[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, thank you very much. For this evening's Mustang moment, we have our Student Advisory Council representatives. So we have seniors Jaden Ville, Jaden Zhang, Christine DeSotel, my apologies, and sophomore Alachi Yeager. So I'm gonna ask them to come to the podium. They're going to discuss a little bit, give us an overview of what their role is as a student advisory council representative and a little bit of like some forward planning for the year.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for your words tonight. Thank you for your dedication and your commitment to being advisors for Medford High School and to bring that work here. I think it's very important. Tonight was like the epitome. This is why we wanted to make sure we start our meetings with the Mustang moment. I think it's important not only to remind all of us, but just for the greater community to hear the work, the wonderful work that you're doing. to engage with your classmates, to work with school leadership, to raise concerns and issues and have a dialogue and a discourse for what that means for the student body and then how to work through it. It's very important, especially nowadays. And I think you are all leading by example. And I thank you very much for the work you're doing and very excited for you to be joining our meetings each time we meet. So thank you very much.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Mr. Pippicelli. So at the beginning, yes, thank you very much. At the beginning of each school year, we usually report on just a brief overview of the enrollment at this time. So making sure that we have the disclaimer that enrollment at this time of year is pretty fluid and it fluctuates. I can make sure that I provide this body with updates as we go through. The October 1st SIMS data is due to the Department of Education by the end of October. So right now, currently, as of last week, our total enrollment is 4,125 students across the district. Here on the screen, you have just a snapshot of grade level and school with the district-wide view of 4,125. One of the things that I want to just call out is there's an asterisk, there is a column that says TBD. There's a small number of students that are still not officially enrolled. They're just through the registration process. This year we have put some parameters in place to make sure that we are getting students into our buildings as quickly as possible. And so that we're not having students wait longer than a few days before they're entering Medford public schools. However, there are some pieces of Things that can hold that up for some students, that's EL testing, special education placement, or sometimes just medical needs. Director Silva is working with families directly because we don't want that to be a barrier to them starting school. Those are some of the pieces that we've kind of put in place this year. but you will see just across the board what the enrollment looks like at this time. I will pause here before we go on. I don't know if there are any specific questions that you may have regarding enrollment.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No. Actually, I think what we've seen a little bit this year is we have seen a decrease in some of our student enrollment or populations, especially around EL families.
[Suzanne Galusi]: But I could just remind, I will just maybe, I'm sorry, Member Graham, but just to remind people that we did, the Roberts, since COVID, we've always had, we've had to put in a fifth K section. They started this year with one. We just, it was automatic. We did have to add kindergarten classrooms everywhere but the McGlynn. Well, no, the Missittuc, is four. They have three of every section. The Brooks has five, the Missituk has four, the McGlynn has four, and the Roberts has five.
[Suzanne Galusi]: We have, there is a just, well, I would have to go back just to make sure because when looking at the data for last year, it's the entire year. And right now I just have like a month's snapshot. So it wouldn't be fair to necessarily tell you what those numbers were at the end of last year because enrollment ebbs and flows throughout the year. But there is at least like a 25 student difference.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Not on the one that is on this presentation. I can get you that information. OK, that'd be good to know.
[Suzanne Galusi]: The overarching piece I could give you is there are two buckets for that data trend right now. And there are students that have left the country. either permanently or visiting. But if it's for an extended amount of time, then that does affect their registration and they have to kind of go through that process again. There's the other bucket, which students have left Medford. And so we do have the data as to the places that they have gone. The majority are not to a private or parochial school. The majority are actually, they have moved residency. I can give you that breakdown if you would like.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Olapade.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, so because of the freshman rotations, I won't have ninth grade yet, but I can give you the split for 10th grade, 11th grade, and 12th grade.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that varies depending on the needs, but we worked, Ms. Bowen, Ms. Silva, and I worked very hard to make sure that we're shrinking that timeline based on some of the data we were collecting last year. So I can get you what those specifics are, but we're really hoping for no more than three days.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: That's kindergarten. Yes. No, I'm glad you brought that up. KF is kindergarten. PK is pre-K or our MEAP programs. And then I believe at the high school, the SP is project transition. So that's for our students that are 18 to 22 years old.
[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, so the school-based handbook, family and student handbooks saw three updates globally for this 25-26 school year. That was for the Metro Public Schools AI responsible use policy and guidance. It was for the expansion of curricular accommodations based on sincerely held religious beliefs. And then it was the adjustments to our new arrival and dismissal times. So first we had a very dedicated group of Medford public schools administrators and staff members that worked throughout the year Tyler tirelessly last year to create language for students and staff and families around our AI policies guidance. One of those was school committee member Erica Reinfeld, and joining her from Medford Public Schools staff was also Molly Layden, Dr. Nicole Chiesa, Will Pippicelli, Dr. Bernadette Riccadeli, Dr. Peter Cushing, and teachers Dan Wagner, Jason Campbell, Rebecca McGinnis, Allison Quealy, Grace Turnbull, May Abusan, and Lindsay Rapucci. So they worked throughout the year to create a comprehensive tool that lays out the responsibilities and the resources that are available to our community around the guidance for AI. So the principles, just to highlight like the principles of this guidance were how the resources would support teaching and learning. It addressed data privacy and security considerations, and it supported the ethical and responsible use of generated AI tools. If we go to the next slide, DESI has come out with their, last year they had their suggested timeline for districts that they wanted to see engage in this work. And this to the left was their projected timeline for doing such work. So for us here in Medford Public Schools, we have met their deadline. DESE had the policy going into effect next school year, 26-27. We're just a little bit ahead of the curve. What we are continuing to work on, I would say, would be just further professional development. There has been some professional development. throughout last year around cyber security around AI and the use of it in classrooms, but the continuation of offering professional development to our staff is still a goal and still ongoing. If we go to the next, just the high level pieces that are in this AI guidance, all we have here just to give the community a brief overview is like a list of the table of contents. So these are the areas that are explained in the Medford Public Schools guide. guidelines, both for students and for educators, there are embedded resources and links for people to use. I don't know, Member Reinfeld, if you wanted to maybe highlight anything or mention anything about the work.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much. So I know that Mr. Trotter provided the membership with a little bit more description. I will say that just to maybe get to like the key points in conversation with Mr. Trotter. The language that was in there that was causing some concern, I believe, was in there mistakenly and will not be in there in the future years of this grant, which is a 10-year grant. But you can see here the categories of pretty much how that for this school year, which follows how the other budgets have typically gone, what the buckets of spend are for. So the largest here is for staff stipends. So there are chapters of CCSR at every school across the district, and these are going to the stipends. Now, every school has one stipend. Some schools, depending on the number of students that are in that chapter, they may have two advisors. That's work for this year that's still unfolding to see how students are going to participate. Some of the stipends also go to administrative assistant or secretarial type work in order to keep the purchase orders for materials and supplies going through Medford Public Schools. So it's not just, just to clarify, there's those additional stipends, one stipend as well. A bulk of the work goes to the supplies and the materials that are needed for each chapter to engage in the projects. So when students are working with their advisors to come up with what they want their project, their civic minded project to be. There's money that's allocated to their needs. I did ask about professional development materials. I did learn that there is a resource library in the Medford High School library that all of the advisors have access to, and that library keeps building in terms of resource for the advisors. And then the last piece was just a small amount of money. If there is an advisor, which has come up in the past, wants to bring students on a field trip or bring in a guest speaker that is related to the work that they have chosen to do, that money is earmarked for just in case opportunities throughout the year. Happy to answer any further questions that you may have.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's fair. So I have requested a further drill down from Mr. Trotta around this for this school year. I can go back and get it for last school year, if that is the request. This school year, we just don't have it yet because the participation is still, they're still kind of like building through enrollment of student participation, the number of advisors and what that will look like. But I'm happy to give that to you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It has to be I'm so sorry, I don't know if I'm like out of order by saying this. But his stipend, part of the grant, I have learned part of the grant is that his stipend has to be separate from the grant funding. So that does go all to the work of CCSR and Medford Public Schools pays his stipend to oversee the grant.
[Suzanne Galusi]: There's an account, like a grant account in Medford Public Schools that is allocated each year and then it's drawn down for the for them to pay the stipends and to pay the materials and to so our grant manager Susan Callahan helps to manage. Okay, this funding members so thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And it's not in writing, but that's why I was told it was in error. it was an error and should not have been part of the clause and that clause is removed moving forward. So what I could maybe do is ask for them to like reissue the letter.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just the wording around it being relaxed. like and could be earmarked for other purposes, the language that you were concerned for last time.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Nothing has been relaxed. The language was an error that how you're spending the money could be relaxed, Nothing is being relaxed moving forward. These are the three buckets of spend, which is stipends, materials, and field trips, transportation costs, guest speakers. That's it. There's no relaxing of how we're spending our money. Those are the three buckets in which CCSR is spending their money.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we're in year eight of a 10 year grant.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I will have the letter reissued. I'm still in my learning of CCSR. So I can't speak to what it was in the past, but I will absolutely get a yes, a revised letter. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, thank you. I think that was really nicely said. The only thing I would say is that I'm sure it's not a big surprise that especially secondary teachers are dealing with these issues quite regularly. And probably, I don't know, I wouldn't maybe necessarily say a daily basis, but I do think that it's, this is a conversation that is happening in a lot of secondary department meetings, classrooms. I also know it's quite a conversation at college campuses. There's a lot of higher level institutions that are talking about going back to the oral exams and the blue books as a way to kind of navigate what is happening now. And every time you turn around, there's now another like third, party platform that's claiming to do some other involvement of AI functioning that can determine who's used it determine who's not. I think the real main goal for this which member Reinfeld. so eloquently said, but it's really to educate how it can be used as a tool, but not to replace critical thinking, problem solving, and teaching our students the skills that they need to thrive in college and in the real world. But there are some instances where it can aid and support productivity and workflow. And I think that like, having the opportunities to do that in classrooms where we're teaching students, the difference, getting back to that ethical word again, is really the essence of this guidance. And it is important to, once approved and have the greater conversation, it is important to be reflected in the handbook.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I know you said it was sort of brought by the teachers, but... The way that for the situations that have been arising prior to this guidance, the way that's being handled is with in-school teams that usually comprise school leaders, teachers, and school Councilors.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And then bringing in at times if needed department heads to like a doctor keys or Dr. Khan. Okay, good. Yeah, thank you. Remember in tapa
[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm just going to give one moment. great. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Pippa Sully. So there's two more sections as previously stated that are updates to the handbook. Um, this one is on. June 27th. The U. S Supreme Court issued a decision. Um in Mahmood versus Taylor, which is requiring school districts nationwide to provide parents and caregivers the opportunity to review instructional content in advance if they request. to allow students to be excused or receive curriculum accommodations if it conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs. So it is important to note that curriculum decisions still remain under the authority of public schools and that it does not alter our instructional standards or our program of studies. But what it does is just affirm that upon request materials can be provided to parents and caregivers so that they can review and request reasonable accommodations for their religious objections. So what that there is on the next slide language that we are adding into our handbooks. so that we are consistent with the Massachusetts Regulation 603 CMR 26.05 Section 1. The Medford Public Schools, through its curricula and materials, encourages respect for the human and civil rights of all individuals, regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. And in accordance with district guidelines, families may request information from building principals on available accommodations related to curriculum content. So what we are encouraging here is our charge, our collective charge this year is about belonging. And that is for every single student, every single staff member, every single family member, every single community member. And so what we really want to ensure is that we are prioritizing conversation and communication. So if there is a caregiver that has concern over any curriculum related materials, they need to reach out to the building principal who will engage in dialogue with the caregiver regarding the scope and sequence and what those curricular materials may be. And on a district level that those building principals may reach out to Dr. Kim Talbot, who was our assistant superintendent for academics and instruction.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. So I think the biggest, as I previously mentioned, but the biggest piece that I want to say is that this requires conversation. So this is not a request that can be made through email or through just one phone call. This needs to be a conversation that building leaders are engaging in with caregivers. It would require the caregivers to have a review of like the scope and sequence, so they can see maybe content that is coming up. It is not something where it's an individual lesson per se but I think. One of the things that Dr. Talbot is working on with directors is making sure that we have scope and sequence available to caregivers so that they can engage in that conversation. We are recording requests. We are making sure that we're documenting our efforts of outreach and working with caregivers so that we can understand and have an internal path as to what was requested and how we came about those decisions. Yes, it is true that the Supreme Court ruling did not rule that school systems are obligated to provide alternative materials, lessons, activities for students, but a lot of I think that that also speaks to why the conversation is so important to have with caregivers and what that might mean for the student. So in like Again, there is no judgment here, but I also want to make sure that the conversations are like what this looks like for the student and the impact that that has for the student. and what that means in terms of what their experience in that class will be. And so making sure that parents know that it's a conversation. The other piece is that this is about religiously held beliefs and content that may they may find objectionable. And that also requires conversation to make sure we're getting at the root as to how and why does this particular content go against your religiously held beliefs. And that's also a matter of conversation that needs to be had. I hope I answered your questions.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that. That's actually part of the ongoing conversations that we're having right now to make sure that things are kind of housed in one location and it makes it easier for reference and for review. A lot of teachers use Google Classroom and it It is a landing page for caregivers and for students to be able to go right there and see what the syllabi, or the resources, or the content is and so us encouraging and making sure that that is still happening so that it's accessible to caregivers, especially at the secondary level. is the expectation.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just going to say, I know that's not answering your question, but that's pretty much how I would like to answer that question. Because it is, I mean, this was something that happened over the summer. And so this is the work that Dr. Talbot is doing with directors and school leaders, and they are doing with educators. So that has been the expectation at the secondary level. That is still the expectation as we work through what this looks like as we move forward. Of course, it's completely different for elementary. And so additionally, that kind of chain of command is if once teachers receive any sort of outreach or request from caregivers, they immediately go to their principle.
[Suzanne Galusi]: There's not a list. This is a case by case basis because it really depends on the specific needs of the family as well as what the content is. So that's why it really needs to be a discussion. So the conversations are with the building principal and the caregivers, the parents, and then the building principal has conversations with the teachers to make sure that when it comes down to the student level, both the teacher and the caregiver are able to make sure that that communication is aligned.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a great question. That is a great question. And I'm really glad you raised it. And I, again, I would say that's why we need to have the conversation with the caregiver and why I did mention the impact on the student. So I wanna be careful that I don't answer you by necessarily saying yes always all the time, but that would be the goal for sure.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So I, I would say that that's why right now it's resting with the building principal. And so if there is an accommodation made the principal is having conversations if it's it let's say if we're sticking with the high school level that conversation is had. with all the teachers that that student has on their caseload, but it may not be that there's an accommodation in every class. So the support to teachers is coming from the building principal, and the building principal is getting support from Dr. Talbot. And so there's definitely a chain, a hierarchy here, but we also need to make sure that that conversation flow is happening from Dr. Talbot to the principals to the educators.
