals.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we are going to be working on a fifth special

[Suzanne Galusi]: that will target specifically the COVID related needs of students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That means we are looking to make sure that we are supporting students' social emotional needs, health needs, and executive functioning needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the things this year that I've tried to really make a priority is getting to the schools and speaking with students and speaking with staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also surveyed staff in regards to the fifth special and where they feel the needs are.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it was kind of overwhelming the supports that the educators feel that would benefit students next year is giving them a little bit more time focused specifically on learning and academics so that the SEL needs are continuing throughout the entire day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Also with a little focus on executive functioning skills that may have been lost this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Finally, the Zaner-Blauser program, which I know was presented to the school committee prior to COVID and was part of our initial budget needs before COVID hit in March, that's circling back again.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As you are aware, if not, just a little refresher, Jan Hollenbeck worked with the principals and assistant principals for the past year or two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: trying to get the Xenoblazer program here, which would be a focus of printing in K1 with a refresher in grade two, and a cursive writing program for grades three and four.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that covers the elementary priorities.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have any questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You're doing such a great job there, Mr. Murphy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, all I would say is that I think in listening to people speak this evening, the SEL thread starts in pre K and goes all the way through 12th grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One of the curriculums that we have at the elementary level is also zones of regulation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if students aren't in the green zone and their social emotional needs are not taken care of, then they're not going to be ready to learn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we know, I mean, I'm a mother myself, I have two very different students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And one fits very nicely inside the box and has done well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: the past year and a half and one of my children is not even anywhere near that box and has had, you know, her struggles.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I think we know that when students come back to school, they're all going to be at different places.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And part of this special is going to focus on those social emotional needs, in addition to what teachers are doing on a daily basis, six hours that they have those students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but also weave in some of the executive functioning skills that were missed and lost during children being at home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And part of those executive functioning skills are also social skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not just the executive functioning skills that relate to academics.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Some of those are the social skills that will also be worked and enhanced.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other piece that I do wanna say where there is somewhat of an unknown for next year,

[Suzanne Galusi]: Currently right now, and you know the principals could speak to this as well, but I know many of the grades, especially on nice weather days, they're taking the students outside for a snack.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's an opportunity to have another mask break.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's also an opportunity to get some fresh air and after the recess run around for a little bit and get that kind of

[Suzanne Galusi]: second burst that you're talking about, member Ruseau, I would imagine that if we are, time and learning is very important, but if we're also returning next year with masks still in place, a similar schedule and requirement is still going to be happening where we're going to take those opportunities for lessons as well as snack to be outdoors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But could I also just add on that, um, Dr. K just let me know that the tiles actually were already fixed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That illustrates what Mr. Murphy was talking about when these things come up, they're just addressed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to clarify to member Rousseau's comment that just in certain situations, the principals work with families when these videos come up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there are students that are transitioning or transgender, the students are choosing the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: puberty video that they want to participate in and that they relate with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just wanted to make that clear.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, the nurses typically still give it to the girls and the PE teachers will give it to the boys or they'll separate them out that way.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But students are able to choose which video they most relate to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to follow up on the superintendent's comments just to kind of mentioned at the beginning, you know, Jesse's guidance was for districts to give another survey.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are always guided by what is best for students, even though sometimes some people may feel that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Maybe that's not at the core, but that really is at the core of what we're doing, which is why we're making this a very personal decision.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we want the conversation to be held at the principal level, not in a simple black and white survey.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This way conversations can happen so that the principals can assure that parents are not feeling

[Suzanne Galusi]: bullied or pressured into making the decision.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There is not a petition that's being given to the principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a one-on-one conversation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also know that two-thirds or even a little bit more than two-thirds of the year have already passed where students have built positive rapports with their teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do not want to disrupt that rapport.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In my meeting today with the principals, as of right now, we're able to absorb it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is really in just an extreme situation that the superintendent just has to put that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But at this point, we're hopefully able to absorb that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I just wanted to say that this is part of why we're making sure that principals are having the conversations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In my meeting today with them, they're already starting to plan for the 61 that have put requests in, and those meetings will be set up for next week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I just really wanted to reiterate that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not quite sure if Mr. Murphy wants to add, since Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Graham mentioned the financial piece to that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just going to respond just at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You know, two of the programs that we utilize in every school at every grade, one is through Stacy's department, but it's zones of regulation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that program, that language that teachers and

[Suzanne Galusi]: people in Stacy's department Councilors use with staff is it's utilized every day as part of morning meeting and is throughout the day and if you're not in the green zone you're not ready to learn and so that's a big focus especially k-2 but it is utilized throughout elementary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year we also made sure that responsive classroom was a part of every school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, students in every elementary school are starting the day in a morning meeting, which the whole entire focus of morning meeting is on the social emotional well being of students and building a supportive culture in every classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to

[Suzanne Galusi]: make sure that that continues next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're also upping the training for some train the trainers models over the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other thing is we have grade we've done district-wide grade level common planning meetings this year and one of the things that I spoke to the CPT coordinators for is the focus on when when students are coming back from hybrid

[Suzanne Galusi]: or remote, however it is, but into full-time, that that first week really has to be the focus, really has to be on the social-emotional piece, on building that culture and those expectations all over again, with academics not being the main focus.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that was discussed at common planning times, which I'm also going to reiterate in a memo at the end of this week to the elementary staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I couldn't unmute.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, that's I think in this COVID time, you're exactly right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was something that the principals were working on in collaboration with Jan Hollenbeck, who's the director of

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, she has a very long title, but she works, she also works with the OTs, so the occupational therapists.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of that work was done in collaboration with her.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And yes, you are correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would include a K to four focus with the printing, as well as the cursive writing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was definitely put on hold due to COVID and the fact that a lot of it did involve consumables.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And with this year where some of us are in person and some of us are not, we just put it on hold for a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's some conversation that we are going to be having.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to clarify one thing because I noticed we're like a little short on time and I just wanted to say, based on some of the questions that came up earlier, when Dr keys was mentioning equity and how we have that as part of the K to to supplement to the journeys program, I just wanted to say.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In terms of the ECRI, just so people are clear, because I was part of that training as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, Hill for Literacy, when they do the training for us with ECRI, they provide the materials that the teachers need in order to help develop the phonological skills that we want to see in our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, you use the Journeys Reading Program, but

[Suzanne Galusi]: the materials are also supplied to the teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have exactly what they need in order to make sure that the program is being utilized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I hope that makes sense, but it just seemed like by one of the questions that parents were a little unclear thinking that the materials weren't there for the teachers in order to teach the skills to the students and they are provided.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing pretty much covered everything.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He reflected the new dates.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The elementary principals had already set their MCAS schedules for April and I believe had communicated those with

[Suzanne Galusi]: families so we're now back to the drawing board for May and once those dates are finalized we'll be reporting that out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Cushing also mentioned that if there are families since as of right now there is no remote option to take the MCAS

[Suzanne Galusi]: at least at the elementary level, with those first dates being the ones shared.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If there are parents, especially in the remote learning academy, that do not wish to have their students come to school to take MCAS, then they need to send an email to the school principal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I hope that's helpful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hello.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hi, Suzanne Galussi, newly assistant superintendent of elementary education and likewise very collaborative by nature.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So please reach out if I can do anything to assist.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Lisa Evangelista.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, thank you and I can't believe that Gracie is an official teenager.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh my goodness.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, so I just wanted to speak, following Claire clarity just to, I'm not quite sure if she was able to join the school committee meeting on Monday but Dr. Cushing and I did present that we're starting the.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in March with some listening sessions because we are beginning the process to plan for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just want you to know that, you know, I'm a parent too.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I have two high schoolers and one's doing quite well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She could learn in a paper bag.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And my other student is, it's been a very, very difficult year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So she's struggling a great deal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I bring that piece to this too.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I know that the planning has to start now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know it has to be purposeful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so the SEL piece is something that is very forefront for all of us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As a matter of fact, part of that is the planning that we've been doing in collaboration with Stacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Who can you know chime in at any point about this but some of the things we're talking about is how we're going to successfully use the summer to also capture some of these students that are struggling academically as well as struggling socially emotionally, what we can do to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: help the transition to be as smooth as possible to get them back in the building next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We know that we're not going to be able to like snap our fingers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know it's not going to happen with my daughter that next year just because schools can hopefully you know reopen that things are going to be seamless.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're starting the listening sessions in March because we want to hear from staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We want to hear from families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We want to hear from students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're including the students in these listening sessions as well to get people's perspective and input on how were their experiences this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That communication is going to go out broadly to the community next week so that people can plan accordingly and put it on their calendars.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I know at the elementary level, it's that first week in March.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's just the first part of the work we have to do in planning the reopening for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we'll move into the nitty gritty plans.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I just wanted to let you know that it is forefront in our minds, and we are going to be quite purposeful about it, thinking about the whole child.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's really crucial that we have to plan for

[Suzanne Galusi]: everything that's going on right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as Dr. Cushing was saying, we're going to have two breakout rooms, one so we can get the feedback for the experience of the hybrid learning model and the other for the remote learning model, but what we're also doing is creating spaces at each level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: to listen to the feedback and to people's personal experiences.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the elementary level, we have the listening sessions from March 4th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At each level, we're gonna begin with students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're gonna provide an opportunity for students to join and provide their feedback and their experiences, as well as maybe their hopes and wishes for next year, followed by a session for faculty and staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then parents and caregivers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as you can see we're doing this at all three levels, so that we can really target the listening and the feedback to people's unique experiences based on their level and their learning model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have any questions for us, we are happy to answer them, but we are, this is really just like the beginning phase here of our planning work for next year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first thing we wanna do is really just listen, listen to people's feedback and input and use that to help guide our planning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that that's absolutely something that we can plan for, I think.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For the beginning stages here for the first three sessions that we have in March, I think having the opportunity for people to join, I understand what you're saying.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do know that we have cohort A students in both learning models.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would suggest for the beginning stages here that they probably should attend the breakout session in which the model they're currently in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if they're in person, then I would, it would be the hybrid model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We do have cohort A students that are fully remote as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think providing the platform for people to be able to just provide their input and experiences on what this year was like for them is the crucial part that we really want to be able to hear.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and to make note of.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if somebody wants any additional time, we have directed them to the email address, but I am more than willing to have personal phone calls with people as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we'll look and see where we land with the listening sessions if we feel we need to add more.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Member Graham.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do think that when Dr. Cushing and I were preparing this report for you, if you go on the Department of Education website, you'll find some information about MCAS in general.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we had to do a lot of digging to find some of the specific details because some of it has not really formally been released.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In a phone call, we found out late Friday afternoon that the MCAS is right now just for, it's online, but it's to be taken in person.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They are not offering a remote option.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do probably feel that when parents know this,

[Suzanne Galusi]: that number will probably likely creep up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As I said, since we just found this information out on Friday afternoon, that is some of the work that Dr. Cushing and I and central office have to now do with school leaders and as a district to figure out the logistics and the plans for how to approach

[Suzanne Galusi]: in-person testing for the remote students or for the students that are in the remote learning model this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So yes, currently at the time, there are only three students at the elementary level and at the middle school level and the high school level, principals have not heard from parents about opting out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So those are the logistical pieces that we are in the process of figuring out right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As I had stated, we just got that information through a phone call Friday afternoon.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think they're giving a lot of flexibility to that we can test each cohorts on separate days and separately.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So cohort B and C do not have to be together.

[Suzanne Galusi]: you know, to take the test.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But those are the logistics in terms of, as member Rousseau just mentioned, the proctors that are involved and the people that are involved.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those are the pieces that we now have to figure out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Dr. Cushing earlier said, my name is Suzanne Galusi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm the assistant superintendent of elementary education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm just going to provide a few little updates that we've been working on this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So first, our big focus district-wide, which Dr. Cushing will talk about too in a little bit, but our big focus this year is SEL.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which means social-emotional learning, and starting the year so that we are creating supportive, engaged, and collaborative learning environments for our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the elementary level, that means responsive classroom, which I've spoken about before in forums such as this, school committee meetings, and in my updates that I send to families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But responsive classroom, we are going to focus on this.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In part of that program, there's something that's called the first six weeks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In Medford, we're kind of doing it as the first three weeks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the first three weeks of school are going to work on those skills that are going to lay the foundation for that learning environment that's going to carry through for the entire year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it is a time to build the classroom community, build positive, safe,

[Suzanne Galusi]: relationships within that classroom and work on expectations.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a time for the teacher and the students to work on how they want the learning environment to be for the year and going through the expectations for every block of the day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what does it look like?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does it sound like?

[Suzanne Galusi]: How should we be when it's math class, when it's writing class, when it's science class, and working with students so that they're aware of what the expectations are throughout the day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: will have them in a very good position to know how the day is going to be for them and then how the year will carry on.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When we lay the foundation like this at the beginning of the year,

[Suzanne Galusi]: There's less disruption to the learning and there's more engagement on the students part.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also builds trust and empathy, which are skills that we want not only for learners, but for humans in life.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This summer, we

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, at the end of the year, we created at every building a responsive classroom support team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are teachers at every building that are going to be the touch point for that school building when it comes to responsive classroom and social emotional learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those teachers engaged in a week-long responsive classroom training this summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Out of that group of trainers, two of them this week gave some training on responsive classroom to new teachers so that they're ready to start next week understanding our expectations for responsive classroom and that initiative here at Medford Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They will also be providing district training throughout the year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Another exciting piece, as we have mentioned last year, but I will mention it again now, is we have an additional special for the students this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that means there will be five offerings for students as a special activity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's art, and there's music, there's technology, there's physical education, and now there's Nexus.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Nexus is a class that is going to target age-appropriate skills for students in social-emotional learning and executive functioning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're going to re-engage students in school and hone on those skills that are the social skills that are going to help them navigate school again, and also work on some of those executive functioning skills that are necessary for the grade level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've partnered with Hill for Literacy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a group we've partnered with before, but this year Hill for Literacy is going to be coming in every month and working with our K-2 staff on their ECRI program, which is Enhanced Core Reading Instruction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is based on the science of reading and we're so very happy and honored that they're going to be working with us this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll be sending out more detailed information about that to families as we begin.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the last piece I just wanted to mention is, I'm sure it's top of mind for everyone, but principals have been working all summer alongside me planning for this year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they've put in lots of hours, but I wanted to let you know that when

[Suzanne Galusi]: It comes to school-based routines.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So how is it going to be at arrival or dismissal, lunch, the schedule of the building?

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of that will be shared by principals prior to the first day of school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do want families to know that at the elementary level, there will be two separate locations for lunchtime.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That way we can split up each lunch period and ensure that we are socially distancing students during lunchtime.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, please email me if yo or give me a call.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm h any questions or concerns you very much and we do look

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, we can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a good suggestion, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think Mr. Murphy should start over with the update on the Teachers Association.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing that I would mention is that, um, if students have to be at home, um, for any reason, work would be provided and communication between the teacher and the student and family, um, would just occur throughout the week, um, as a, as a way.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then when the student returns to school, any type of assistance or help remediation, um, enrichment, what have you would take place between the family and the teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'd like to just address the outside eating at the elementary level, because it does differ at the elementary level than the secondary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will say that snack is always an option outside.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Many teachers took that opportunity last year to get the class outside for a needed mask break, a movement break, and to have their snack outside.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Lunch is a different situation for various reasons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: One, it definitely is a coverage issue.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's when teachers eat their lunch.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when it's lunchtime, there are several classes eating at the same time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we do have some students that also would not be able to have their lunch outside.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so for varying and at the same time, different classrooms are having recess.