[Suzanne Galusi]: To respond has already had some meetings with principals. There's lots of ongoing one on one conversations, but there's also group conversations happening.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, and first and foremost, I would say that like ever since COVID the adaptability that education has had to have every year of building as we're going here, and last year with a lot of the way national decisions were made, I just think that this has been the nature of education for the past couple of years, which is why the conversation and the nature of the request is really the priority and the critical part. I just can't say that enough because The chain, the communication chain of teachers going to principals and principals going to Dr. Talbot is what is making sure that there's not only like the level of support but the alignment, and it also depends on If it's high school, maybe there are experiences that they've already had that are going to be part of the conversation. That's why there's no way to answer this other than making sure we have conversations about why the request is coming in, what the nature of the request is, what the impact will be, and then trying to figure out what the accommodation needs to be, if any. Maybe sometimes it's just the conversation that needs to be had, and there isn't an accommodation that's necessary because you had the conversation.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would say for all of you, I would just highly ask that you respect that chain of communication. And just, you know, if caregivers are coming to you, then you need to put them back to the principal. And that's where the conversation starts.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And the last one is just updating the arrival and dismissal times, which is pretty easy. It has been highlighted a lot in the Friday memos. It is reflected on our website. It is here in this lovely chart, but each individual school has also just updated the change in either or both arrival and dismissal times across the district.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Superintendent, did you have something you wanted to add? Mr. DeSimone, is it at both arrival and dismissal that you have concerns or just one?
[Suzanne Galusi]: So the handbooks are available on school websites and Medford Public Schools website. I would say the distinction right now is that the MPS AI guidance tool is listed in the handbooks, not as a policy, but as the guidance for caregivers and students to reference. And maybe that is the distinction right now.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I would just maybe just say that that document as created by the committee was guidance. And so that's what's in the handbook right now. And I think that it's, important to make sure that caregivers and students are aware of what the guidance is. And then we proceed with the reading of the policy.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely, thank you very much. So right now what we're doing is having some internal conversations based on what this resolution said by member Graham. We've had lots of conversations internally around need. and making sure where the coverage, where we have to schedule the coverage. Right now, Ms. Bowen has been, Director Bowen has been working with school leaders on the schedule as reflected in this resolution based on the new CBA for the paraprofessionals where looking at the individual schedules at each school so that we can create assignments for bus monitors, especially starting with the prioritized areas first. We also did look into what it would mean for the company, the bus company that we have the contract with, to be able to supply that, which is an astronomical cost. So this is where we've between the flexibility that we have with some of the schedules of our staff members, as well as maybe the potential need for stipend depositions, we are now creating the schedules at each school.
[Suzanne Galusi]: What do you mean by that?
[Suzanne Galusi]: That has not been part of the conversation, just to put that right out there and to clarify. No, right now it's just once the CBA passed, it's looking at what the schedules are at each school so that we can create the coverage that's needed at each school.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Melissi. Thank you. I don't know if I was expecting that question. I did review, of course, when the agenda was posted. It's work that's ongoing and that I am engaged in doing, and I find them completely appropriate.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I do not. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: If I may. So if the motion is severed, I can find out some more information about that and report it to this body so that you can vote on it on another date.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Can I just? Yes, Dr. Lucy. Before I invite everyone over, I just want to kind of do a little framing, if that's okay for this body. So first of all, good evening. Madam Mayor, members of the school committee, our students and caregivers, and our central leadership team here, welcome back. And we welcome the school year 25-26. I just want to take a little moment this is a shift in our school committee agenda format so that we're going to be starting our meetings with the Mustang moment so that all meetings will start with the voices of students and I think it's just important for me to explain that quickly before we move on to bringing up Director Fee and the students. So The Mustang Moment is going to be a student-led segment that will celebrate accomplishments, shared projects, initiatives, or showcase talents. So students are the why. They're the reason for why we do this. They're the reason that we're here. And we want this space to also be one in which we're elevating their voices and we're listening to their perspectives. Every time we gather as adults who are in decision-making, who have the power for making decisions. The Mustang moment is just an intentional practice that we're going to have as a way to start the meetings. So for this first meeting, we have Director Fee here, who's going to introduce us to some students and talk to us about the Summer Studios work that happened this summer. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so very much. We appreciate listening to what you did all summer long, and we're so excited to see the band competition performance coming up soon. And next time someone's in the high school, you can check out the mural. It's in the art wing right off the main office. We're gonna just have a quick little photo.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. What we are about to go through is just an update for the opening of schools for school year 25-26. So first and foremost, we have welcomed many new staff into the Medford Public Schools. Each individual brings unique talents, experiences, and perspectives that enrich our school community. And every role adds incredible value to our schools and helps us create the best experience for our students and our school communities. So in total, we welcomed about 40 new teachers, two nurses, 12 paraprofessionals, three members of food service, two custodians, seven coaches, athletic coaches, three administrative assistants, and eight administrators district-wide. Those administrators are Dr. Kim Talbot, our new assistant superintendent for academics and instruction, who's here this evening, Mr. Ken Lord, our chief operations officer, who is also here this evening, Chelsea McNiff, our new EL director, Mr. Robert O'Leary, the new athletic director. Ryan McGowan is a new high school house assistant principal. Alessandro Cornelio is the new assistant principal at the Brooks Elementary. Andrew Zides is our new special education coordinator. And Romario Bernacci is the dean of students at Medford High School through the Mustang Academy. I know that memo went out, but I also do think just to note that we are also actively searching for a new world language director as bittersweet news, Dr. Vilma Bobo has left Metro Public Schools. She is now the new director of modern languages for the Boston Latin Academy. Thank you. And then moving forward, Mr. Pippincott, you can go to the next. So last November, some of this is a review, but I just want to cap it and review it on the road here to our opening. So last November, I shared with this committee our instructional vision that was the result of collective work with both administrators and teachers. That vision continues to guide our daily work and our decision making. So to strengthen its impact, this year we have now branded the instructional vision with corresponding icons, providing a visual anchor for our efforts. So the icons allow educational leaders, they allow administrators and teachers to easily highlight and reference the specific elements of the vision that they're focusing on in their practice. You'll see to the left that the high school team has worked collaboratively to create STRIVE. It's our portrait of a graduate, which creates a shared vision of what skills, mindsets, and qualities Medford Public Schools students should have before they graduate. It focuses on things that are beyond just test scores and grades for broader competencies. like collaboration, adaptability, critical thinking, civic responsibility, which will prepare our students once they graduate from Medford Public Schools in college, career, and life. So our instructional vision has also provided Medford Public Schools with our core values. These core values have been shared every time that different elements of staff has gathered throughout the summer that I will highlight on a future slide. But our core values as reflected in both our instructional vision and our equity commitment, if we could go to the next slide, please. is that we believe all students deserve to feel seen, heard, valued, and connected in schools where inclusive, culturally affirming practices allow them to grow, succeed, and fully engage in their learning. We believe that all students deserve opportunities, resources, and support they need to reach their full potential. And we believe that every student's success is our shared responsibility. So our collective charge this year, as you saw reflected in my Friday, a few of the Friday memos, is on belonging. So belonging as a foundation, it's not an add-on, it's the foundation for our instructional vision. Without belonging, access alone is not enough, and expectations can feel out of reach for students and staff. Instruction cannot fully connect to our students' lives if they do not feel a sense of belonging in the classroom. When students feel seen, heard, and valued, then they're more able to take academic risks, engage more deeply in their learning, and rise to the high expectations because they know we trust them and we're going to be there for them. So what does that look like in this school year? So belonging is the lens for our decision-making this year. And what that looks like is we are making sure that we're building inclusive and affirming spaces. We're ensuring that students see themselves reflected in the classrooms. We're maintaining those high expectations. And if students need supports in order to access those high expectations, we are going to make sure that they have them. And we will be using data, not just to measure progress, but also to address inequities that that data uncovers. We are making a commitment to extend this sense of belonging to everyone in Metro Public Schools, because we know that when the adults feel a sense of belonging, they are there and more present to support what our students need. By fostering belonging collectively, Medford becomes a place where every student feels that they can thrive here. Next slide, to support these branding efforts and our collective charge, this poster was created by a Medford High School arts student, Grace Anzalone, and the graphic arts department has printed them. These were sent to schools so that every educator and learning spaces have that poster as a reminder of the why for this year and why we're here. So taking this collective charge and moving into all the spaces of work that have led us to the opening of schools, the first was the administrative retreat. So for the first time, we were able to take the administrative retreat off campus. And through the wonderful partnership that we have with the Barr Foundation, they gave us their space in the North End and we were able to coalesce as an administrative unit, as you heard, we have a lot of new administrative staff, but we also have some veteran returning presence that we needed to have a space off campus for us to reset and refocus on our work for the year. So right here, you can just see some pictures of the staff gathered here, but we were able to really set a strong foundation for the year so that when we're welcoming teachers back, when we're welcoming students and families back, we are very aligned in our leadership and what that looks like for our school communities and our greater community. From there, we had the, so the following week was the induction week, where we welcome all of those new teachers. And we had three days with them to not only get them situated to welcome students back on day one, but also for them to understand what Medford Public Schools is all about, what we stand for, what our culture is. So we knew that we wanted them to also feel a sense of belonging as they're coming into this district. and get to know. the greater Medford community beyond just what their curriculum is. So you'll see here, they were engaged in activities that were around what they're being taught, around what our expectations are for teachers. And also they had a tour of Medford and got to spend a luncheon with, which was sponsored by the teachers union. On the tour that you'll see some highlights here where Medford public library, where they were, first dropped off at Colleen's, treated to some ice cream, and then walked up to the library, had a presentation with the librarians here. But also part of the tour on the bus was to make sure that they went and visited not only where all of our schools are situated, but some important landmarks in the city of Medford. I do wanna just also shout out, we had three administrators that had a lot of time and organization in helping get the induction week off and set, Mr. Mike DiClemente, Ms. Catherine Cook, and Dr. Vilma Bobo. And Ms. Cook will continue that work in the mentor program throughout the year. The following week, We welcomed teachers back for the first two days of school. That first day was a professional development day. And staff here, you can see the pictures, but they were engaged in professional development at the elementary level. The staff were engaged in the Safe Schools presentation through the Department of Education and the Safe Schools coalition, they also received a DIBLS refresher to make sure that they're ready for the progress monitoring and the unpacking of the new schedule to make sure that there was alignment there and they could plan accordingly. At the secondary level, the majority of teachers were engaged in presentations from the Unbound Ed organization that we have partnered with through the Barr Foundation in the continued work on GLEAM planning, which is having teachers make sure that their planning reflects content and associated tasks that are grade-level, engaging, affirming, and meaningful. There were other trainings going on at the secondary level through Ms. Cook and Dr. Shulman, and also Ms. Fee brought in Erin Zaffini, and she is leading a year-long training called Equity by Design, Strategic and Realistic Strategies to Improve Equity in the Arts Classroom. If you don't mind, okay, thank you, that's fine. The second day was what we call our launch day. And that's when we welcome all staff collectively back together. It's also time where they have in their classrooms to prepare for students. And it's time that they have with their principals and their directors really getting focused and engaging on the school year work ahead. The day started with a convocation in the high school gymnasium where I led a welcome back section. But we also brought in voices of our high school students to help lead us in welcoming back staff. So here you see a picture of the students. We had Emily Matariz, Matthew Fills, James Klugisch, Guy Martins, and Mia Leal. And they spoke to the staff about what belonging means to them, where they find it at Medford High School, and what teachers can do to help further that feeling and that sense of belonging in not just their classrooms, but in the greater school community. And there are some of those quotes there. I think the highlights is that students are finding sense of belonging, both in the classroom and outside of the classroom, in sports organizations, including Unified Sports, through teachers and their friends. And then the first two days of school, Dr. Talbot, Ms. Bowen, Ms. McNiff, and I We were quite proud that we were able to hit every single exterior school on the first day of school. We probably should have had like a Snickers bar because I think by like 132 o'clock, we were feeling it but we were able to get to every single school, welcome in staff welcome in students and really get a a feel for the warmth and the sense of belonging that we could see both visually in classrooms, in hallways, on playgrounds. And it was just a really wonderful way to kick off the year. You can see a few pictures here. One to the left is the Misutak where they had an intentional gathering of the school as a way to kick off the year and welcome back the entire school community. And I do think it's, there were lots of moments within classrooms and in hallway displays about the sense of belonging that the community is feeling. The next is just a reminder, I know it's probably in principal newsletters, as well as in the, it will be in the Friday memo, but this is also just a snapshot because starting this week, and then continuing to next week is our back to school nights at all of our schools. And I think it's just a really important time to mention that this, if families are able, this is a wonderful opportunity for them to come in and not only meet the teachers but really start to build a relationship with their children's teachers, learn about the curriculum and the expectations, and just some of those common routines. around communication, homework, things that might be beneficial for them to know. If families and caregivers are not able to attend, I would recommend that they reach out directly to the teacher. If they don't have that information, they can reach out to the principal who can connect them in the right fashion so that they're able to get the materials and the information that are presented during that night. It's really important for us that we're able to make those individual connections and build those relationships for our caregivers. And then a brief facilities and IT update. So there has been, this also was reflected in a Friday memo and is posted on our website, but for a lot of the community, you've seen scaffolding and lots of work going on around the McGlynn and the Andrews complexes. So phase one is the work that was done over the summer and I believe is just kind of like buttoning up right now. That was a work to the existing HVAC systems in both schools, new filters, modifications, so that we can increase heating and cooling capacity, which will be able to provide a better level of comfort. for staff and students in those buildings. You also may have noticed that some work was done to make sure that we were ADA compliant in both of those places. So sidewalks, leveled rising ramps leading to the front door. Right now, there are still some temporary handrails in place. Those will eventually be replaced with permanent structures. And then that leads us into phase two, which will be completed next summer. And that is where you'll see like the structural steel part come in so that it can handle brand new HVAC systems that will be replaced at that time. This is a link, this slide deck will eventually be on the website, but if you go on to the McGlynn or the Andrews, there is this update here from the owner's project manager, Consigli Construction. Also exciting is some IT and security work that has been started over the summer and is still ongoing. But what's exciting is that this is for keyless door access, which we're just so very excited for, and it's about time. upgrade to cameras and vape detector systems at some of our secondary schools. So in total, there are 400 new cameras being added to our existing entourage of cameras, 40 keyless door access systems. So all of our buildings will now be keyless. So within teachers' ID badges, there will be keyless entry into the schools. which will be, we're working internally on what the access will look like, but that will be much more streamlined and very beneficial for our schools. And there'll be 19 new video intercom systems and 46 vape detectors at the secondary schools. Yeah, and so that, oh, I have one more thing, but I don't know, we can come back for questions. I know I'm giving a lot right now, The last piece is just a quick City Year update. City Year is back again. We did discuss this as part of the budget, but just so we're aware, there are six core members at the McGlynn Elementary, four at the Missittuck, and seven at the McGlynn Middle School. They are assigned by just enrollment and sheer number of sections. And so additionally this year, we're also welcoming some additional support for the Missituk with five members working in the afterschool program to support those efforts at the Missituk Elementary. And then I think it was very humbling and heartfelt, but they did ask me to be their keynote speaker this past Friday at their kickoff for the core members to start the 25, 26 school year. And they definitely kept this a little secret, but surprised me because I remember all the potty, I got a red jacket. I got a red, and it's monogrammed. And it's monogrammed. So you can see me in that picture presenting to all the core members for Greater Boston and Medford Public Schools. They have asked for my speech. We'll see where that goes. I'll keep you updated. And this picture on the bottom left is the Medford team. We were able to have a nice unity circle and really kick off the year with great spirits. And I'm next to Alyssa David, who is the, the project manager for City Year folks just in Medford. But it was a wonderful experience last Friday afternoon. And I'm really, really excited for them to join us this school year as well. And now I'm happy to answer any questions. That was a lot of information. So I appreciate your patience.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Member, I'm sorry, Dr. Galussi. And the only thing I would also just mention for people that are at home listening, I think you may have mentioned this, Member Graham, and I apologize if you did, but just so people are aware, like the camera is fixed on the outside of the bus, but it does not start recording until that arm comes out, which with the stop sign on it, then it will start recording from that moment on. And then once the arm comes back in, the recording stops.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Not inside and not while it's, you know, riding along on the street. Just important to know.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Here. Can you hear me?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, I know you can't see me.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Here.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm going to try here to first just share my screen. I know that you all received, I shared this with you. Can you see my screen right now?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay. Hold on one second, please. Okay, so we have been, as this body knows, we have been really looking at trying to increase our capacity here for our after school programs. To date, we have removed 53 students from the wait list since last school year. So, we also, just as a reminder for people that are maybe just joining this meeting now, we are engaging in a consultation with BASIC. We are going to one of the very first school committee meetings, present what that might look like, and ask for a vote for that to engage in that consultancy. So, we don't want to be doing too much to our staffing ahead of being able to have that gathered data. But as we're bringing on a new track, which is an early pickup time at 4 p.m., that new track has allowed us to be continuing to clear space off of the wait list. Because when families elect for a 4 p.m. pickup time, in some cases it has opened up a 6 p.m. slot that we can then fill. In order to keep forward momentum going, without going too far ahead as we're engaging in a consultancy. We are here to ask for the possibility of adding, which would be, well, increasing two site coordinator positions from the part-time that they are now to full-time. So really what the request is is just what it would look like in the budget, which I will talk about, which is a revolving account. it would just double what we're doing now. So what the positions would consist of, there's four site coordinators, one for each building. This would be for two site coordinators only that would partner with all four schools to just help out with some of the logistics. Their year would be, there's a breakdown here, so you could see it would be 220 days, which consists of the 180 days of school. We're hoping to add some school vacation programming to this. Time for the before and the end of school summer programming, as well as professional development. They would be working eight-hour days. $36.93 an hour. Some of the roles that it would be, another happy piece is that our partnership with City Year is expanding a bit and they also are getting into the afterschool game and we are getting five City Year employees that are separate from our core members that will be working in our McGlynn and our Missituk schools. And so those additional, so we are getting 15 core members between the Missittuck, the McGlynn Middle, and the McGlynn Elementary. Those core members also work in the afterschool at the end of the day. In addition to those core members, we are also getting five additional staff members for afterschool care. coverage at the Missituk and the McGlynn. So to kind of just help with a lot of these logistics in trying to increase capacity, working with our partner city here, and just assisting with some of the operational day-to-day pieces, it would be helpful to be able to elevate two of those positions right now to full-time. which is in keeping with the model that BASIC does use. So at the end of the day, I'll just kind of highlight here. Right now, site coordinators are currently budgeted to earn $41,277.90. And if these two positions are created, there'd be an additional cost to the budget of $47,504. So as I previously mentioned, the afterschool is a revolving account. The budget can handle this increase. And so we are here to ask if that would be a possibility. And I'm happy to answer any questions.