[Suzanne Galusi]: on those grounds when some classrooms have their lunchtime.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And not every school has attached land where it would be possible to put up a tent or try to figure out, even if we had the coverage, to try to figure out an outdoor space.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there's very varying logistical reasons at the elementary level where the students are a little bit older at the secondary level and more independent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: during that meal time, that it's a little bit more feasible.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But at this time, snack absolutely can be outside, but lunch is going to be indoors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I think I gave an update at the beginning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think I would just echo what Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen said.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We've definitely been working all summer long, getting ready.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're very excited to see the students return.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was wonderful to have the summer camps, Dr. Cushing and I and Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Bowen, as we went for the acceleration camps and Camp Mustang.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A lot of people very excited and very happy to welcome students back and transition them to a new school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're very grateful for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if there's any, you know, questions, please feel free to reach out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I just want to say I do have just a little bit of concern though in terms of the close contact information because there are there are in every building scenarios and more than one situation where the close contact information has nothing to do with Medford public schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and contact with a positive person within Medford public schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: People are quarantining as well from being close contacts to family members at home, or in their hometown districts and that would skew the information that parents

[Suzanne Galusi]: you know, are gonna be going to look at to help make their decisions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so I'm a little concerned using the close contact information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: With that being said, I think that that's the difficulty right now in some of the, you know, concerns that people are bringing up with coverage issues, because that's the kind of umbrella or domino effect that is occurring right now, which the positive rates might be a little low, but the close coverages are a little high.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just needed to say that because the numbers won't be completely valid

[Suzanne Galusi]: unless we're just reporting on close contacts that are in relationship to Metro Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep, just point of clarification.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The surveys were to be out by tomorrow morning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They're due next Tuesday, December 15th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think so, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to have, if Dr. Cushing doesn't mind sharing his screen, I think we had a little.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can just start by saying, I'll just start off by saying good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Tonight, Stacey Shulman and I are going to be presenting a report on the Responsive Classroom Program at the elementary school level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When the closure hit in March, I was the principal at the Brooks School at the time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the biggest message that I gave to my staff was centered around social emotional well-being.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I knew at that time that we needed to keep

[Suzanne Galusi]: students anchored to school, and that keeping them engaged in school was going to mean that they stayed connected, connected to their student, to their classmates, connected to their teachers, and that during this pandemic was the most important thing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so around, since the Brooks School was and is a responsive classroom school, the staff was trained

[Suzanne Galusi]: in the program and time was built into the schedule for morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So maintaining the morning meeting time, even virtually, wasn't too much of a heavy lift and it ensured that we were able to keep kids connected.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And around that time, Stacey Shulman and I connected over and planning for the social emotional wave that we just anticipated was

[Suzanne Galusi]: coming our way as a result of COVID.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we started talking about responsive classroom and the implementation of it at the elementary level district wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And with that being said, I'm going to pass it off to Stacey just to frame it a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Our work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So responsive classroom it's an approach it's not specifically a program, you know, or necessarily a curriculum it's often used in collaboration with other programs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are some schools in the district, particularly the Columbus that is a PBS school positive behavior support.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that works in conjunction with responsive classroom and even at the Brooks there were elements of PBIS woven into the responsive classroom approach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also use zones of regulation within the Medford public schools and both programs work really nicely together.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So responsive classroom is an approach where there is a belief that children learn best

[Suzanne Galusi]: when we're developing their social-emotional skills as well as their academic skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there's a lot to be said for that, especially as mentioned before about the zones of regulation, which is true that students can't really learn if they're not in the green zone, if they're not feeling safe and comfortable.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You need the social-emotional development of skills in order to really be able to focus on the academic skills that students need in school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so the responsive classroom has many components to it, where we've done the training on a lot of these components, but not all of these components and we're just the beginning here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some of the components of responsive classroom is morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in which if there are parents or educators on this call, you know that at the elementary level, whether it's the hybrid learning model or the remote academy, students are starting their day in a morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is a time for the class to gather together and work to build that positive culture.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that is going to support learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's also what's nice about starting the day with morning meeting is it gives a structured routine that students desperately crave all the time, but especially right now during COVID.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That also part of the,

[Suzanne Galusi]: real important piece of responsive classroom is the rules creation, which really should be done in collaboration with the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That makes the students feel like they have a voice in how they're going to feel safe within the classroom and build collaboration with their peers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also creates instant buy-in when they feel that they have a piece of creating the rules of the classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The interactive modeling is extremely important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to get into that a little bit in the next slide, not yet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But when we talk about one of the trainings that the teachers had, which was on the first six weeks, in order for students to truly understand what both the social emotional skills that we're trying to develop in students

[Suzanne Galusi]: and the academic skills, what they look like, what they sound like within a classroom, you need to have modeling.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Students need to see it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They need to hear it in order for them to truly understand what is being expected of them.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Another component is a positive teacher language.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is an approach to making sure that when adults are interacting with other adults and when adults are interacting with students, we're mindful of the tone we use and the words and language we use when we're speaking to people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there's a lot of training around being more aware and cognizant of the actual words we're using when we're interacting with big people and little people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then logical consequences piece so inevitably, in any situation, there are going to be some misbehaviors and some challenging behaviors and making sure that our consequences are aligned to that behavior.

[Suzanne Galusi]: makes it logical and makes it more, it has more of an impact on students if we're dealing with those misbehaviors in a way that's tied to the direct behavior.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is going to make the connection for the student as to hopefully in the next time, the learning is there as to why their behavior was not appropriate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Next slide please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first training that staff received and the way that the responsive classroom starts the year is a program or an approach called the first six weeks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first six weeks is the foundation to a successful school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's like the building blocks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the Brooks School, we gave pretty much the month of September to the first six weeks in laying the groundwork for what the school year was going to look like, both

[Suzanne Galusi]: for the social emotional skill development and the academic skill development.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We gave our Medford Public Schools teachers this year the same time so that they could create their classroom environment and set of expectations so that come October 1st, we could hit the ground running and those sorts of routines and behaviors and expectations were already set.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the time where that modeling is so crucial.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that teachers, you have this time for teachers to introduce students to their peers, to the building, to their teacher, to the space within the classroom, and to the expectations for learning within the classroom, whether it's virtual or in person.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first six weeks is when you're modeling.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does it look like?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does it sound like when we have math class?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does it look like?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does it sound like when you're working with peers collaboratively?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does it look like?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does it sound like when we have to walk out to recess or to specials?

[Suzanne Galusi]: What does it look like, sound like to

[Suzanne Galusi]: during writing block.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of the routines of the school day and all of the expectations around behavior and academics happen within what's called the first six weeks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then the next slide is the second training that staff had, and that for some of us is new, is the morning meeting block.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So morning meeting, as mentioned, is that predictable time for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a time where you build on your community and a time where students can feel safe.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There are four components to morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Most feel that it should keep this, which is why they're numbered 1, 2, 3, 4.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It should keep that order.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But there's definite flexibility to whatever works in the classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the most morning meetings start with a greeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there's several ways you can do this and lots of creative, fun ways.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A lot of times in the first six weeks, teachers will maybe review all those different ways that you could greet one another.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This year, I know as part of the training, those four fabulous trainers that Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Schulman mentioned also gave some adaptations for how things could be done now that we have to keep six feet of social distancing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, you know, we can't do the hand shaking anymore.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And some of the greetings that we typically have done in the past

[Suzanne Galusi]: had to be a little bit more adapted this year to six feet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The second piece is the sharing, which usually there's a schedule for this so that throughout the week, every student has the opportunity to share.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, not only does this build bonds of a classroom, but it also teaches students how to be active and engaged

[Suzanne Galusi]: participants, as well as those skills in presenting and listening to feedback from their classmates when they're asking questions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The group activity portion has lots of flexibility.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it can be seen in an academic activity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It could be seen in a game, which is a little bit more fun, the reciting of a poem.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It could also be seen if you draw your attention to the top picture that was in a fourth grade classroom at the McGlynn school and during their group activity on Fridays.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It might be more than one day, but you'll see that the students in the in the classroom as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, you might not be able to see the students on the screen, but they each have a book of the one that's displayed here.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And they listen to it collectively as a class, but through audio recording of the story.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so this was happening during the group activity portion of morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then finally is the morning message, which the teacher will write to the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It can contain a riddle or something fun and exciting that's coming up for the day, or it could just be a review of the schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In the bottom picture, this is a kindergarten at the Brooks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You'll see that off to the right a little bit is an easel.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It does contain the morning message that the teacher will review right before the close of morning meeting.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think at this point, I'm gonna send it back to Stacey Shulman to go over the survey results from the staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, so our next steps are

[Suzanne Galusi]: Responsive classroom is not just for this COVID academic year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Responsive classroom will continue for next year at each elementary school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we will continue to have time built into the schedule so that teachers are able to have a morning meeting with their entire classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of the schedule just for parents that are on this call that may not be aware is that the morning meeting time

[Suzanne Galusi]: that is built in at the very beginning of the day ensures that the rest of the school schedule in terms of specialists pull out services that starts after the morning meeting time which makes sure that every single student is able to start their day with his or her peers are training and coaching sessions are going to be continued to be provided for staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are looking to increase the number of trainers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So maybe if anyone's interested, they could email Stacey Shulman or myself.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's so much fun.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we really would like, we're looking into expanding the training to include the power of our words, which is the piece that I was speaking about before about the language that

[Suzanne Galusi]: the adults are using when they're having conversations with other adults as well as with the students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then there is more information here at the link for responsive classroom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We will post this report to the Medford Public Schools website after this school committee meeting for those at home that want to be able to review the slides and maybe have the link accessible there.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Schulman, thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Schulman and I are ready for any questions that you may have.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I also think that some of that work also started with some of the task force meetings over the summer.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of one of the task forces over the summer in the reopening of schools was geared towards specifically communication and working in that effort to keep the community informed of all of our reopening efforts and what we're doing to make sure that

[Suzanne Galusi]: the community is safe and that we're reopening our schools and all the work that went into that and some of that work has continued in the fact that we have, you know, made sure that the superintendent sends out her weekly communication on Fridays and that's something that the community now has gotten

[Suzanne Galusi]: used to seeing and expecting on Fridays, Wednesdays are the commercial day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think there are some goals that maybe started over the summer that have also continued a little bit throughout the year during this COVID time, as Mr. Murphy said.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they don't have access the way that middle school and high school does because the teachers don't record their grades within school brains.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They use it to do their report cards, but they don't upload grades and assignments in school brains the way that the secondary level does.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So parents do have access to go in and edit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if they've made, if they have a different phone number or things like that, they can edit their personal demographics, but they're not going to be able to see their children's grades the way that the secondary level will.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, when it comes to the elementary level, I think that that is something this year that Kim Miles has been working now that she's fully the one that's working with the school brains.

[Suzanne Galusi]: She has been working on that with the school brains company so that we can get to the point where elementary families are able to edit their own personal information.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As of right now, it's done by the school based secretaries.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Got it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right, so if a parent is not, exactly what Dr. Cushing said.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if a parent is not receiving an email or robocall from the district, then the first step needs to be working at the school-based level with the secretary to see why.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if it's that they've changed their phone number, their email, there's a typo.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will say there have been instances in the past where families have maybe knowingly or unknowingly

[Suzanne Galusi]: um, you know, marked school emails in like spam or something.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so they directly go there or they're directly removed from their emails.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so there have been a few instances where some of our, um, communication staff here have had to restore, um, so that they will accept again, the school emails.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, Melanie.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, very nice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Anyway, let's see, who else is here?

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do want to say that I just got off the phone with the superintendent who's stuck in traffic.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So she's going to try and join via her phone, but I'm just letting everybody know that update.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Joan just took the words right out of my mouth because I was just gonna say that we're starting with the pilot, and then growing it from there I think, ultimately right the goal is that every single educator

[Suzanne Galusi]: is having the opportunity to be a part of this training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is the goal.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But we do have to start with the pilot so that we can have those pieces built in that Joan was talking about.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The professional learning communities, using common planning time, all of those building blocks so that we can have the correct process for what's going to be the most effective way to deliver this to everybody.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so Dr. Cushing and I are going to report on the Metro Public Schools remote learning models, and we're going to start with the elementary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the elementary, thank you, at the elementary level, we refer to the remote model as the remote academy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is mostly because at the elementary level, every school building has a remote academy strand that runs within the school building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for each of the four elementary schools, there is at least one classroom

[Suzanne Galusi]: for grades K through five that has the remote academy students present in it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Each remote academy classroom is comprised of Medford Public Schools employees and teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a big piece where some school systems were unable to house a remote academy for the district using district staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: A lot of them have housed that out to online platforms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think it's very important that we've done that with our Medford Public Schools staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We are continuing to follow the Medford Public Schools remote schedule as it was established on the first day of school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: For children that are enrolled in the remote academy,

[Suzanne Galusi]: They work with their teacher virtually.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday is a full day of virtual school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so students log on from 8.30 to 2.30, following the schedule with their teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a mix of synchronous and asynchronous time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And Wednesday is a half day of virtual school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You can go to the next slide, Dr. Cushing, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So as stated previously, the Elementary Remote Academy schedule began on the first day of school, which was September 15th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That schedule is how all elementary students in Medford Public Schools began the school year.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As we all know, we started remotely for a few weeks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That schedule has

[Suzanne Galusi]: really not changed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's been the same schedule that students have been following all along.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And even the hybrid, the current hybrid schedule is based off of the remote schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the consistencies, just to speak about specifically, are that students are attending their virtual school every single day, five days a week, as stated in the previous slide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Four of those days, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, are mostly synchronous instruction with the teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The Wednesday is a mixture of both.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the students start their morning synchronously with the teacher.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for about two to three blocks and then finish the day with asynchronous lessons.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The academic blocks are aligned by grade level and district wide.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students in the fourth grade remote learning academy, let's say at the Roberts School, have the same exact schedule as fourth grade students at McGlynn Elementary School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is the consistency through the schools and through the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There have been two small changes to the remote element, to the remote academy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The first was we had to add three minutes of transition and transitional time between specialist blocks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So specialists meaning art, PE, physical education and technology.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This allows both the students and the specialists a little bit of transitional time to go from class to class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The other change was in order to meet the needs of all students and ensure that every Medford public school student, whether they're in the remote academy or the hybrid learning model, have access to their specialist teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: There may have been a change in the specialist teacher as the hybrid model came to completion.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The staggered, excuse me, hybrid model came to completion at the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You may go to the next slide, please.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this talks a little bit of our enrollment for both learning models.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So you can see it's coded by school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It has all the grade spans listed and it has the enrollment currently for the hybrid and the remote classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You'll notice that some schools have one remote learning academy strand and some schools may have two.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This was based on enrollment numbers, which have ebbed and flowed as we began with the first week of school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Requests as mentioned in the dynamic reopening plan that was

[Suzanne Galusi]: a collaborative approach to planning, which we involved all stakeholders, teachers, administration,

[Suzanne Galusi]: staff as well as parents and caregivers, we put in that model requests for switching between learning models and it was stated that it's about two weeks prior to the close of each marking period or on a case-by-case basis as needed as we're well aware that certain situations within family dynamics come up and decisions may need to be made sooner than

[Suzanne Galusi]: two weeks prior to the end of each marking period.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These two dates are given that are reflected here Friday, December 11 and Friday, March 5 are the two weeks prior to when report cards will be going out and when the formal process for making requests to switching learning models can begin.