[Suzanne Galusi]: That's a great question. We're not looking to create a new position. So right now, we have four site coordinators that work the duration of the school year, and they work part time. And so what this would do would be creating two of those positions, ideally one at one of the title one buildings and one at one of the non title one buildings. And that would just mean that they are now working full time instead of part time.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Ideally, it would be an internal posting where out of the four.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, so, no, correct, no, it is not exclusively on the afterschool, it's still the same split. Okay, so our city year line item did go up. No, we maintained the same price as we did last year.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, they have more people that they are. So I believe, don't quote me, but I believe that we had about 11 core members last year, and now we're going to have 15 core members.
[Suzanne Galusi]: For the same price. For the same price. Oh, I wish everything worked that way.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, we did not go up in price. It's the same exact cost as it was last year. But I would say that. I think that is a benefit to Medford Public Schools because we are getting it at a slightly discounted rate than what maybe other districts are typically charged for city year.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It is a goal of ours. So I think what we probably would not start with the December break. I think that's the one where we have a lot. Yeah, there's a lot of families that have vacation times and things coming up. I think our goal would be to target the February and April break. That's how I was reading the eight days. Yes, yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And I'm very sorry, there's an excessive amount of emergency vehicles that are reporting to the high school right now. I'm a little distracted and I might.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I don't. I'm hoping it's not the woods again. Yeah. I apologize. You can go check that. Do you want us to do a motion?
[Suzanne Galusi]: It's just- No, no, that's okay. That's okay, I can multitask right now.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I just want to have a- That's a great question. So I'm going to answer that in twofold. One would be, we also are bringing in more revenue. I mean, we've taken 53 people off of the wait list. So we've also increased how much money is coming into that revolving account. And then I would say that I have been, I did have a conversation with Andrew Mumford of Basic just to gauge, not that I'm jumping ahead, but just to gauge you know in his estimation what is a prioritized position to be full-time and his top two are the site coordinator position and then the curriculum developer like the teacher that's really working on the enrichment activities for students and I really don't want to jump ahead we're just engaging in this consultation with him but just to try to keep pace for what we really do believe our Metro families deserve in continuing to increase the capacity and making sure we have the programming and the coverage. Having additional time for people to just work on staffing and hiring and some of those logistics is real and would be helpful.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It provides assistance for sure. It gives her an additional layer of partnership when it comes to just the basic supply needs of the schools, the ordering, the hiring, the maintaining of staff and keeping communications with City Year.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Much. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure. Yep. No problem. Thank you. So the ed plan is a really critical component of this work. And so we've been trying to make sure that we're keeping our administrators updated and in the work. And so that started with at the end of each year, we have what's called like an administrative retreat. It's just meetings to close out the year. Adele and Jen joined that meeting to kind of frame the work. I also spoke about, you know, the importance and how this is the document that's really going to aid us in a lot of decision making as we move through this process. And so they also were there to answer questions and just kind of the administrative unit was able to get introduced to Jen and Adele, who is our educational consultant through left field, former superintendent. So I definitely, the educators will be leaning on her a lot. So we kind of, after that meeting, I sent a memo to really outline the process. Jen set us up really nicely with a lot of the information that we needed. So it was pretty much taking a lot of that information and just framing it in a memo for administration to kind of get them thinking before people went off and enjoyed some time at the pool and the beach so they could be mindful and kind of have that thinking. A month later, It was followed up by a little bit more specific of a memo regarding now like a timeline and hard dates, really this educational plan to what. member graham spoke about this also is pretty prescribed there are it's broken down by like departments so it's pretty clear when we look at our administrators the pieces that principals are going to kind of be responsible for versus the pieces that some of our curriculum directors and leads would be responsible for so this that memo at the end of july was very clear in assigning what the tasks were for administrators to be completing. We're asking for their drafts, for them to first start and frame what their draft would be. Really, it's composed of two questions. It's pretty much like, what are we doing now to deliver curriculum? And how are we teaching? And what would we envision? How do we want this to look in a new building? And so we asked administrators next week to have that draft finished so that we're set when we welcome teachers back and the administrators can be working with the teachers on the draft and getting their voice into this document. So to help the teachers provide a little bit of framing, Tours were set up that we've been engaged, the last one finished today. You know we've had some tours previously, but the Medford High School staff was invited to tour Dover High School in New Hampshire on the 6th, Waltham High School on the 7th, and today was Attleboro High School. And so there's been a nice cross section of administration that's gone to some of these tours as well as educators and also some of those educators are on union boards within the teachers union, which I think is also important. And so now they've had the framing with the tours, and when they return, they're going to be able to do some work with principals and department leads, really working on the draft to get it ready for the end of September submission. Happy to answer any questions if people have questions about this level of work that we've been doing for the educational plan.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much. Good evening, mayor and members of the school committee. I'm very excited for this first report of the night. And just as you were announcing, the cameras just miraculously came on. So with us tonight we have Dr. Kimberly Talbot and we have Ms. Chelsea McNiff. 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. McNiff and then turn it over to her. Dr. Talbot is going to be the next Assistant Superintendent for Academics and Instruction for Medford Public Schools. She was confirmed by this body on June 3rd. 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. She has a wonderful background. She also has earned her educational doctorate degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. 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. 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. 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. 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. Should I move on to Ms. McNiff? I didn't know if I'm pausing for... Okay, I'll move on. Okay, so Ms. Chelsea McNiff is going to be the next director of English Learners Department for Medford Public Schools. Her appointment was also confirmed by this body on June 3rd. She comes to us after serving as an EL department lead for Everett High School. 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. She's also fluent in Spanish and French. She holds a master's degree in ESL. and a bachelor's degree for French and literature and applied linguistics from Boston University. She also has a certificate in trauma and learning. She impressed, through her rounds, she impressed the search committee with her skill set, her experience, and her optimism for the role. 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. 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. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Chelsea.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And thank you for joining us here tonight. Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: May I just make one comment before that happens? So I do want to just say this is a long agenda for this evening. So I do want to just say for Dr. Talbot and Ms. McNiff, It's up to you, but don't feel you need to remain on the call. I know that you have things that you're finishing up in your districts before you transition to us here in the summer. And Mr. Trotto is on the line and he will be giving an overview this evening. 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. And a lot has gone into the meetings for for the last few school committee meetings. 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. Mr. Trotta will talk through the overview of the work that's happened this year, as well as a video of students. Next year, we'll make sure that these reports have our student representatives in person. So with that, Mr. Trotta, is he able to unmute? OK, good.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, I don't want people to think that there was narrative. We just wanna make sure we have the audio for the next video, which is from the students. I didn't want people to think they were missing audio.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Nicely done.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. So, we've come before the body before. We, you approved the rate card for the tuition for the afterschool program. One of the things that we did discuss when we came to talk about the, enhancement of the afterschool program in our work to increase capacity, one of the ways in which we're hoping that that can be done is with this early pickup time. 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. So through survey results from families, it was The survey data showed that people would be more open to the early pickup time of 4 p.m. So that would be about 75 minutes after the new dismissal time for elementary schools. So there'd be a 4 p.m. pickup time and then a 6 p.m. pickup time. You have, excuse me, approved the rates for the 6 p.m., so it's the yearly rate of 500, 5,000, no, Yes, $533 for a monthly rate, daily rate of $29.64. And so just the prorated option for that, 4 p.m. pickup time would be $205.20 for a monthly rate, and that's $11.40 for a daily rate. So they just took the 6 p.m. time and prorated it to the 4 p.m. time. 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 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 the first option will be families that are currently enrolled. And that will, she'll give a window of time for that. And then she'll move to families that are on the wait list before we kind of open it up broadly to newer families. 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. I didn't know if you were going to. 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. So what I'm hearing is to raise it to $15.
[Suzanne Galusi]: For a daily rate. No, for a daily rate. A daily rate of $15.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not seeing her. I know she was on earlier.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Click the button.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, and I believe that that is the purchase price. Their request is for the lease. Am I also saying that?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes. That is for Mr. McHugh, who has been working with us for the past two years, helping in the finance department. 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 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. So he has definitely taken charge on a lot of the budget build with Noel's partnership and assistance. Next year we have him 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. 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. and that is the approval for this evening. 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. Was that 60? Noel can confirm that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: This was the other piece that was discussed at the previous meeting. The attached document there lists the non-unit positions that we discussed having an increase in a range of like 2% to 3%. There are two There are two non-unit positions that have a note in terms of a salary adjustment due to an assignment of new duties. One of those positions is our communications director, Mr. Pippicelli, and the other one is new duties for the 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. Gabby DaCosta taking on 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. Happy to answer any questions. Motion to approve?
[Suzanne Galusi]: To those two positions? Yes, please. Hold on one second. 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. I'll pull it up for you right now, Superintendent. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes. Okay, for... And while Mr. Velez is looking for that, I did talk about the increased responsibilities for Ms. DaCosta. In this meeting, I did not talk about the increased responsibilities for Mr. Pipiselli. 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, pieces for this meeting around Zoom, increased responsibilities around our Google suite. There are confidentially, I'm sorry, I'm stumbling on my words, but there are pieces of 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. Thank you, Director Velez.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So Gabby, so just a few things with the functioning of that office. So the second position is a part-time position. That is a position where, so Gabby has been, Ms. DaCosta has been the central person of that department. Within her stay there, she has created a manual. So I don't know if we talk about the functioning of that department prior to Ms. DaCosta coming in, there were significant errors made in the registration and the onboarding of our students. There wasn't a lot of communication necessarily between the schools. And so she has come in and she has put in systems and structures for that. She has streamlined that, created manuals. She also is fluent in four languages. She is very welcoming to our families that we are bringing into our system. But we also see that she has, through her work, been able to take on more. And with our our data analyst position also switching over. 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. And we also have found with that part-time position that has turned over now twice. That position has required just some oversight in compliance in the way that we are working within that office. 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. The only other thing I would say is that, she was also making very little. And so the the pay was also to bring her. She's still much lower. 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. in her position, but I do hear the feedback and take it. Thank you. 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. So at this time, I think it would be great to hear from Director Silva to just provide a little bit of an overview. Is that okay?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Is that okay, Mayor?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay. Actually, yes, Director Silva probably knows more about this. To my knowledge, this is an update from our existing field trip policy. And I know that Dr. Cushing worked extensively with Director Silva and Director Smith on this field trip policy. Were there other people involved, Jen? Okay. I just wanted to make that a point of clarification.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. 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. Through MCAS, I'm happy to maybe update that policy again with more explanation. I mean, five times the charm, but I do think that a lot of this language is not what's happening. It's very outdated, and I think it might just be more confusing.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't have much to say. I think a lot of what I was going to say, member Ruseau, member Graham covered because there has been ongoing work. 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. but I can get you the update of what's been going on so far. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, I think there are ongoing projects. right now around the facilities of our buildings as well as like the space utilization that's happening also this summer. 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 a report early fall is just a little bit. 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. 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. Thank you. And it's not to minimize this work because it is very important. And just to highlight too, I mean, with my broken ankle, I was scooting on in this morning and 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. So I relate to it. And I don't want anyone listening to think it's a lack of prioritization or importance, because it's not. It's also bandwidth, and to the point that Member Reinfeld just mentioned, bringing on new staff to be a part of the work. So we are actively in the middle of the hiring process for the chief operation officer. 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. Best case scenario, that person would be starting probably in around three weeks, but that's not knowing the specific situation, so having someone be able to come on board this summer, get caught up to speed before throwing some of this. I would probably say, because we have the two already ongoing, I would probably realistically say end of October.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Emily? Um, I love the idea of playing something out for the public. 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. Why did this just start? This is out of nowhere. You just came out with this all of a sudden. And then we have to say, well, we've actually been doing this for quite some time. It just hasn't started to affect you until now. But we can then go back and say, 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. Maybe with, like, I don't have to tell you guys. But the 2nd thing I wanted to ask about is, I understand that the pool. Will not be part of the project at all. Do you speak or or could you speak to that a little bit more? I'm I'm. 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. I do apologize if this was already discussed, but, and I was not at that meeting. 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. 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. And I don't know then where you would put parking. Right. 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. Sorry, Aaron's surprised, but he did it wrong. Sorry.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So that I understand this, the MSBA chooses 13 people from wherever, like from a different, what? They choose 10. Oh, okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't know. Whatever.