[Suzanne Galusi]: what we would do is we just ask that you get in touch with the school principal and they will talk to you about the process for that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Final decisions for any switch in the models are based on staffing and space availability.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Dr. Edouard-Vincent mentioned in her opening statements, we have really wanted to make sure that we created models that provide families with,

[Suzanne Galusi]: as much choice as possible for what is best for their family situation and their children.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so based on that, we've been able to provide two learning models and we've tried to work with families on a case by case basis to do what's best

[Suzanne Galusi]: for the current situation that they are in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if, when those switches are made, the majority of the time it will result in a new teacher and a new set of classmates for that student switching.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Regardless of the model that students are learning in, whether it's hybrid or remote, classrooms right now cannot exceed about 25 students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I will, I know that I believe this is my last slide, but I just want to, yep, thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to reiterate that certain decisions may be, not everyone may agree with some of the decisions in terms of making requests and it involves switching learning models, but I really think it's,

[Suzanne Galusi]: All decisions made have the best interest of students at heart.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, there's a second teacher at the Columbus second grade and there's a second teacher at the Brooks third grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can alter that chart for you to reflect that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To be honest, I believe it's a little bit of both.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Member van de Kloot, I know that right now they're team teaching, but I think in terms of parent communication, report card grading and things like that, they may have,

[Suzanne Galusi]: factored that down just a little bit more, but I know that it is more of a team, a co-teaching situation at both of those grade levels.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I have not at this moment.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that as I mentioned in the presentation and just to kind of reiterate, first of all, at all levels, both the hybrid and the remote, it's Medford Public Schools employees.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just there may have been a shift for some of the remote academy students that

[Suzanne Galusi]: they had shifted from their school-based specialists to district-wide Medford public school specialists.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was not a unilateral shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So some classrooms, some students were able to retain some of their specialists, but as we staggered in more classrooms at the hybrid, there also was a need to shift some staff around just to make sure that students were receiving

[Suzanne Galusi]: specialist education from teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Much agreed.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to mention too that, of course, it's not what we wanted to happen or originally anticipated happening, but it is why we also gave some advanced notice in that shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It was mentioned in the superintendent's Friday memo.

[Suzanne Galusi]: teachers were well informed about that shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they were working with the students about two weeks prior to the transition.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in some cases, I know that teachers had joined up so that the students were able to kind of put a face to the teacher before that shift happened.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I would say it probably is a majority, but not all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in the beginning, there were some instances where that was happening, but we have since been hiring, as the superintendent has mentioned, we've since been hiring monitors for situations such as that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that is not the reason why we had to make that shift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of the reason why we had to make that shift was for

[Suzanne Galusi]: not only to make sure every student was able to have a specialist educator and not have asynchronous work, but also for

[Suzanne Galusi]: When we staggered in based on COVID parameters, based on looking at all of cohort A populations and making sure that cohort numbers did not increase based on the size of the six foot social distancing, there were some situations in which pre-COVID, some of our cohort A students would have been able to integrate with cohort B and C students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And in this scenario, they were unable to

[Suzanne Galusi]: join a cohort B or C class for specialists.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there are some situations in which certain cohorts based on enrollment numbers for cohort A had to have their own specialist time, which increased the number of specialist blocks and therefore we had to shift the specialist staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, if you're referring to like a formal survey that has not been conducted at this time, I'm more than willing to have a conversation about that and conduct a formal survey to get that specific data.

[Suzanne Galusi]: My right now, what I'm saying that on is based on my conversations with principals and staff and referring to any emails I may have personally received.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just going to chime in that every school did do their own tour just might have been a little different in the format, but they did.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'm sorry.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I apologize for being a little late.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, I think that I think that a mailing in December to start to lay out what the process will be is something that would be very helpful for families I have no problem getting behind that work and moving it up to December to try and

[Suzanne Galusi]: Capitalize on the audience.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I also really appreciate how Jennifer shared about the videos.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that streamlining that so that the four schools are kind of doing the videos with similar content is a nice way to showcase Each public school before

[Suzanne Galusi]: all of the registration pieces start.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And especially right now this year, not really knowing if we'll be able to have, or probably won't be able to have an open house within the buildings would be something that we could also move up to more of that, maybe January timeframe with the bridges to kindergarten being a few months earlier.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm okay bumping it all up a little bit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: makes sense to me.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, not at all.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's up as a link on our website all the time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's ongoing throughout the year so that as families move in or as kindergarten approaches, that is one of the options for families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And there's always a follow-up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: someone from the Parent Information Center will call just to go over the last few pieces to finalize the registration, which does have to go through the nursing department, may have to go through the special education department, depending on the student, but all of that is handled in-house through the Parent Information Center.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And also, if any information is missing through the online registration process, then it's followed up through the

[Suzanne Galusi]: employee at the Parent Information Center just so that it can be finalized.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But it is a streamlined process, but we do offer both.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if families need some more assistance with the in-person registration, that's also available.

[Suzanne Galusi]: OK.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, no, I think it's achievable.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I really do think it's achievable I think it's something that I would work with the, the principles on I really appreciated Jennifer's feedback I know that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: part of the focus that Mrs. DeMoss and I had on creating that video during the closure last time was really having the parent lens of what we thought the parents would want to see, which is pretty much a typical day in the life of a kindergartner so that you can see the spaces that your children will visit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the classes and specialists that they have in the cafeteria space and some of that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I mean the logistical nuts and bolts is really

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think probably better at individual school, whether it's virtual or in-person meetings, where you can specifically talk about what does arrival and dismissal look like, because that's unique to each building.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But doing something that's an overall capture of what is the life of a kindergartner, I don't think is too heavy of a lift.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Last, during the closure, we had Jack Dempsey, who is a,

[Suzanne Galusi]: retired Medford employee.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He does a lot of our documentary and our film.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And he was very helpful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: He went to all four schools and helped us with that video.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's something that I can just discuss with the principals and circle back to Jack too, just so that we're all on the same page.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Great.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, that's a great idea.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I do know that just because from being at the Brooks, that was something that was in the works.

[Suzanne Galusi]: As Jenny is aware, we did have a point person through the PTO too, that were working on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we had created a frequently asked questions document for parents that was posted on the website, which is something that again, you know,

[Suzanne Galusi]: have that conversation with the principals to see about tweaking that to the individual schools and reaching out and partnering with their parent teacher organizations to streamline that a little bit more for incoming families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a great suggestion, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll send it to her.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good morning, Suzanne Galusi, assistant superintendent of schools for the elementary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a great question, Bill.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I want to start by saying that

[Suzanne Galusi]: The draft dynamic plan is being updated based on community input, educator and administrative input, as well as DESE input.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they've reached out to communities and districts to give us feedback on our plan as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're in the middle of finalizing all of that so that we can submit it by the end of the week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The new deadline for DESE for finalization is this Friday.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In that updated plan, which the community will see probably Friday, we have put in for some movement within plans.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So, or excuse me, learning models.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we understand that it may not be a fit.

[Suzanne Galusi]: for students if they started in hybrid or if they started in remote and wanted to move to a different learning model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also know that situations may arise in families where you need to switch models.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have put some language in the updated dynamic plan to reflect that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So basically, a family would put a request in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and we will look at the logistics of it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the request needs to come in about, we're going to go by the semesters, the marking periods.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So another piece is that DESE is requiring that all grading is in place and continues.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the typical grading systems and report cards will start day one.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that kind of lends itself to natural semesters.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's how we're going to be

[Suzanne Galusi]: switching and taking parent requests at that time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So about two weeks before the close of a semester, parents can formally request if they would like their child to have a learning model switch.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at the elementary level where there are three report cards and a winter break,

[Suzanne Galusi]: their date for that first semester is Friday, December 11th, that they would have to put the request in.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That gives administration and school buildings the time to work on the logistics so that it could go into effect coming back in January.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At the secondary level, two weeks prior to the first semester close is Monday, November 2nd.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then that would go into effect when the new semester starts, which would begin Monday, November 16th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All of this is contingent upon capacity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have to look at numbers and we have to look at balance.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also want it to be noted that if a parent is putting in a request for a learning model change,

[Suzanne Galusi]: that it may include a change in teacher as well as classmates, because those models are not set up to share classmates or educators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that's exactly right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The phases right now go for every two weeks to bring in a new group.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So using the metrics that were supplied to us yesterday by the governor and Commissioner Riley from the Department of Education, in collaboration with Medford's Board of Health,

[Suzanne Galusi]: will help keep us aligned with our staggered approach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if the metrics are, if the Medford community is still in the unshaded or green color code, then we are able to keep proceeding with our staggered approach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, because the schedules will be created for students based on the learning model that they choose.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So students that are in the hybrid model, whether you're in elementary or secondary level, a schedule is created for you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If we are forced to close partway through at any time, we will stay in the hybrid model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: so that the teachers are the same because the students have already started working with them and a rapport has been set.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Depending on the length of the closure, the hybrid teachers will remain the same, but the schedule may shift so that

[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not going to be that your students are receiving two and a half days of virtual instruction and two full days of asynchronous.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would mirror a little bit the remote overall schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Those details are being worked out with the school-based teams right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So Joan Bowen, the Director of Pupil Services, has been working around the clock all summer with many of us to ensure that student needs are taken care of and well thought in terms of scheduling and their IEP needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So IEP needs in a remote situation

[Suzanne Galusi]: remote learning plans are created in that case so that student needs are taken into account both in person and virtually, depending on what learning model families choose.

[Suzanne Galusi]: High needs, as Dr. Edouard-Vincent has said many times, includes five protected classes of students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If we're specifically talking about students on an IEP, the high needs are for students where

[Suzanne Galusi]: about 75% of their IEP academic needs encompass the school day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in other words, if during a typical school day, your child has IEP services that equal about 75% of their day, then they are qualified as high needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what Joan Bowen is working on with her staff diligently is

[Suzanne Galusi]: is coming up with groupings for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I would anticipate that you would be hearing something probably in September at some point.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right now, our official first day of school is Wednesday, September 16th.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so what the school-based teams are working on right now are the schedules and the cohorts and all the fine details that we will be able to share with families in September.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Exactly right, Tom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we heard this concern a lot when we asked for feedback from families in the community based on how last year's remote experience was.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so that consistency piece and also having students create a little bit more ease for access on a lot of the educational platforms and websites that they need to go on

[Suzanne Galusi]: The district is now going to utilize a system called Clever.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is detailed in our dynamic plan and we've even included a link.

[Suzanne Galusi]: so that if you would like to find out a little bit more about the Clever platform, you can just click that link.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It'll bring you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But what Clever is, is a single stream platform.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So using this, every student is issued an email address.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And when the students use their Metro Public Schools email address, they just log on to Clever once.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then all of the educational platforms that Metro Public Schools will be using at every level will be housed in Clever.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so all students will need to do is click on the icon that they need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so it takes away having to keep and manage all of the individual logons and passwords.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we should just know that we are working on, um, language to inform parents.

[Suzanne Galusi]: regarding the alphabet and how it will be utilized as part of the daily correspondence with schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a great question, but what our intention right now

[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, really?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I was rolling.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we want parents to select the learning plan that works for their family and for their children.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So it is the intent that Medford public educators will teach either the hybrid learning model or the remote learning model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: How those teachers will be selected is a decision that needs to be made in collaboration with the teachers association.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we don't have those answers yet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: in terms of

[Suzanne Galusi]: high school level courses, the specifics of the scheduling, I'm sorry, we don't have more detail just yet, but the details of the scheduling is what the school-based teams are working on right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And those school-based teams were the second part of this planning phase.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we had to wait until the school committee decision, which was just last Thursday.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is the first week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: that the school based teams are getting up and running.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So once we have the specifics on scheduling, we will let the community know.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I think just overall in our timeline, which is reflected in the dynamic plan, the commissioner gave every district in the Commonwealth 10 days so that staff have time to plan, work, collaborate, be professionally developed,

[Suzanne Galusi]: as well as families that Dr. Cushing mentioned.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But within those 10 days, we have earmarked three of them for orientation purposes at every level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So regardless if your family has chosen the hybrid learning model,

[Suzanne Galusi]: or the remote learning model, we are going to use those three days to create safe socially distant opportunities, possibly outdoors, for families, so parents and caregivers, as well as children to meet their educators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: even if you're going remote, we feel that it's extremely important for you to be able to meet in person and start to build that rapport so that you can know someone more than just the pixelated boxes on the computer screen.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we will send out, you will probably be hearing from the building-based teams on your schedule for the orientation days.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Do you want me to go back?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just to briefly answer Megan's question, some of those decisions have somewhat been made for us through the Department of Education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So they released some standards regarding specialists or fine arts classes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in particular, as of right now, music classes cannot occur indoors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that means either we need to look at having those classes outdoors during in-person hybrid days, or most likely a lot of music education will take place virtually for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The physical education requirements.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They have given a different set of requirements when you're outdoors.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So for example, if you have your students engage in a physical education class and you can keep the students six feet or more, if you can keep the students at 10 feet, masks do not need to be worn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And those could be opportunities for mask breaks for students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But if students are six feet or closer, of course, masks have to be worn even during a physical education class.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In terms of the other guidance from the Department of Education, it says to try and keep the cohorts with as less movement as possible.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So what that might mean at the elementary level is that the students remain in the classroom and those specialist teachers rotate into the classrooms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And at the secondary level, it just means that they're trying to cluster them so that there's not too much movement.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but we're also looking at having some of those classes be done virtually.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Galusi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In closing, I just want to echo what Dr. Edouard Vincent said that, you know, the continued partnership with you is essential moving forward.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so everyone on this call here today, Tom, Peter, Maurice, myself, we're all parents as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we feel, you know, the same things that you're feeling right now and having to make decisions for our own children about next year too.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think it's just important

[Suzanne Galusi]: for everyone to know that because we're with you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so moving forward to continue that partnership, I think it's very important that you continue to reach out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if there's anything that we can do to help your family with the reopening of schools, please, I urge you to reach out to your school-based principal and you can always reach out to one of us.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're here to partner with you and to help you in any way we can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: so thank you so much we're glad you were able to join us today and we will inform the community in the next week or two about the leveled stream yards that we'll have to answer specific questions about pre-k through elementary and then middle school and high school thank you thank you everybody have a great rest of the day all right and mustangs out

[Suzanne Galusi]: Alright.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And do you wanna just clarify the percentage piece that it's the information that the state and even nationally is working on is that the average percent, which reflects that Johns Hopkins chart should be below 5%.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's just important to note.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're at 1.3, significantly below 5%.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, sure.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I think the draft schedule that was in the plan was just like a broad overview of how things could possibly look.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And you're right that Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday has more of a typical school day schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Wednesday right now has the half day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: schedule.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the next phase of the work that we have to do will be to fine tune and come up with those specific details.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now that the school committee has voted for the hybrid and the fully remote plan, now we get some of the task force back together and we have to work on those fine details.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't have a specific answer at this time because we still need people to come back and do that fine detail work.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The only thing I will say that I've said before is that we want to take a developmental approach to how many hours students are going to be expected to be