[Suzanne Galusi]: This is the way it's played.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure. And can everybody hear me? All right, I just want to make sure I'm going to share some audio with member Graham. So I think is so Megan fiddle carries on the call. 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. So, Megan, I don't know if you want to start from the very beginning of where we're generating. The list from, but our timeline, the list part. 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, 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. And August is very, very active for the Missittuck school, but this year we're already at 60. I think maybe 60, well, at least 60. So that's a significant change. That's almost double than what we usually see. The other schools are showing similar patterns. The Roberts is a little less. than what I've seen the past five years. 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. Yes. We offer 3 building bridges, 2 in person, 1 virtual. We usually do the zoom 1 in February. So it's January, February, March. because the open house for all the schools is the first Wednesday in May. 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. 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. And with that is attached the home to school transition form. 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. But if they're our own, we have a lot of data. In terms of in terms of transition. If it's a local Medford preschool program that they came from, we typically get their transition form. 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. in instances like that. 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. That is an area that I think I would welcome a conversation about how to do that better. and how to make sure we're connecting with all families to get some transitional data on their child.
[Suzanne Galusi]: for this year. Yeah, I think so. 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? I was just going to say that. Well, I think, um. I think this might be an area of improvement for sure. I mean, I think we do more for the transition from 8th to 9th. 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. 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. But I defer to your sure.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing. Thank you Jen. I appreciate that. That's such a nice long list. I think the only thing for me would be an advance to that like student panel. Right. Where you know how you At the middle school level, there are eighth grade. The high school will send students to the middle schools to kind of talk about the course assignments. 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. I think those are things that we can internally be working on. I do know that MARTA has been working very closely with guidance. I think they actually are making tremendous headway, to be honest, because I think they're very close to sharing a draft. Of a student schedule, which is really, I have to say, like, this year to have just gone through a completely new schedule and. Ratification of a teacher's contract that was not that long ago is like a herculean effort. So I think what the communication has been this year, yes, we could provide an update and that makes sense. 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. 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. So there's a lot of kind of streamlining and aligning that we need to do to make that a little bit better. I would say, The communication around field trips, the communication between what is a PTO event versus school-based event, that is the responsibility of a principal. I think having those conversations in partnership with Will to help kind of streamline that. 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. So that is definitely a work in progress that I think we can smooth out a little bit better next year. 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. So, Suzanne fee, when it comes to the, the arts month in May, those are all done in the summer. So. Will and I have had conversations around how we can make that calendar. accessible, like, to the community in a way that doesn't overwhelm people and differentiates between, like, daytime events. 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. This is an evening that just warms my heart completely. 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. While we wish that you could play for the whole entire night and before every meeting, we're gathered here to celebrate your accomplishments. that you achieved earlier this spring. 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. So thank you to Fine Arts Director, Ms. Fee, very talented Orchestra and Sing Ensemble Director, Ms. 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. We're very, very proud of your accomplishments. And so at this time, we have so many accomplishments this evening. What I'm going to do is invite Director Chang, Are they playing for us? Would you like to?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Ms. Chang. Yes, we do have some certificates for the students. I appreciate you acknowledging them. 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. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. This is very exciting. Round two. Here we go. 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. which is a very big deal. 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. 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. So much camaraderie, spirit, teamwork, and ultimate success is really something to be acknowledged and appreciated. So a round of applause for our esports team. 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. We'll take a team group photo, and then certificates will go to the coaches for dissemination to the team. 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. 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. Thank you. 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. It takes a lot of work and we're really tremendously proud of you and your success. Tonight we are acknowledging in the fall, we acknowledge the fall sports. And so tonight we are acknowledging winter and spring. There were 14 different sports, one, the GBL, which I know director Perry is going to acknowledge and or a regional event. So tremendous accomplishments. We're all very proud of you. Now without further ado, same scenario. So you'll go sport by sport.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Director Perry, do we want to come on? Yes, thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much. This is a very special acknowledgement for Medford public schools but also from for myself. 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. And that is very significant and really needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. So each of these five individuals have impacted hundreds, if not thousands of students during their time here and throughout their job roles. 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. We wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life. We know you're going to be going on to do other things, but we really wish you all the best. And on behalf of the Metro Public Schools community, we wish you congratulations on your retirement. 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. Oh, excuse me. I'm so sorry. Mayor Langer-Kern. 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. We have Jana Ewing, a second grade classroom teacher at the McGlynn, who gave us 34 years of service. And to Mary Hordy, who was a physical education teacher, 30 years of service. And at this time, we have, oh yeah, thank you. You want to speak?
[Suzanne Galusi]: There's a button.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much. So I would like to have Dr. Cushing and Mr. Paul Texera come to the podium. I just have a few words that I would like to say. And then I know that there are some members of the school committee that would also like to say a few words. 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. Dr. Cushing will, yes, Dr. Cushing is the next superintendent for Beverly Public Schools, and Mr. Teixeira is the next superintendent for Provincetown Public School. 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. 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. Thank you, Dr. Cushing, for the spirit you brought to the sentiment of, it's a great day to be a Mustang. We agree and know that you will bring that spirit with you as you inspire Beverly Panther community. To Mr. Teixeira, we extend our heartfelt thanks to you as our EL director for, I didn't know the exact number, Paul. I know it's over a decade. Oh, I was wrong. Just shy of a decade. There we go. There we go. Those COVID years count as 0.5. 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. 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. And Paul has pretty big shoes to fill. 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. 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. 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. Member Reinfeld.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So I know in your, we've had conversations back and forth. I know in your packets, you have the updated language for the graduation requirements for physical education and health. 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. So I would invite her to the podium in case there are any questions. What you have in front of you is the Medford Public Schools response to increasing flexibility for our students, which would move health one. 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. And health two would either be completed in grade 10 or grade 11. Physical education, the requirement is eight semesters of physical education with four enrolled in Medford Public Schools, Medford High School courses. And then the second four students would have a choice. They can continue taking courses offered by Medford High School, or they can participate in the independent study that Director Perry has created. The independent study is a footnote at the bottom of the graduation requirement, as well as linked to a separate document for review. 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. Sure.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. 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 and consultation with director Perry, as well as the opportunity for students that are in an instructionally based activity. 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 fitness slash exercise programs?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Lucy? Yes, thank you. 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. I can have 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. So an acknowledgement is something that I can have a conversation about. That's a very nice idea. Thank you. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I wouldn't want to misspeak. I know of two for sure, but I can get a firm number and let you all know.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. The high school counseling staff appreciates the expedition of that. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Great.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Dr. Galusi as well. Thank you, I can clarify that. 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. We had moved previously. 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. It is the only elementary school with three floors. And the other elementary schools have four floors. So by removing a whole entire floor of options, they may not have the enrollment capacity, but they definitely have a space one. So two things have happened. One, at the McGlynn, there is a need for an additional access classroom next year. So we had to increase in that area. When Mr. Teixeira created the additional strand of newcomer that also was at the McGlynn, that's five classrooms right there. At that time, or around that time, the MEEP program that was at the McGlynn was relocated to the Mesituc. So the McGlynn for the past, Ms. Bowen, two, three years has not had a MEEP program. 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. 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 fifth grade newcomer classrooms. So it will just be at the McGlynn and that fifth grade at the Missituk also creates yet another classroom space that is available. 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. Bowen did go over and have meetings with staff, there was outreach to caregivers, and I think that's very valid. Every elementary school has specialized programming under special education. I would say those vary in regard to need, those vary in regard to support and resource, as well as enrollment. So there is a need for sure at the Missituk, just as there is at the Roberts. 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. and actually growing each year. And I believe they're up to five classrooms, five classrooms. And the therapeutic learning program at the Missittuck definitely has student need as they all do, but there are three classrooms. And so it's also just a matter of space and availability.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I don't believe Dr. Cushing will be joining momentarily. I don't believe that there's a problem. I just believe that we have the two step authentication. Process now fully engaged.
[Suzanne Galusi]: To my knowledge, they can. This is just for people with Medford email addresses.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Because you're a co-host. That's okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm sorry, Aaron, I caught I didn't catch the beginning of that. Did you say someone who wants to join? All right. Let me double check.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you very much. I'm actually, so we have some updates on some search committees that we have been conducting through the district. 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. 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. So what I would like to just spend some time outlining for you this evening is twofold. So the first part is in doing a little bit of research around some of our neighboring districts and in looking at like, the scope of work that is happening, as well as the work that we have coming up. A lot of work to our existing buildings and the work through the MSBA on the high school. 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. 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. but also the infrastructure that is needed to support the overall functioning of our schools. That's first and foremost. And it would also align us to our neighboring districts. I think buildings and grounds is a little bit of an outdated term, and you don't see it reflected. So right now, districts like Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Lynn, and Wakefield refer to this as the facilities department. And some of our other neighboring districts, like Malden, Winchester, Revere, and Melrose, actually, it's part of the Department of Public Works. So I think just making that change in title will be reflective of the work that we're doing and aspire to do. in that previously this board approved a job description for the facilities director as well as a job description for the assistant facilities director. 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 facilities director position. So, Dr. Cushing, as has been well documented at many of these meetings, has done a lot of work to begin a lot of projects, not only on our buildings, but well, the infrastructure and the grounds as well. These projects, there's many projects that are ongoing. Just first and foremost, as an example, is the HVAC one that is ongoing, but it's happening this summer. And then there are other capital projects that are about to begin this summer. specifically like around the FOBs and the security systems. 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 and someone that would be a key person working under the supervision of the chief operation officer. 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. 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. I'm happy to talk in more specifics or detail or answer any questions that you may have. I do have in the paperwork that I've given you just a reflection of how this would look in the 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. I think I've spoken a little bit about some of the key responsibilities. We are looking for this job to preferably be someone that 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. And we have a range set for this. This would be a full-time position at 260 days. with a pay range anywhere from $80,000 to $110,000.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you very much. We're very excited about bringing this to you this evening. Previously, we informed the community about the search process for this very important position, which is a K-12 position for the district overseeing curriculum and instruction for the district. So we had a very healthy pool of about 50 applicants and we had a wonderful search committee. Member Reinfeld was part of that search committee, Joan Bowen and I facilitated this search committee. It was comprised of caregivers, teachers, administrators, and it was a a wonderful representation of the district. So we had a lot to vet out. We brought in nine out of the 50 applicants for an interview. And of that nine, I will say 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 were part of the interview process as well as a performance task. One candidate was unanimous in every interview panel. And there was one candidate in the performance task that really met the rubric criteria quite well. References were impeccable. This candidate is Dr. Kimberly Lawless Talbot. She is the Director of Teaching and Learning for the Salem Public Schools. She is doing the job currently. Previous to that, she was a director of teacher development under a professional development realm. She is an educator. She was a world language educator. She was a world language director. She is an adjunct professor at Salem State. She comes with a great skill set and a great level of expertise. 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. I think she also has a wonderful way about her, and she would just be a tremendous asset to our team. I am here because I would like your approval so that we are able to officially bring Dr. Talbot in as a Mustang. And I do would like to welcome Member Reinfeld and Joan Bowen for any key pieces that I may have missed. 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. So when Ms. 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, led a search committee for his replacement for the director of the EL department. They went through the same similar process and also member Alipate was the school committee rep on that committee. They went through the same process and through their initial search round one with the search committee brought up to central. two candidates for us to review and one candidate definitely throughout the search process kind of rose to the top. She is currently doing a position quite similar for Everett Public Schools. She is very aligned with Medford Public Schools core values and instructional vision and she brought with her a great willingness to learn and grow. And she had some great visionary ideas for the program that would be very helpful for us. So her name is Chelsea McNiff. And we are here to do the same thing and ask for approval appointment. for Chelsea McNiff to be the next EL director for Medford Public Schools. Joan was with me in round two of her interview process. 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. I've seriously edited my opening remarks, because I know we're pressed for time. 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. for their partnership and their dedication to this work. But I also just wanted to say thank you to all of you. 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. It is greatly appreciated. And sometimes in this work, 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. And so we have adapted a little bit of our presentation due to the time constraints. You have the entire presentation, but I'm going to start sharing if You've allowed me as a co host. Great. I'm going to start sharing. 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. Does that seem reasonable.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, great. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: All right. Thank you very much. Good evening, everybody. 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, overcrowding areas of constraint. And so we kind of chunked a little bit of this presentation by data sets. So you may see this slide again when we're breaking up how the data is going to be presented. 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. 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. 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. 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. But this was data that is reflective of the reporting that we do, so it's standard across all of our reporting areas. It's important to also note that the first column gives the total enrollment for the past three years in all four elementary schools. It shows you what the general education population is, and the special education includes all students on IEPs. So this is student, which is an individualized education program. for students. 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. That is the same for the information here for English learner. So the numbers here are reflective of all students receiving EL services, both in general education as well as in the newcomer programs. which are present at the McGlynn Elementary and the Missittuck Elementary. 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. I do know that we're closer to the 610 number right about now. And the Missituk at 418, those are really like the two ends of the spectrum in terms of total enrollment for the district. 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. 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. Some of the things for us that we are digging deeper, so I think it's important to note that This resolution was very important. 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. And it's also conversations that we're having as an administrative team internally. We worked hard to get this data, but we also are having ongoing conversations to dig deeper with this data. The conversations are just beginning, I feel like. So I just wanted to put that out there. 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 I guess if I go back to, we can see that the data looks to be somewhat historical. 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. I think we can kind of see the trends that are happening in our enrollment. But one of the things we might want to look into is our special education and making sure what is happening in terms of how we're identifying students, because there may be some shifts in the numbers. 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. So there are ways in which we need to do a little bit further digging as to what these numbers are really reflecting and how we're getting there. This graph just shows the average, just an average for elementary class size throughout the district for the past three years. And I think, again, 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. meeting the need in terms of the enrollment by adding additional sections. 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. This just has some data based on projected student population. For the bulk of our data, it is reflective of October 1 reporting again for the Department of Ed. We are looking at birth data. We are looking at consensus data that we get through the city. But it is important to note, and it is on our radar, that we know of, you know, at least three projected housing developments in the city of Medford that will contribute. 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. There are no concrete plans, so it's hard to determine what impact that may have on the Roberts right now at this specific time. Whereas some of the other developments, we know a little bit about the number of affordable housing units. We know a little bit information about what those units look like in terms of how many bedrooms. 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. But we still don't have a lot of data on the Salem Street one.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I appreciate that. I appreciate that clarification, and I'm sure people listening will appreciate that clarification. I'm kind of grateful to hear that right now.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, thank you for that. Okay, so this, the next slide is going to talk about space and staffing across the four elementary schools. 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. And so I think what was important to really just get a handle on is that space is very different across the elementary schools. And so I would say that while After the Roberts, the Brooks School has the highest enrollment. But the McGlynn does experience a lot of space constraints. And I think just on the face, the McGlynn Elementary School has only three floors, where the other four elementary schools have four floors. So it does reduce the amount of classrooms. And some of the spaces that, quite honestly, 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. So the McGlynn, though their enrollment might not be at full capacity, there are some space constraints for them. 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. That program is growing, and so next year they're going to need an additional classroom for the access program. Thankfully, we could condense one of the double sections of the newcomer classrooms, and so We're able to kind of figure that out for next year. But I just think that's just an important piece for people to be aware of for the McGlynn. 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. Whereas the Brooks and the Roberts are running on average four to five sections each year per grade level based on enrollment. The Roberts school houses the special education sub separate program for connections, and they have five classrooms currently with two MEEP, which is preschool programs. So that's a total of five classrooms. As opposed to the McGlynn, they have newcomer, so that is five classrooms plus access is six. 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. The Missituk does not have space constraints at this time. They run, based on enrollment, an average of three sections per grade level. some there was one year where they needed four sections of kindergarten. But this year, they needed two sections for second grade. So enrollment does fluctuate there as well. They house the newcomer. So that is for grades one through five. Just as the McGlynn, that's five classrooms. And they house the therapeutic learning program for their special education subseparate program. They have three classrooms in use for that. And they house three MEEP classrooms. 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. So some staffing constraints really are It's tied to enrollment, but it is also tied to the specialized programming that's in the buildings. 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. The access programming at the McGlynn and the therapeutic learning program at the Mississauga have the lower enrollment, there's only. one to three classrooms, whereas the Roberts and the Brooks have six plus, and that's part of it. And with the need for those classrooms, there's also the need for additional staff. 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. So some of that additional staffing constraint is really to just ensure that the needs are met for the students and the growing enrollment. 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. We can't say that for the other buildings. The Brooks is right behind. It's most of the years, maybe not all, but the Roberts, it's been every single year. I would also say just as a side note that 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. They're in need of some additional support in that area. 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. So before I advance the slide to show the data, I do want to just frame what that means. So intra-district approvals are situations in which students have been given permission to attend a school outside of their residential zoned school. 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. 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. There has been a 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 at the Brooks, that their siblings can go to the Brooks as well. I think if we just go to that FAR column, we don't see that level of sibling preference at the other three schools. 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. 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, And to get a little, well, let me back up. I apologize. 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. 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. At the time, for intra-district approvals prior to 2020, we actually were providing transportation to families in other parts of the city to bring them to the Brooks. And that stopped around 2021. And we began really looking at the needs for inter-district approvals. And I think, which dovetails to our conversation at last night's school committee meeting, in an effort to where we there was some after-school need, and we weren't really able to meet all families' needs to provide after-school care. 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. Those conversations really 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. And so those approvals were given. Those approvals did not include transportation. They did not include any sort of enrollment on the wait list of afterschool programming. And you can see since 2020, really 2022, 2023, these numbers that are highlighted in yellow reflect the approvals that I have approved. Trying to also balance some of the enrollment and the needs of the families. I don't know if you want me to pause here on this slide or just keep going. Question. 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. And for various hardship reasons, I approve the student to attend the McGlynn outside of their zoned area for the Brooks. 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. So it's not all strictly enrollment. But I can only speak to what's in yellow. 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. 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. That no longer happens. And these are the rationales here on the left, which I already spoke about. 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. You almost feel like we're getting a deal that it only went up by $15. But the daily rate for one bus this year is $475. We currently have 16 buses running, so we will maintain that. We are in the middle of updating the contract for our yellow bus. 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. I think the most drastic change here is in specialized transportation, which is our vans. There are several reasons why we need van transportation. You can see that we have it here for MEEP, we have it for special education needs. We run it in the summer for extended school year for special education. We also have some vans that run for our EL students and for our homeless students under McKinney-Vento. So we right now, you can see the difference. Last year it was about 25 ish dollars a day and now it's $75 a day. The vans run, and Ms. 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. Thank you. OK, so the last piece is just a little bit of a summary and some of the things that we've talked about internally. So I think very first and foremost, there were some major takeaways in running all of this data and that we just want to make sure that we, you know, punctuate right here. So there's definite variation in enrollment across the district. After Medford High School, the Roberts School has the highest enrollment in the city, which is primarily due to its location. I do think that is the piece a little bit about the data seemed to be mostly historical. The Roberts is situated in a part of the city that has a lot of multifamily homes. 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. Space constraints are felt at three of the four elementary schools. which I've already kind of talked about. 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. 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. We do feel that additional conversation is needed to review the inter-district protocol. It is not a policy at this time. I would welcome further conversation about that at the Rules and Policy Subcommittee. And just as we talked about, there's definitely an increase in transportation costs overall that are a big impact. 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. You know, one of the conversations was reassigning incoming Roberts enrollment at kindergarten. And once they hit the capacity per the teacher contract saying, 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. I'll just kind of go through them and then tell you why we really didn't settle on these. 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. But the weighted part would, of course, be that families that have 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. 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. As I said, those are the two ends of the spectrum. And so are there different ways that we could actually just leverage or use the MISATUC? 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. We could have a middle school take grades five, six, and another middle school take grade seven, eight. We could also use the MISA Tuck as an early learning center and house all of pre-K 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. 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. And we also talked about engaging in discussions in partnership with school committee for the process of redistricting. So all of these things were discussed. Some of them are much longer term projects. 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. It also would create a hardship financially, possibly, to be adding additional transportation mechanisms in order to educate students. And we see the price of transportation increasing. 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. So all that being said, there are some short-term solutions that we have been much more, I guess I could say, kind of like serious about. One would be to relocate the preschool MEEP programs from the Roberts to the Missituk for next school year. We are still looking into what that might look like. 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. But that would free up classroom space at the Roberts. And we are looking, the Roberts is feeling some additional constraints in just how their schedule runs in the school. And so one of those areas is their specialist schedule. And Principal Kroll is an amazing leader that is focused on equity and inclusion for all of her students. And so every student at the Roberts School participates in specials. And so for the Connections students, some of those students are able to really engage in the opportunity of going to specialist classes in the gen ed setting in a true inclusive manner. And some students based on their need and based on their disability, that is something that they struggle with. And so Ms. Kroll has been able to provide a more sheltered specialist experience for her students. And we don't wanna see that 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. And then the other thing is that we are We are going to do a space utilization study of all four elementary schools and the two middle schools this summer. It's going to start July 1. We have contracted with HMFH Architects. They are going to do the study. 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. how space was intended upon when the buildings were first opened, and give us a little bit deeper of an understanding about how we can leverage our spaces better and what we're able to do. 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. And... Member Ruseau, did you have a question?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, let me try to do that. Oh, see, it's just going to advance me. Hold on one minute. Don't mind my templates here. For some reason, I'm covered.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I know, but for some reason, I have a...
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And- Yeah. 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. And- Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry. I do think that's important to note too is that in order to do the work for this resolution and to get the data and have some initial conversations. This process to lead us to this subcommittee meeting has been pretty insular. I have not engaged in conversation around solutions with staff members or with caregivers. 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. our list of solutions based on the data as a preliminary. 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. I think the only thing that I would say, and again, this is something that we've only been talking about since January. And so there hasn't been a lot of time to message to kind of have a little bit more intent on that. And I don't want to overburden the Roberts, but I think this is why we are tracking the kindergarten enrollment every week. I share with school leaders where we are and what that looks like. At the very least, I think relocating the two preschool programs will free up some space for Ms. Kroll. Hiring an additional teacher will free up the pressure that's currently in the specialist schedule. And those are band-aids for 25, 26. I am completely open to to your point about reaching out to incoming kindergarten families and seeing what is there. Anytime someone reaches out with inter-district approval for the Roberts, I pretty much have been approving it, but it's not much. So I am definitely open to those questions.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Michelle can speak to the specifics of this. I think it's not. She's been living with five kindergarten classrooms. So it's not the matter of, do we have a fifth kindergarten classroom? It's that additional section. Correct.
[Suzanne Galusi]: They're not yet.
[Suzanne Galusi]: 2, I believe. The additional fourth is in the budget. The additional second is not. And the specialist teacher is not. That's correct. So it would be two more FTEs.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it could. Director Joan Bowen's on the call, but I would say yes, but go ahead, Joan.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think more opportunities. I think the weighted does not have to be one criteria. I think their geographical location, as well as maybe siblings that are already in the school. I think there are 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 in terms of like the restructuring conversation, I have not brought teachers into that conversation either. And that's a very big conversation.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a big conversation.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thanks for that, Christina. I do think that's important. That's the key piece of the space utilization study. 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. It's just that they've had the fortunate ability to use space a little bit more creatively. So I don't worry so much about the space because I do think that Ms. Sherman-Hudson will be able to account for that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know, Joan, if you were chiming in. So I think those are all conversations that we would have to have. I do think that if we are prioritizing, I would say that the MEEP classrooms need bathrooms more than kindergarten classrooms do. 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, there aren't, that fifth section does not have a bathroom in that kindergarten classroom. The need, right, the need is different. 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. Space utilization team.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I just, yeah, I would want, I think we can also find the data. I mean, the McGlynn does not have a preschool program right now. There is no Meep at the McGlynn. And a lot of the way that the MEEP is structured is it's there's not always the luxury of like, it's not always a community-based program.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm not minimizing anything. I'm just saying that it's presently not at the McGlynn. We do have the future goal of cohabitating all of the preschool programs together. And we can find that data exactly about 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. No, 25.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, it's important work that has to get done.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much. Thank you. 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. 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. The plight of the after school programming was discussed in detail, I heard a lot of concerns and a lot of like suggestions. how we can make improvements in this area. 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. I'm going to, I can't really, I'll wait. Thank you, Dr. Cushing. Okay, thank you. So the objectives in expanding Medford Public Schools afterschool programming. There are five areas in where we have objectives. 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. 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. And so in order to increase capacity in our afterschool programming, we really need to hire some additional staff, dedicated staff to Increased seats. Partnership. So collaboration is very important in all work, but especially in this work. 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. And then communication. So aligning communication methods and channels in a programmatic approach is definitely needed to help understand and update our schedules, timelines, and our efforts of expansion. 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. 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. Megan Fidle-Carrie is currently the afterschool director. She is a integral part of the program for day-to-day management, staff oversight, and key partnership with BASIC. And then communications, our communications director, Will Pippicelli will take the key role in communications for the afterschool program. He will work on developing a frequently asked questions document. 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. 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. And so that representation of caregivers at the table for ongoing feedback and input and perspective and decision-making will be key for us. Next slide talks a little bit about the consultancy. So beginning now and for next year, we're going to engage in a consultancy with Andrew and the BASIC team. That consists of three phases. We feel that this consultancy is really going to allow us some critical information to see how we can maintain some local control over the program. 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. And so in partnership with Andrew, this consultancy will consist of three phases. And the first phase is, yes? Member Reinfeld?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you very much. 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. started an afterschool program in two districts. It began in Belmont. It has expanded to Maynard. It is independent of those two school districts. So it is an independent afterschool program that is housed within the facilities, the school facilities in those two communities. And he has been able to increase capacity in those two districts and decrease the wait lists. He's, oh, Education Collaborative? Enrichment Collaborative, thank you so much for that. And so in saying that, to not completely remove and privatize without kind of diligent efforts, 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. So the first phase of his consultancy is a program assessment. So we will be working hand in hand with him, giving him all of our data, he's going to be gathering data, doing interviews, site visits, all the things that he needs to identify capacity needs and create a plan, honestly. 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. 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. Those two things are the priorities for right now and for next year. Phase three, which we are all set to do, 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. We can partner with him in the PD that he does with his current two programs in Belmont and Maynard. It can also be tailored specifically to Medford Public Schools. So some of those conversations will be had throughout the year.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Member Graham. Thank you for that. So the next slide are our goals for the basic consultancy, which is expansion of the current elementary program. So increase enrollment capacity and decrease the waitlist, which will, which will include expansion of space within all of the schools. And then the second is to review new and extended after school programming opportunities, create, we are looking to part of the work with Andrew is also going to be to look at what it is to expand in a middle school program. And so the first priority, of course, is the expansion of the elementary program to better serve the community. And the other piece of this is to dabble into what it would look like to expand to middle school. And Andrew would be very excited to kind of spearhead and take on that program. So those are conversations that are going to be happening throughout the year as well. So the next slide talks about the Afterschool Task Force. 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. The participants on this would be, as stated, MPS caregivers, afterschool program staff, school building staff, central administration and consulting partners. 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. as well as maybe others, but at least to start, it would be those two consulting partners. 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. And so we're very excited to get that set and planned. And further details will come as we go. So our next slide brings us to Medford Public Schools commitment. 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. And so we are dedicated to expanding the afterschool program with steady progress for the next year and the next three years. We are committed to collaborating with the consultancy and with caregivers and with everyone involved to make this a sustainable afterschool program. 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. 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. 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. So the next few slides kind of break down those objectives. 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. 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, and the space needs in collaboration with school leaders and 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. 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. The next slide talks about a staffing, our staffing overview. 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. in order to guide our staffing increases in all four elementary schools. 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. And I don't have like specific details, but they're also broadening their support and really going all in on some additional positions for after-school programming at the Missittuck and the McGlynn. So I'm very excited about that. 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. Um, and we will be using the guidance that we also get from Andrew in terms of what that staffing looks like. But we do know we will start that staffing this summer so that we are set to increase for next year. The next slide for enrollment. 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. at all four buildings. Additionally, we are going to work on implementing an automated enrollment system. 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. And also the guidance that we're getting from the audit. 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 the current partnerships that need to be ongoing and extended through part of this work. And that is our current afterschool staff, that is our current school leaders. And so Megan Fidler-Carey, who is on the call via Zoom, we have already had one meeting with school leaders about increasing space at all of the schools because that's going to need to happen in order to increase capacity. 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. The next slide talks about overall the communication plan. So. with our director, Will Pippicelli. 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. And so this survey would ask for your interest, not for you to sign up, but your interest in offering another track to afterschool programming. 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. Megan has been looking at some data with her staff from school to school around pickup times from this past school year. 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 Between street data that the site coordinators and Megan Phila Carey gather from caregivers, as well as the pickup times. 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. 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. 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. So, and in addition, 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. 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. And we do feel that it will help to keep momentum in progress. 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. And then review and analyze the basic audit results. So that's going to be critical to informing our work moving forward. 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. has not done a consultancy before, but he was really excited to partner with Medford in any capacity. 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. So I think that's great for us. And then that survey that I spoke about is an immediate next step that will happen. And then the updated communication so we will update the community on this presentation make it available on our Metro Public Schools website. 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. And then I do think it's important to note that we just finished a bid process we were up for our eastern bus contract, and so we just finished that bid process. 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, 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. 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. 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. any of the buses we currently have. 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. 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. 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. 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 And I don't say remove, but we could shift those seats and open up those seats to families that need care until 6pm. 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 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 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. So he does hire full-time, full-year staff because his programs do take on the vacation weeks. they offer programming during school vacation weeks, they offer programming in the summer. So part of that piece you're talking about, he does, he does respond to that by hiring year long staff. So that is one of the things that we are looking at. You know, the quantity of how many we can handle doing that for next school year is part of that financial puzzle. But that would be 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, granular piece, the Latin my last conversation with Andrew we kind of talked about what those three phases of his work will be. 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. we're first starting out with a one year consultancy. And then I think we will have some decisions to make. I think the monitoring piece he could assist with, but the next steps would really be around training and maintenance of our growing efforts. 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? Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Can I just add something?