[Suzanne Galusi]: doing live synchronous learning.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We certainly do not expect kindergartners and first graders to be on the screen for three hours, but high schoolers may be able to handle three hours of online synchronous time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So once those specifics are ironed out in the next two weeks, we absolutely will give an update to the community.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So right now with the, so I'm looking at the next question, it's talking about the class sizes in the remote auction.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so right now, as Dr. Cushing had mentioned, the survey is

[Suzanne Galusi]: still going.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have about 1,700 responses.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have to wait and see what those numbers look like in terms of how many families want the remote option fully.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We also then have to look based on those families where the breakdown is per grade.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So of course we do not want a remote class to be

[Suzanne Galusi]: to have high numbers, but it may not have the numbers that a hybrid class would when they're in person.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But what we would probably frame it on is what is a typical class size of about 20 students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But it's going to vary depending on enrollment numbers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The next question from Karen, will there be any way of preserving classes- Preserving classes with assigned schools and teams with middle school, or is that all dependent on what families choose and what teachers?

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Perfect.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But I do, I think it's important to note though, since you brought that up, Dr. Edward-Vincent, that the surveys were sent out translated and we have had several families responding on the translated versions as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And the last count for that was an additional one to 200.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So unfortunately at this time, that's one of those decisions that we are going to be discussing with the school-based team, as well as some of the working teams.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have had some parents reach out to their building principals with maybe some of their personal needs that they have due to work schedules or family life situation.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we would encourage you to still do so.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But our intent is that we are keeping families together because we know that there is no perfect solution to the world we're living in right now, but we really do want to try to do what's best for families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So our intent is to keep families together.

[Suzanne Galusi]: which includes blended families as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If you have specific needs beyond that, I would suggest that you reach out to your building principal, and we are going to do our best to accommodate.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But it's definitely going to be a cumbersome logistic puzzle that we are going to be starting to work on at the end of this week, beginning of next week.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's important to note though too that

[Suzanne Galusi]: A vocational teacher was assigned to the hybrid group.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not quite sure what happened, but did not participate in the planning for the group.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But that's why we, during those task force groups, reached out to Chad Fallon so that we made sure that the vocational voice was heard.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's why the link was embedded in that dynamic plan for both the hybrid and the remote model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So if your child is enrolled in the hybrid model and they have their schedule with their set teachers, that will continue if the schools have to then close and go into remote.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They will continue with the hybrid schedule and educators that they started with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now,

[Suzanne Galusi]: What they may do is pick up some of the expectations and schedules that are working in the remote model, but their educators will remain the same.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I hope that answers their question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in other words, depending on how long we may be closed, you may follow the remote schedule so that you will have that balance of synchronous and asynchronous time, but you would keep the educators that you had within the hybrid model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we agree.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Everyone right here answering these questions and on this StreamYard session, we're all parents.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We all have more than one child.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We all know how different they can be as learners and as little people and big people.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I know I have two completely different students as children.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You're right, and I think Dr. Edouard-Vincent really spoke about the early childhood piece and how really critical it is because they're still developing those readiness skills.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for entering kindergarten, depending on what their

[Suzanne Galusi]: a preschool experience, if they even had one, was like, they may be coming in with no readiness skills and it's our job to prepare them to be students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we know if we're in a remote situation, we do realize, as previously said, that we don't expect them to be on a computer for three hours a day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But the work that's going to start with the teams next week to fine tune these plans,

[Suzanne Galusi]: is going to have representation from each level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's what we're hoping for in working with the teachers union for that, so that we can specifically target those remote plans to the specific levels, because the expectation for a kindergartener in a remote level is not gonna be what the expectation is for a fourth grader or a fifth grader, and certainly not for middle school and high school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I do apologize that I don't have a more exact specific answer for you, it's coming.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but it's definitely going to be a developmental approach.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I think that's very important.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think I'll start there, Tom.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we've set aside about three days for like an orientation so that families and students can come and have time in a safely distant way or manner, maybe outdoors to meet their teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: no matter what plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know you're specifically asking about hybrid, but that orientation is also going to be for students that are enrolled in the all-remote academy as well.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so during the orientation, parents will be given schedules or have an idea of how things may roll out and have the opportunity to, even though it's brief, but have that face-to-face and start the rapport with your child or children's educators.

[Suzanne Galusi]: during those 10 days that the Department of Education has given each district, we're going to spend time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So teachers not only are going to have a lot of time to plan and collaborate for this big undertaking, but they're also going to have some training.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's going to be around the hybrid model, as well as the remote model, as well as the safety precautions and protocols.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the hybrid, when the students are in the building,

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're going to, as close as we can, have it mirror what it's like for them when they're in school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Now, granted, there are certain things that aren't going to be the same.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So desks may not be in clusters.

[Suzanne Galusi]: They may be separated so that we're keeping the social distancing that we need to keep at six feet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If they're science tables, they're going to have to be at each end if that is six feet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: the school-based teams are going to handle what the schedules look like for transitions in hallways to keep it at a minimum.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So there'll be a little bit less moving than the secondary students are used to.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that also includes like lunch routines and bathroom routines.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we know that each building

[Suzanne Galusi]: is slightly different, and even due to enrollment numbers, a lunch schedule at the Columbus Elementary may look different than at the Roberts Elementary.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the school-based teams that have started their work will come out with a more detailed day in the life of or schedule for a hybrid model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I can answer, like I know in elementary, lunch will probably take place in the classroom with

[Suzanne Galusi]: than the students going outside for recess.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It might look a little different though at the secondary level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we will let you know what the schedule will look like in further detail once the school-based teams have mapped it out.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in all of the ways that we have gathered community input regarding their remote experience last year, and through all of the work on the task forces, we heard loud and clear that parents want consistency.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That was one of the biggest pieces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So consistency in the expectations for learning for their students at every level and at every department.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and consistency with the scheduling.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that was what we wanted.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We really wanted to make sure we covered both of those areas.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that the sample schedules, though they may change a bit, but those sample schedules really took into account to make sure that we're consistent throughout Metro Public Schools.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that part of the work in the remote group, because of that experience that educators and parents had, we did spend some time talking about what the accountability would look like at the administrative level, at the educator level, and at the parent, caregiver, student level.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We gave you a little sampling in the dynamic plan.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We will have more of the details of that once we work through them collectively with the teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I like that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I like that idea, Julia.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to add to that, just to echo what Dr. Edouard Vincent said, but that we're accounting for some of that time to work with students specifically on those Wednesdays.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Because we do know that some students are going to need a more individualized approach to help them

[Suzanne Galusi]: navigate the remote pieces.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I mean, I just have to say, you know, I have two children and one just can't do remote and struggle so much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I had to reach out to the school so that I could get some help to make sure that, you know, she got through.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would still encourage

[Suzanne Galusi]: parents to also keep in communication with the school and reach out to the principals and Councilors so that we can create a plan for your child from the beginning so that nothing is slipping through the cracks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It starts on page 42.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The governor gave a press conference today at noon.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Right.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that's when we learned about the metrics.

[Suzanne Galusi]: No, correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Suzanne Galussi, also the assistant superintendent of elementary education.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hello.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Dr. Cushing.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's one of the things that we are working to finalize right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of the discussion would be that we are thinking of breaking up the decision into semesters.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Similarly, not maybe exactly like the grading goes, but maybe just one or two semesters.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We understand that

[Suzanne Galusi]: things, this whole, as Dr. Cushing mentioned, this whole situation is fluid.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so we know that family decisions are also going to be fluid and that some plans may not work for all students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're going to be collecting data every four to six weeks for various things.