[Suzanne Galusi]: That's slotted for one of the next.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah. Along with non unit. Perfect. Thank you. Yep.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. We already did the rate card for tuition so it will not impact families for next school year. And I would assume that is where it's coming out of. But I will, I have a note here to, to check in about the member all parties question. I will double check with him in terms of where he stands with his board. He's developing the contract in partnership with his board of directors, as this is something that's new for them. And so I will just, I have a schedule to check in with him later on this week. I'll find out, yep.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much. 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. So the report that you have in front of you just speaks about the current requirements right now are four years of wellness. So that's physical education as well as health. We are here tonight to recommend four years, so four years of physical education. 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, or their arts technology rotation. Sophomore year, they would take PE two times a week as part of their regular schedule. 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, have changed the high school schedule. So we finally have a merged schedule that will blend the comprehensive and the career technical education side. That schedule not only increases the day by 15 minutes, but it adds an additional period. One of the things that we're kind of working on 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. This year, and what many families are used to, is that physical education and health requirements are half the year. 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. For next year, we're not switching. 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. They're not half year courses, they're year long courses. So as it stands right now, that's why it says once a week for physical education or twice a week as a sophomore. Juniors and seniors, their electives. 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. One of the other options would be to offer a wellness independent study. And I'll talk about what that will look like in further detail in a minute. 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. So there was a very robust ongoing conversation around what health would look like freshman year, specifically for students engaged in the CTE rotations. because we would have to, that is a critical year for health one. And in order to get everything into the student schedule, we would have to modify that curriculum. And that is not what the educators and people that work so hard on that want to do. So in order to maintain the rigor and the, 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. Now, what the independent studies would look like for the physical education independent study. 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. It would be for students that participate in clubs. physical activities like rugby or crew or ultimate Frisbee. 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. So students that can demonstrate that, that's criteria number one. Criteria two would be that they have passed their physical education classes previously. And then criteria three is that they are completing a weekly log of their minutes of physical activity in these pieces. And then at the end of the year, creating a reflection. This would be monitored by current staff as well as approval through the director of physical education and health, Rachel Perry. And then similarly, to have a health education independent study would really be that the students are spending the year engaged in doing research. To a health related topic that they would be completing a capstone project for by the end of the year. And so some of those examples could be For capstone project are organizing, you know, some community events. 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. and focus a capstone project on that. 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. So if you have any questions, I put that forward for a discussion to the members. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Pelosi. Member Ruseau?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure. And I do want to note that Director Perry is not here because she's at awards night. 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, there's, which is why you see for PE, it's just once a week. 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 the diligence and the rigor that is in HealthONE. That's why Ms. 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. Mm-hmm.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Right. I can tell you what it is right now, but next. So it does take up two periods. 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. Next year. I don't know exactly what periods they're slotted for. 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. So. within that is going to be the physical education component. 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. I would have to do a little bit of research to get you your exact answer. I don't know if Dr. Cushing knows that answer. 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. And she is currently involved in creating electives for health, which did not previously exist.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. Lots of papers tonight. Okay. 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. 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. And so not enough can be said for that because in his leaving, that is going to create a hole 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. 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 ever evolving operational needs. 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. And I'll just give one minute, of course. Oh, it's there. Thank you. It's hard for me to see over here. So what you can see in front of you is just what would be displayed. So there's lots of changes happening in Medford Public School. And so right now, Ms. Bowen and I are actively involved in the hiring process with member Reinfeld of finding the next assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. And what this, Shift would be would be the creation of a chief operations officer position to fill Dr. Cushing's roles that he oversees right now around operations. 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. Of course, this role would have a lot of cross functional support. For other departments within the school district, but the main priorities would be around facilities it and security. I do have here. 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. 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. Just offering you the opportunity.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes. And I think it's, I think that that part is okay for right now.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No. So that is a shift. So food service did fall under Dr. Cushing. So that would be one shift where I'm, I'm putting food service under the finance department. So there's, I'm sure you're aware, like great overlay in a lot of that. So I would also be in communication with Director Smith, maybe around programming and communication where, you know, will also takes an active role. But in terms of The oversight, I have that department under finance. I think it's an understatement to also just, we don't know where we're headed. Right now, our breakfast and our lunch is provided by funding that we just don't know if it's going to be there. 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. 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. So the instructional component that weighs more predominantly for students will be the assistant superintendent for academics and instruction. 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. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, no, thank you, because I did note it is listed there in the last bullet for the IT. 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? I would say yes. I mean, right now, in the conversations that we've had internally, that range would be about 100 to 150. OK. OK.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Transportation right now.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Transportation is still a very, we are still having internal conversations around transportation. All right. Transportation right now lives with Megan Fidle-Carrie. It has had oversight by Dr. Cushing. And so That is still an ongoing conversation. 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, previously, you know, Dr. Edouard-Vincent, because she wears so many hats. 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. She clearly needs support in that role, but I also don't want to 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. And so I'm hesitant to put too much in that position where facilities and IT and honestly, security are very critical.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you. 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. I, which I have kind of in my previous role had oversight and facilitation of the literacy program. And we've kept ongoing survey data. We have tried different formats for that program. We've offered half day offerings. We've done full day offerings. And so in all of the feedback that we gather from families, the need for a full day program to allow for their work is critical. 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. And so in that data that I have collected in my previous role and in the data that Megan Fidelicari is, 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. 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. So what MAPS would offer is both a full day option for 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 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. So part of what is being developed is this program would prevent summer slide. Because students would be engaged in weekly thematic activities and projects that would enhance academics and exploration. So this program is being developed, Megan is having some ongoing conversations with 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 Math Director Faiza Khan's math calendar activities as well as some extended academic opportunities. And this program would be so due to a lot of the work that is happening HVAC related at the McGlynn and the Andrews This camp would be housed at the Brooks. 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. These sessions would, the MAPS program would run for the month of July from July 7th to August 1st. And the literacy program will run from July 7th to July 18. Lunch, of course, is provided and breakfast for families if they so choose. And then we have here the breakdown of what that would look like. So the full day program would be from 9 to 3 with the option of extended time. So families could drop off at 8 and families could stay till 4. of course, financial assistance is available. The literacy program is free. 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. And what the extended hours would look like if families are opting for that. 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. So the difference is the the Medford public schools literacy. is to just, it's what it has been for the past several years, right? It's invite only because we are using district data in order to target the students that need that continual emphasis on literacy development. And so we're looking at DIBLS data, we're looking at MAP data in order to craft the invitation list. If I would much, I would really love to be able to be developing a math camp, a STEM camp. Right now there are not a lot of grants out there. True. To offset any of this. And I think these are things that we have to have conversations about building. And I do think that was Megan's earnest attempt here in a lot of conversations that she had with 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 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. It's in my, if I had a gene in a bottle.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep. 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. 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. I have to get better at like moving up that timeline, even despite. So this year I was hoping that that would still be the case. It's not. 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 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. There's a lot happening at the Missituk. So Summer Fun is housed there, the EL program is housed there, there is some ESY housed there, and much how 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. This was a way to maybe infuse some more academic focused explorations in a camp. but also be able to provide families that are attending the reading, the literacy camp with childcare opportunities. And so it kind of evolved from both need and the desire to maybe help with like the reduction of summer slide. So the difference in price is $100 more. So summer fund is 250 a week, this is 350 a week. There is an increase in that and that is really to just account for staffing needs. cannot maybe sit here and go through all of the staffing needs of summer fun. 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. Um, and I think that accounts for for for some of the increase as well as the supplies because of the because of the thematic nature and the academic component in order to do some of the STEM related activities, the materials. 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. The same one-on-one support that we needed.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely. Yep. And the sliding scale that's used for the afterschool program would be in place for this. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I agree. Thank you. 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. 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. 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. I need to report this decision to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by June or within June of 2025. 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. I think it was in my transition plan, we are, having a lot of conversations around enrollment and capacity. 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. And this school committee has also expressly made their priorities and goals well known about serving the needs of our Medford families to the fullest. That is just my request that we make a recommendation to continue that Medford is a no school choice district. And if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, yes. Thank you. 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. And there are some dates for Mr. McHugh and Mr. Velez's budget times, which will be fully developed, and I can get that to you. But I'm not, if you have any questions or if there are dates that you'd like to discuss, please let me know. Thank you, Dr. Galusi.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, Dr. Galusi. Thank you for this. 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. And so I would welcome the, opportunity to have continued conversation. I think we are trying internally to really look at our current afterschool, what we're able to offer for opportunities. And so I think that it's important to keep the lines of communication open. And Will does an exceptional job with communication. So I think it would be positive and beneficial.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Is that okay? Did you? Okay. Thank you. So I just, I do want to make sure I know one quick thing or just a few quick things. One student, we can work to get the student supply lists. They may fluctuate. 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 kind of positioned at that level. When we're talking supplies at elementary, they're all suggested, none of it is like required, but we can work to do that. 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. So we can try our best. 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. That seems fair to me, and I think some is absolutely better than none here. If it's in draft mode, I can show you one in draft mode. 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. He's been keeping in constant communication with his Masbo network and other financial directors across the Commonwealth. And so they are definitely tracking a lot of this piece for you and has, you know, given me a lot of information pertaining to this subject. 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. A lot of what people are feeling right now is that we'll be okay with consumables. A lot of them are made in this 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. 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. Thank you very much for this resolution. It is very important. I too am an adult with food allergies and I carry my EpiPen around with me always. But our director of nursing Jen Silva has just consistently been an advocate and a champion for this work. 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. She is on via Zoom and has some things to share about the work of the district and her department.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening. Thank you very much. So on Tuesday, last Tuesday, April 8th, the members of the Medford Teachers Association voted to ratify their contract proposal. And we have before this body a vote of the Medford School Committee to accept the contract.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much. Thank you for that. 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. There was a true partnership for the Medford Public Schools. as well as our work with you on the school committee. It was a very collaborative collegial process that we had with Medford Teachers Association. You spoke about all the highlights, I thank you very much, but I want to say that 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. 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. We did put something out to the greater community in terms of a press release. 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. But just wanted to also extend that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Turn it over to you. You literally took the words out of my mouth. Thank you for framing that so nicely. I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Cushing now that that kind of foundation has been set. That's exactly what I was going to say just to frame. He's going to walk through the school calendar and the work that he did in collaboration with our communications director, Will Papaselli. But Dr. Cushing.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So heard. I think this will require a lot of kind of conversation and planning, both with our teachers union and with school leaders. 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. 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. 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 the three programs. I'll talk through those in a brief moment. 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. So the first one that I'd like to discuss this kids corner. 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. But unfortunately, I don't think it went before this board in a formal manner as part of the rate increases. So you will see here what the current increases for this school year as well as the next two school years. 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. And so that was done last year through the bargaining team and the ratified contract. And so we adjusted the tuition as you see here in the charts. I don't know if you want to ask questions for each program as we go.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay. Thank you. And just for your, the, I also linked the memo that went to families for your, you know, reference.
[Suzanne Galusi]: On to MEEP. So similar with MEEP and maybe some of the talking points I'll also be giving for before and after school care. The consideration for MEEP, so the increase in tuition also will allow us to 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. 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 for MEEP purposes. So what you have here, you have the current tuition rates for 24-25 this year. 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. 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. So that would be the second number that's listed. Happy to answer any questions. 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. Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm gonna have to double check those numbers. 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. Oh, I see what you're saying. So it says 552.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I also think it's important to note that Joan, Ms. 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. And with the uncertainty of not totally knowing, we've already seen some increases in the materials and the supplies in order to run after school. 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. And then you will see for next year, what 2% looks like versus a 3% increase. you know, we defer and welcome any questions of conversation from the committee. 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. 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. Thank you. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I'm going to ask, so Director Megan Fidlecari is on the call. 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. 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. I mean, I can get you some like. Sorry, I should have asked for this when I got my packet on Friday, and I apologize. No, no, no, that's okay. But I can get that to you. I can get that to you more specifically in terms of what you're talking about with.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes. I'm so sorry. I have like a This is a needed piece of information to look into. 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. 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. So I welcome the opportunity to gather this data with my team and come to you by May 19 with a further conversation. I'm also very interested in continuing this conversation with varied stakeholders. 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. 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. we have seen since COVID a need for a fifth kindergarten every year. And so the pressure is most acutely seen there in terms of what the needs are going to be for school year 25, 26. I guess that would depend maybe on the scheduling of when we're doing this because we really, in essence, really have about a month left, month and a half to make a lot of these decisions. And I believe we have two school committees left. 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. Good evening, everyone. For, I would like to ask Ms. Skane to just come to the podium. I'm going to give just a brief overview as to why we are honoring Principal Skane here this evening. 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. When alerted of the situation, she quickly 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. She also ordered the safe evacuation of her building. by giving her staff very clear directions and staff and students proceeded to the McGlynn. No one was hurt or affected by that incident. She remained on scene. She sent her school with the assistant principal. She remained on scene to handle the situation that was ongoing and the subsequent investigation. She also ordered 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. 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. 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. And so Dr. Cushing and myself worked on the citation through the governor's office, Governor Healey. 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. Oh, thank you Dr. Cushing. 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. for the greater community. So we have two very key pivotal roles at central office that need to be filled. One of course was the one that I sat in for the assistant superintendent of academics and instruction. And the other one is for the director of the English learner department. 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. And so he will, his employment with Medford Public Schools will be sadly coming to an end on June 30th. And so it's very important that we just highlight what that process is going to look like for both of these key roles. So just to make sure, 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. 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. making sure that we are grounded by our instructional vision and that our students are given the high quality education they deserve. Our director of English learners supports the diverse population of all of our students where English is their second language. They work in planning and developing and coordinating their delivery of educational instruction that supports the EL needs. 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. So we want to make sure that the process is thorough and that we're reaching out to a varied number of stakeholders. And so the importance of collaboration is key in this process and with the school and district communities. So we are, as you saw in the Friday memo, we have sent out a letter and we have sent out two surveys. one for each role. We are hoping to have two things for that initial outreach. We are looking for interest, in people to serve on the search committee. So we are looking for, again, varied stakeholders from students to caregivers, to staff, to administration. There's one for the assistant superintendent and one for the EL director. 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. We also will be following up with a greater level of input pertaining to discussions or roundtables or targeted surveys for each particular role. for the assistant superintendent for academics and instruction. That will be co-facilitated by myself and Joan Bowen, director of student services. We are just starting to look now through the survey so that we can build what the search committee will look like. 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. And day two, you can see we have a very similar time frame that we are going to conduct for this search process. We have sent out the survey. We are monitoring it closely. We will be creating the search committees. Is that better? Okay, and then we will start the interview cycle. 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. I will make sure that we are keeping the community well-informed. Once the committee has been formed, we will communicate that to the district so that you are aware of the composition of each search committee. If there are any questions at this time before I move on to my next item.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely, yes. 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. 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. 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. So, but to be more targeted and clear, we'll follow up with another vehicle for input and feedback. OK, do you want me to go to the next one? Yes, OK. 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. 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. 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 of clarity to. 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. A little bit more clarity to the math requirements, since the implementation of the pathways just to be very clear by class. what the requirements are, and then a little more specificity to students with significant needs. So if we go to the next slide that talks about introductory language, one more. Thank you very much. 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. And I just want to make sure that we're very clear there's an asterisk there. 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. So all students that receive a diploma or a certificate of completion will absolutely participate in graduation. 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. I don't know if it's best for me to keep going, or if you would like to ask questions with each 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. we have implemented integrated math pathways at the high school. So this just breaks out what the requirements are by class. 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, in ninth grade and they have to pass algebra two or integrated math two in grade 10. And just as a side note, this was the first year where freshmen entered the integrated math one. 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. And in grade 10, they need to pass integrated math two, CP or honors. And then it's a little redundant, but following, 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. That is my recommendation. If you have any questions, please let me know.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Ideally, but every student has kind of their own course. Yeah. 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. 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. 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. So these are for the students who did not pass MCAS. So they got a certificate of completion and not a diploma. And so if they would like to go through the steps of getting a diploma, which is just really having us look into their transcripts on an individual basis. 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. If they did not, 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. Yes. Yes, I will. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I just have a quick question. 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. Just going to give it a few minutes as people are coming in and connecting to audio. Good evening, everybody. I'm just going to give it a minute or two as people are logging on and connecting to audio. Okay. Well, good evening, everybody. I'm going to try and be mindful of time. I think we'll just start as some people are still kind of coming into the meeting and connecting to audio. We'll just start with the agenda and some introductions. Just want to say thank you for being here. Oh, but I'm sorry, I advanced a slide before. Hold on one second, please. This is what I get for trying to do too many things at once. I'll just do a reset as we're just kind of... Okay, well, here we go. Thank you everybody for being here. Oops, sorry about that. Thank you. Okay, we're going to get started. Sorry for that little brief tech tech issue. My name is Suzanne Galusi. I'm the interim superintendent. I thank you very much for joining us tonight so we can discuss the middle school lottery assignment and process. 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. 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. And we thank all of you for joining us tonight. I'm going to just go through a very brief slide presentation to give a little bit of context to this process. And we're going to end with some questions and answers at the end. 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. So without further ado, I'm going to start with a little bit of the background. 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. This posed a lot of issues, especially over time. So what we started to see in Medford Public Schools was the enrollment totals were not the same from both middle schools. 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. First and foremost, though, there were some equity issues that were created when we also looked at the enrollment for both buildings. So when Dr. Maurice-Edouard Vincent came in as superintendent of schools, she created the lottery process to resolve a lot of these issues. So what we have in place right now was that policy that was created under her. That policy is as follows. 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. 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. Students on IEPs that do not require program to meet the needs of their IEP will be distributed evenly between the Andrews and the McGlynn. 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. 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. So in terms of running the lottery process, there are going to be four exemptions that I just briefly highlighted. 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. The entire English learner program is housed at the McGlynn Middle School. And so any students requiring those services will automatically be assigned to the McGlynn Middle School. And therefore they will not be run in the lottery. The second exemption is for students that are on an IEP but require a specialized program. 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. At the middle school level, that is still the case. So for example, language-based programming, one of the classes is at the Andrews, one may be at the McGlynn. Connections, I believe, is at the McGlynn, but the therapeutic learning program is at the Andrews. 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. This is something that would be discussed at your team meeting with your special education team, which is facilitated by the ETL. Every student on an IEP, whether it's specialized programming or an IEP, will have a transitional meeting. If you have not had one already, there will be one that will be coming up before the end of the school year. 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. I can answer more specific questions in the Q&A, but wanted you to be aware of If your child through IEP needs, requires a specialized program, that will be discussed and will not be run in the lottery. They will be placed at the school that houses that program. The third exemption is for students on IEPs that are not tied to a specialized program. The only exemption here is that students who are on an IEP to ensure equity 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. They can be met at the Andrews and they can be met at the McGlynn. 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. And then the last exemption is sibling preference. And so parents do have the right 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. I do think it's important to note that there are some clarifications to the sibling preference. One is that I just spoke about the specialized program needs. If your child requires a specialized program, that supersedes sibling preference. Sibling preference does not apply to younger siblings that are in McGlynn Elementary. 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. 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. And so if there is a Google form here, if you would like to opt into this. So just to kind of explain a little bit more the lottery process, we have a sample elementary school here. 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, 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. Three, require special education programming. 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. 12 of the 103 students in the fifth grade are on an IEP. in addition to the three that I just mentioned in a specialized program. Those 12 will have their own lottery, and six will go to the Andrews, and six will go to the McGlynn. 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. But I do think it's important to note that we do leave like a 3%, like three seats. 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. So we do keep a small buffer there to ensure the numbers stay as close to balanced as possible. 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. will be emailed to eligible caregivers tomorrow. There'll be a Google form on there for you to complete electronically if you, to let us know what your option is. Would you like to opt in to sibling preference? Or no, you would not, you'll opt out. Monday is the deadline for those forms. Next Thursday, Your fifth grade child is going to come home with a letter in their backpack. that will have their lottery number on there. We assign every student a generic lottery number that we use like a random automized system here. So they will come back. This number is not attached to them within Medford Public Schools in any fashion. It is not their school identification number that we use. It is a, randomly generated number so that we can keep some confidentiality and make sure we're being random in the process. 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. So on that day when we run the lottery, we just use a random, automized platform, like a website, that helps us run the numbers. 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. programs, and then we will run a lottery for students from each school that are not tied to specialized programs. 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. And then the week of April 28th, you will get a hard copy letter sent to you in the mail. So that that way, caregivers are getting two ways that we're reaching out to you with the results of the lottery. I also think it's important to note that both middle schools have their orientations the week following the hard copy letter coming home. So Wednesday, May 7th, will be the Andrews Middle School open house, and Thursday, May 8th, will be the Moglen School open house. Both start at 6 p.m. at the respective schools. I know that was a lot of information. I do think it's important to note here we are, there is a middle school lottery email, mslottery at medford.k12.ma.us. If you have any questions or any follow up, please use this email. 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. So we will make sure that this is posted so that you're able to kind of access that link. I am going to stop screen sharing now so that I'm able to see participant faces and we're able to change the, the settings here a little bit so that if people have questions, I believe Dr. Cushing is the chat sent just to us. OK. So we can monitor your chat. If you have a question specifically in the chat, we can handle it that way. 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. To clarify, yes, the EL is the English Language Learners Program. It's the English Learners Program, so students that require services and instruction in English because English is a second language to them. And if while we're waiting, for questions to come in the chat or questions for people to request to unmute. If there are specific questions that maybe Mr. Tucci or Ms. Skane or Mr. Pippicelli, who helps me monitor the MS lottery email, may be recurring questions we can also answer as we're waiting. Is the open house only for parents? Mr. Tucci and Ms. 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. 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. and the assignment process at the middle school level. 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. But I think that process was pre-COVID, and we definitely have seen a shift in our enrollment and the needs of our students in these past five to six years. 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. And there's some room to grow here. So Rebecca would, do you have a question? Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, that's a very thoughtful question. We appreciate that. I can just give the highlights, but I do think that this is important for the middle school principals to kind of respond to. But I think everything that you just said is that that initial piece is the open house. And I think that's kind of why 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. And so I think that's an important night. And then the pieces over the summer are also going to help with their transition as well. But I don't know 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. Skane, can you also talk about how students and families find out information specifically about clubs, sports, and activities?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. You're welcome. So, Peter, can you check the chat? Because I think you're getting a lot. The one I'm going to say specifically, especially, you know, a lot of us are parents on this call as well. So I know my youngest would have been the one that the letter never came home from school. 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. 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. You can still put your questions in the chat. 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. 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. 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, and the Andrews join together in the club. So it's a little bit of everything. Mr. Tucci, would you like to talk about maybe how we select what clubs and sports are run? 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. 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. 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. I don't have any more questions. 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. Skane and Mr. Tucci can elaborate a little bit more, but there are two sides to every grade level, right? 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. They have the same classes. 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. And the teams function as cohorts throughout the year. 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. We appreciate you and your thoughtful questions. 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. And we look forward to thoughtful transitions for your children and hope you have a wonderful rest of the evening. Thank you so much for coming.
[Suzanne Galusi]: without drastic cuts. Thanks to your support, we can continue to offer educational environments that are supportive, welcoming, and inclusive to our students and our staff. 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. These thoughtful proposals recommended to our administrative team have been kept to a minimum in next year's budget primarily for two reasons. First, we want to understand the staffing needs for the district based on a new high school schedule. 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. 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. I'm appreciative for their willingness to engage in dialogue that balances both the immediate and long-term needs of Medford Public Schools. Creating a budget rooted in transparency is critical to our values here in Medford, and I'm very grateful that we have conducted this process with that goal in mind. And so now I think we would welcome up Mr. McHugh and Mr. Velez. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. So my name is Suzanne Buckley-Galusi. She, her, pronouns. I'm the interim superintendent right now for Medford Public Schools. My whole career has been in Medford, so I'm in my 28th year right now. I, just a brief maybe overview for people that might not know me. I spent the first 15 years of my career here in the classroom. So I taught a range of grades three, four and five. I started at one of the neighborhood schools that is I believe condos now up in North Medford. It was the Davenport school. And then when the McGlynn school opened in that first phase of new buildings, I went there and I was there for 11 years. And then I moved into school leadership for eight, spending four years as an assistant principal. Two years split between the Brooks and the Roberts, and then two years solely at the Brooks full-time. And then I moved into the principal role of the Brooks School for four years. And then the world decided to shut down. And the current structure for Medford Public Schools at that time, there was an assistant superintendent for elementary education, and an assistant superintendent for secondary education. And the assistant superintendent for elementary education was retiring. And I felt a great amount of onus and duty having my whole career be in Medford. I was raised here as well. I went through the public schools of Medford. And so I decided that I wanted to help lead the schools back from the shutdown of COVID. And so I moved into central leadership after that interview as the elementary assistant superintendent. And I did that for a couple years, and then it's just been the past two or three years that the previous superintendent, Dr. Maurice-Edouard Vincent, changed the structure. it shifted to the assistant superintendent for academics and instruction, and then the assistant superintendent for innovation, enrichment, and operations. And so I became academics and instruction, district-wide, pre-K to 12. Wow. And then this role. Yes, which wasn't on my radar, but I think again, with my strong ties to Medford, I very much am happy to step up and lead the schools in a place that's really near and dear to my heart and 100% has molded me into the educator and the human that I am today.