[Suzanne Galusi]: But one of the points that we're going to target is how the plans are working for students and for families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So a final decision and more information for that will be made available soon.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is something that we are also in the process of coordinating between all the schools and our data management

[Suzanne Galusi]: person, Kim Miles, so we are going to ensure that families, we're giving families choice.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is going to be part of the survey we send out, and if you would like your children to be part of the same cohort, or if you actually would like your children to be part of different cohorts, that may be more manageable for you in your home.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're going to handle it through the survey, and that will be one of the questions that you can give us the feedback for, and then we'll have more information in creating the cohorts for you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: hope that answered your question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so one of the things that we are also working on is creating a list of terminology that will be helpful for students and families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Asynchronous means that they are live or as, excuse me, recorded lessons, or as Mr. Teixeira said, he referred to them as independent learning time.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So that is asynchronous lessons that teachers have prepared will be blocks of time that are either independent to work on assignments ongoing,

[Suzanne Galusi]: especially at the secondary level, and it also may include some recorded lessons, either from the teacher or another professional outlet, in order to teach students new material.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The opposite of that is synchronous, which means live lessons that the teacher does virtually in real time with his or her students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And if you had heard in the introductions that Stacey, Joan, and Paul were all involved in the instructional work groups, if either of them want to chime in, another way to explain it, please do.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If not, hopefully that's helpful.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So this is one, yes, I was just going to say, I would like to throw this one to Stacey Shulman, because she has that secondary expertise.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, and I'm just going to piggyback on that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Most of us on this panel are working parents ourselves, so we can truly appreciate the hardship that this puts, this whole situation puts on families.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I just felt that that was important to say.

[Suzanne Galusi]: In terms of the remote model,

[Suzanne Galusi]: I think part of what Dr. Cushing had said before and part of all the feedback that we've been receiving through various outlets from the community is the need to have the remote model.

[Suzanne Galusi]: as close as possible mirror a typical school day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the remote situation that you were all thrust into last spring is not going to look the same as we reopen schools in the fall.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So at every level, we have worked with our teams to create remote schedules that

[Suzanne Galusi]: as close as we can align to a typical school day.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have, you will see that in our plan, because you can see that we have made sure that we give screen time breaks, but in the same time keep to a schedule that is reflective of a typical school day, starting somewhere, depending on the level, around 8 a.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and finishing somewhere, depending on the level, about 2 p.m.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Anybody wants to chime in, they can.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Hopefully that answers your question.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, correct.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The buildings, elementary and middle school, although I'm sorry, I really can't speak totally to middle school, but I know the elementary classrooms have a sink in them, not maybe specialist classrooms and not service providers, although art rooms do have a sink in them, so students are able to wash their hands.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to start and then you can go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just wanted to say that this is definitely something in terms of the remote, from starting from the beginning, we do want to make sure that there is a rapport that is created.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We know it's not going to replicate what typically happens each school year, but we are, as Dr. O'Dwyer-Vincent, I think, already mentioned, we are trying to figure out some

[Suzanne Galusi]: socially distant, safe outdoor opportunities for students to meet their teachers.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That is something that is definitely on our radar.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I also wanted to mention, because this was a question that had scrolled on the side about how teachers will be selected for the remote academy.

[Suzanne Galusi]: That's something that we are speaking with the teachers association with.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So nothing has been determined on that yet.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And now I'm gonna throw it to the superintendent.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to take this time to also mention, because I think I've seen some questions, if not scrolling here, but also in emails of people responding to us about afterschool care.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So

[Suzanne Galusi]: depending on the plan and how we're returning to school after this Thursday school committee meeting, if we are in person, we will be looking at having afterschool care.

[Suzanne Galusi]: What that exactly will look like, we could not answer that right now.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It would be dependent on the hybrid, so that when your child is in school during their hybrid days,

[Suzanne Galusi]: We're looking into how we can keep the cohorts together so that we can offer after school to the families that are enrolled.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Before school is a little bit more tricky because the cohorts aren't established, but it is on our radar of things that we are looking to provide if we are back to school in person.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to say that we were looking for parent and caregiver voices for that to bring that perspective to this working team.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we value that.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And for the parents and caregivers that don't get selected through this lottery process, we will be reaching out to you to get your feedback through a different means of communication.

[Suzanne Galusi]: You all received an email from Dr. Cushing last night with your lottery number in the subject line.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Once Kim generates, using her platform, the numbers, Dr. Cushing will just read them out loud.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And then we will email them to you later.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Cue music.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Take one minute, it'll be up.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And here we go.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This is your drum roll.

[Suzanne Galusi]: If it's okay, I just wanted to speak on the elementary level, going with what the superintendent said.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Part of the closely monitoring is also that some students, in addition to the elements that the superintendent mentioned, also may, at least for my school, may be attending meetings consistently.

[Suzanne Galusi]: but maybe not doing the work consistently.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're monitoring the academic piece, but the social emotional is definitely the first.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And just to highlight on your multi-tiered system and to chime in about what the superintendent said, at the elementary level, Stacey Shulman has been working with her staff and they are doing and continuing with lunch bunches virtually so that those students are being targeted and getting the support that they need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, you're welcome.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, that would be me, Suzanne Galussi, Principal of the Brooks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The E in our ACES core objectives stands for equity.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Within education, the term equity means that every student will get what they need.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Therefore, Medford Public Schools fosters equitable learning environments by understanding the needs of our diverse population and supporting the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of our students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We have four initiatives to address this objective.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Please remember that these initiatives are a work in progress.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So the first is to ensure equitable access through the implementation of the multi-tiered system of support and enrichment MTSSE, formerly known as RTI.

[Suzanne Galusi]: To encompass a growth mindset, this initiative has expanded our focus beyond just RTI, which stands for response to intervention.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in other words, an MTSSE system is not just limited to interventions.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It also focuses on meeting the social, emotional, and physical needs of our learners.

[Suzanne Galusi]: The second initiative is to use data from ongoing assessments to support teaching and learning in order to close the achievement gap.

[Suzanne Galusi]: This will be a comprehensive approach within school buildings and throughout the district.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Promote and enhance the activities and resources that address the needs of the whole child.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It should be noted that when addressing the needs of the whole child, we're looking at the complete picture of what that means.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And that will encompass multiple intelligences, athletics, fine arts, et cetera.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And to promote the health and wellness of students.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When students are happy and healthy and their needs are met, they're ready to learn.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And this segues beautifully into our final core value, the S of support, which Susanna Campbell and Stacey Shulman will discuss.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So MTSSE is like an umbrella?

[Suzanne Galusi]: And so RTI fits underneath.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we're not dropping RTI, but RTI is more academic based, and it focuses on what students need academically.

[Suzanne Galusi]: We want to think about the whole child, and we also want to have systems in place to address the social, emotional, or physical needs.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So in addition to RTI.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to take a minute to thank Mr. Belson, Madam Mayor, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Caldwell, Ms.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Nelson, and the members of the school committee for this wonderful opportunity to be the principal of the Brooks School.

[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a very special night for me as a

[Suzanne Galusi]: the student of the Brooks School myself.

[Suzanne Galusi]: When I look back at my elementary years, I have very fond memories.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And as Mr. Bellson stated, almost 20 years as an educator in the Medford public school system, I'm truly honored.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And I guess you could say I've come full circle.

[Suzanne Galusi]: These past four years at the Brooks, I've really learned firsthand what a wonderful community it is at that school.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Parents, families, and staff.

[Suzanne Galusi]: really come together and they embody the word community and they work together to collaborate and to educate, to support, to encourage.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So I'm looking forward to what lies ahead and I'm truly honored and thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: I really appreciate it.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.