[Suzanne Galusi]: That's really hard. Okay, I mean the two that come to the top of my mind might not be what people maybe typically say. They're not your traditional sit-down. But I would say Magnificent Muffin has the best sour cream coffee cake muffins you've ever had. Their egg sandwiches are delicious as well. And I still can't find a better Italian sub than Bob's. And that's kind of like a weakness of mine. A little guilty pleasure, let's say. So a little South Medford, a little West Medford.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So you get breakfast and lunch and dinner covered.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Wow, I could talk on that question for hours. I will try my best to answer that question. I think the first thing for me is that what I appreciate so much about Medford is the uniqueness of where it sits. And I say that because we have such a wonderful spectrum of diversity in Medford. And it is not to get off track, but it also is what was difficult for me. I will say calling my first snow day, which took like days off my life. We are situated between neighboring districts that are also so broadly diverse and Medford's like right in the middle. And you see that in our schools. So we have two elementary schools that are title one. qualify for Title I status, which means that the socioeconomic profile in that building is of need. And then we have two elementary schools that do not qualify for Title I status. And then when you have your middle schools and your high school, this diversity merges into our buildings. So we have a wide spectrum of need in Medford. Throughout my whole entire career, I have always been grounded and centered in making decisions that are best for students and meeting students where they're at and addressing what they need. And so whether we want to call that holistic or the whole child, but that is what has grounded me. And my dissertation focus for my doctorate was all around responsive culturally responsive practices in our schools and how we support leaders to lead that way. And where does instructional leadership meet culturally responsive leadership? And that push to having our school leaders be both instructionally sound and culturally responsive is the work that I'm grounded in. We've done, our school leaders are just that and we keep building that muscle. And so we did a lot of work these past couple years creating our instructional vision for Medford Public Schools, which yes, we want to make sure we're giving students content that is grade level and appropriate, but we want to make sure that when they come to school, they're meaningfully engaged and they feel heard and seen and represented. And it's very important to me to make sure that when our students walk through the doors, they feel welcomed through our doors. And there's a trusted adult for them that is saying, good morning, how are you? I noticed this or, you know, can I help with anything? That to me is the essence of education. Yes, in my three brief weeks, the world decided to implode a little bit. And so the day I started was the day of executive orders. And that has definitely, you know, left people feeling lots of different ways, and people have to, people are going to sit with that in different ways, but I'm all about making sure that students and staff are feeling safe, they're feeling well informed, and we're not going to change how we operate here at Medford Public Schools. So, and I feel fortunate that we live in a state that's going to make sure that people feel safe and respected and identified. Education to me is the business of humanity. And if you're not looking at the person, then we're not truly doing our job. And so making sure that we have that full view of what is going to make our students feel safe and ready to learn so we can make sure that they're exposed to the education they need to be exposed to is the work. And that's the work I keep pushing with our administrators.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I think there's a couple levels here. So you know, not to nerd out too much on the education, but when COVID hit at the elementary level, there was a paradigm shift in how we teach students to read, i.e. the science of reading. And we were working on that shift before COVID, but we definitely kicked it into high gear after COVID. But what COVID also disrupted for us was our curriculum cycle. So we got a little off track with that, but there's been a tremendous amount of work at the elementary level to bring on new updated curriculum to meet state mandates, but also meet the needs of our students and make sure that our curriculum is also centered in equity and those culturally responsive practices. so that especially when you're talking about like English language arts, students are able to have those mirrors and windows and sliding doors so that they are able to relate personally to content and to characters as well as learning new perspectives and new ways at the secondary level It's a little bit more nuanced because some of our curriculum is self-created. And so what we have done for the past two years is we were fortunate enough to get grant funding through the Barr Foundation. And they are very focused on this work at the secondary level. Primarily the high school level, so a lot of the work had to start at the high school, but we've also included our secondary leadership in this. And so we've been partnered with some wonderful consultancies through the Barr Foundation, which is Unbound Ed, as well as Boston College Lynch Leadership, And so we've done a lot of work with our instructional leadership team, which does include some teachers as well, to really ground us in instructional practices that are tied to our instructional vision. So what does it look like, sound like, feel like for our students in the classroom and for what teachers are doing in practice? to make sure that our instruction is grade level, engaging, affirming to our students, and meaningful. And so that is ongoing work, but that is work that is training our school leaders and our teachers. And so this upcoming March Professional Development Day, those two things are happening. So at the elementary level, all of our teachers are getting trained in DIBLS, which is a progress monitoring, for reading and our secondary staff are working on our instructional vision and those instructional practices through training from our own staff as well as unbound ed.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think I'm proud of the work we did around that when we were planning for schools to come back in. And Dr. Edouard-Vincent was very clear on her priorities for getting students back in school and that staggered approach that we took. to making sure that our most marginalized, vulnerable populations were entering first, right? Get them back, get them anchored. And a lot of those supports that we created at the elementary level, which has kind of morphed each year, but that creation of Nexus as a specialist was, and we we were intentional on calling it Nexus, because it is kind of like that center hub of everything we do, because if students don't feel safe, they're not going to be in the zone of optimal learning. So you've got to get that first. And so for Nexus to really cover a lot of that behavior regulation at the elementary level, social, emotional, health. Those are key pieces to the whole rest of the day. And up here we have other systems of support for students. There's Nexus as a dedicated period of the day. But the increase of staff to help students navigate that, the increase of our programming to make sure that our students' mental health and emotional well-being is prioritized is most definitely a priority, but continued and ongoing work for the Medford public schools. That's great. Yeah.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, thank you. And I do have to say that like survey data does show at the secondary level that every student has a safe person that they can go to. And that is very important, meaningful data to us. And of course, there's always going to be areas of data that are the grows that we have to kind of try to build that in that capacity. But knowing that the majority of our students, and I mean like 90%, feel that they have a safe person that they can go to that's an adult in their school buildings, I think is That captures the why of what we do.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think what I want people to know, and I briefly covered some of this at the school committee meeting on Monday, This is something that is a little bit going to be very flexible in the next coming months, in the next coming years, because this is the accountability system that was created federally and then also statewide to account for, right now, ESSA, which is Every Student Succeeds, and that is where our Common Core and our grade level standards come from. And within that and beyond local control, federal government wants states to have a mechanism for how you are complying to this federal mandate. And so for us, for many years, it was MCAS. That's what we used to say, hey, we're meeting this Every Student Succeeds Act. Previously to that, it was Race to the Top, and it was No Child Left Behind, just so people know the involvement of it. And now with the removal of MCAS, we're still beholden to the statute to say, how are you meeting this federal mandate? And that is what all the districts have been tasked with to say, what's our competency determination for saying, yes, we have these local graduation requirements we're going to meet, but how are you meeting ESSA? And so the report card is all part of that. And so it's our accountability. It's how the state and the government is holding us responsible for meeting that. And the tension of it right now is that even though ballot question two removed the compliance of MCAS as a graduation requirement, the accountability rating we get, which is what you see in that report card, we are still beholden to. And so the Department of Education is still requiring the participation in MCAS and still using it as an accountability measure. Like a standardized tool. Yes, so we're still, right, yes, so we still are responsible Students still have to take it. There really has never been an opt-out option. And I know for some families, I understand. I totally, as a parent myself, I understand both sides of that. But it is still mandatory for us. The participation is still a requirement. And our Medford Public Schools accountability rating will be determined by MCAS. Interesting.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Wow, that's a really good one. I think maybe just for me, yes, one small disclaimer. I'm trying really, really hard. My email is a very scary place to be. And I very much want to be responsive and approachable. I would recommend that if people need to reach out to me, they use the superintendent at Medford.k12.ma.us email. And they could always call my executive assistant, Lisa Malone. But I don't want people to think that if they're emailing me personally and I don't respond, I'm trying really hard, but it is like a black hole. And I very much have always been someone that believes in collaboration. And so that's why, even though I've been here for 28 years of my career, It was very important for me to still have and hold these meet and greets around the community, and so I'm doing them for staff at every single building, and I'm also doing them for caregivers in the school communities, both in-person opportunities as well as virtual opportunities, because they're agenda-free. but they are for an opportunity for people to meet me if they haven't, to learn a little bit more about me if they haven't, but for me to listen to their feedback. Plant seeds. I want seeds planted and I want to hear what's important to people because the decision-making for how we're going to move In the future, I need to hear from all these various stakeholder groups. I joined the CPAC meeting last night. I will be joining the LPAC meeting. And so as much as I can to be participating and listening is important to me.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Danielle.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I was only going to just follow up. You know, the title grants are the ones that fall under ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act. They are the ones that are linked to the, the competency determination and our compliance with making sure that we are compliant to the state standards and frameworks. Right now for Title I in Medford, we are using it solely for early literacy and reading skills at the elementary level. And to Jerry's point, Title II is a lot around professional development and learning. We do fund some consultancies in there, some of that funding is used to help us continue our partnership with Hill for Literacy. Title III, as he said, is through Paul Teixeira. Title IV is a lot of stipends and used to, as it's stated here, support students. And a lot of our fiscal 25 funding went to help with the High School Saturday Academy. The only thing that I would say, there's definitely a lot of conversation going on, a lot of monitoring of the current situation. There has been no change, but there is definitely some rhetoric around maybe, you know, just fear. 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. from funding districts federally. 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. And most, not all, but like most of these grants that Jerry is highlighting, we receive an allocation based on our demographics, our enrollment. 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. Okay. Thank you. Here we go. 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. 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. if that makes sense. Okay, so who is the facility's director? John McLaughlin.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Member Reinfeld has her hand up again. Oh, gosh, yeah.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, good evening. 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. as a result of the passing of ballot question number two. So here with just a few tweaks, but is the second reading for that policy. 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? Thank you. I just wanted to be able to say thank you to Member Reinfeld and Member Olapade and also for mentioning the part about belonging. It is a critical piece to our instructional vision for the Medford Public Schools District. And as Member Reinfeld said, in order for students to learn, they have to feel safe. And it is at the core of our values and beliefs that students come to the door and they feel seen, heard, valued, and welcomed. That also includes our staff. And I just wanted to kind of just reiterate the positioning from Medford Public Schools and the support that we have with this policy. Thank you, Dr. Glusi.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I mean, I'm happy to step up. I just also wanted to kind of see if there were other people that also wanted the opportunity to participate. 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. Am I OK to speak? Absolutely. Absolutely. That was going to be one of the things that I was going to say to Peter. And then I can easily get those numbers for you to fill these in. OK.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much. I'm just going to give one minute for, Dr. Cushing's gonna help me by displaying the slide deck. And I'm just going to start by giving a little bit of historical background. 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. 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. an update on MCAS participation and some further considerations regarding this updated policy proposal. So, Dr. Cushing, could you please just advance to slide three? Thank you. Much appreciated. So, just as a brief To frame this a little bit, Massachusetts Education Reform Law of 1993 aimed to increase accountability across the state. 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. 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. 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. So at that point you had, students had to meet for grade 10 MCAS, and they also had to meet local graduation requirements. 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. Between the years of 2010 and 2020, they increased, they just upped the threshold so that they gave a score. The scaled score had to be 240 for ELA in math and 220 or above in science. 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. And so for those three core subtests, ELA, mathematics, and biology for science, students had to be meeting or exceeding. So no longer was the scaled score or the needs improvement part of that. And then as we know, a motion was put on ballot question two for the November election. And if we advance please Dr. Cushing to the next slide, it passed. So 59% of the Commonwealth of voters agreed that the MCAS should not serve as the competency determination for high school graduation requirement. 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. 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 the competency determination through the MCAS test, it has to be through the coursework of those aligned classes. 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, 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. All right, so now we go to the next slide. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. So the next slide shows you currently right now what our local high school graduation requirements are along with the previous competency determination of the MCAS. 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, 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. That's what it is currently. Are there any questions on this? Okay. If we advance to the next slide, and I have this in two pieces, 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. So English remains at four years, take and pass. Mathematics also continues at four years, take and pass, but we now have shifted to the integrated pathways. So instead of, geometry and algebra, it now reflects integrated math one, two, and three. Continued with four years of wellness. Continue with three years of science. 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. Making sure we've updated the word world language instead of referring to it as foreign language. The requirement of, or the difference for CTE remains right now. Arts remains as one course to take and pass. And then there's just a description of community service and the benefits of community service. But the hours of, the total hours of 60, roughly about 15 per year remain the same. Before I move on to the competency determination, are there any questions about these brief language changes? Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, next slide please. All right, so the competency determination, we wanna make sure that we have the language of the statute in there. 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. So if students have previously earned this through the taking and passing of MCAS or the grant of an appeal process, then they have already earned their competency determination. 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. 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. And for students that receive a not meeting expectation score, that they would just participate in at least one retest. I'm gonna kind of explain that a little bit more as we move on. So the next slide, just so we're understanding the impact that this has for our current class of 2025. As previously stated, if they've already earned their competency determination by taking and passing, the grade 10 ELA math and biology, they're all set. They've met that competency determination and provided that they've met the local graduation requirements, they will be all set to graduate. For students who have not earned their competency determination currently, 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. 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. 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 Common Core to local frameworks. And so the participation in MCAS has always been a requirement and continues to be a requirement for us. And participation is not optional. Students should be taking the MCAS. And so we have been informed that it is still going to be an accountability measure for local districts. 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. It also is still going to be used as a qualifier for some scholarships, as well as the seal of biliteracy. So there are some important factors in terms of our students' participation. We have been having some internal conversations and continue to have internal conversations around 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. So I just felt it was important, it is for these reasons that we're having the participation be part of the competency determination. So before I get to 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. Okay. 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 track of what I was going to say. One, I think this is a very fluid situation. So the governor has just created a committee to continue to vet out what this mandate has now done to districts because it has created a lot of conversation for all of these nuanced pieces. I will say, especially at the high school level, but the population of Medford is also fluid and can be transient at times. And so the MCAS does allow in some situations the opportunity for students that may be moving in here that that that that helps to kind of give them some of that level of the competency determination. For us, I hear what you are saying, but right now, we are beholden to the mandate, which only removed the local graduation requirement. And so we still are going to have our accountability rating tied to this test. 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 over the summer in preparing for the next school year. And I think, I really highly think this will not be the end of updating our graduation requirements and our competency determination. I think I'm going to be back here probably more than once to update this policy on behalf of the Medford School Committee. But I think where we are right now, our accountability rating is still tied to the participation of our students. And that is a factor. I understand originally that S and MCAS was supposed to stand for a system and it's really been just a test. So I don't think any of us are sitting here saying that the MCAS shows you everything. 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. 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. And then if there's further questions, we can still talk about it. But there's just further considerations that we have had conversations for. Some of them are ongoing. And so just so that you understand the complexity of it, we have had conversations around transfer students. in terms of obtaining that competency determination if they come into us, let's say in 11th grade or in 12th grade. 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. Some nuances for English learners. 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. For our out-of-district students, it's a very similar process for the transfer that we're adhering to for transfer students. So we will accept equivalent coursework and that will have a collaborative approval process through, again, high school leadership. department leaders, and the director of student services. 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, 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. meet the competency determination to change that status for them. So that's work that's ongoing. And that concludes, that's the final slide. So if there are any other further questions, I'm happy to help answer. 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. And the competency determination means that you are able to pass the grade level content within those subject areas. 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. And then we're moving on to the local requirements. 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. 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. I do want to just say that. 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. 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. 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. One teacher and two aides. Yes, yes, in addition to the summer fund staffing.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, the services, the academic services are in the morning. And then the social piece is through summer fun in the afternoon. And Mr. Teixeira has provided some additional staffing for the afternoon. And does that come out of his budget?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Jumpstart dates are finalizing right now. 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. The only thing I would say is I don't know 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. And so I just disclosed the conflict of interest in terms of being participating in the teacher negotiation process. And I do believe that I have some 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 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. Good evening, everybody. 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. 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. I will dive deeper into my transition plans as it relates to this interim role in just a few minutes. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Medford Public Schools is committed to educating all students in inclusive learning environments because we want our students to feel heard. We want them to feel safe. We want them to feel valued and welcomed and appreciated. 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. and LGBTQIA plus students. 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. We do not request any immigration information as part of the registration process, nor will we. Students are dismissed only to the approved consent from their caregiver as to the people that can pick them up from school. 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 written within that statute. And our Title IX policies, as we most recently updated, reflective to the 2024, they have not changed. And so those will remain and stay in place. 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. We recognize that this subject is constantly evolving, and so there'll be additional items on tonight's agenda surrounding this important topic. 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. So for tonight, I'm going to talk a little bit about the transition plan. Thank you. Dr. Cushing, you can go to the third page. This second page is the letter that I has sent out to the MPS community. I will make sure that this plan, after being discussed this evening, goes on our website. So if people would like to be able to access it or view it, it will be on our Medford Public Schools website. That will be the letter again, if people maybe just didn't get it in email form last week. 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. So the purpose is to ensure a thoughtful transition from the current superintendent to the interim superintendent. 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. So there is a theory of action. 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 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. That's the goal is to make this as seamless as possible for our community, for our students and for our staff. 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. with that being said, there are some key areas that I am going to focus on within this transition. So first, as mentioned, is to continue building those relationships within the community and continue stakeholder communication. Also for operational overview, Yeah, Dr. Cushing, just leave it right there for one second, because I'm just going to go through them and then. 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. So I'm going to briefly talk an overview of all of those areas. 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. 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. Some meet and greet opportunities for caregivers as well as for staff. So for the staff opportunities, I'm going to each of the schools and offering an opportunity to come and meet 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. I started last week and I'm continuing until I've gone to every school. For the caregivers, I'm finalizing the schedule right now in collaboration with some of the principals. So I am going to offer two opportunities for school communities. 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. I will also offer an evening opportunity via Zoom for each school community. 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. As you may have saw last week, we've gotten lots of feedback about how people really feel that weekly communication is a critical instrument for them to stay connected to the schools, learn what's going on in the district. So continuing that Friday memo was of importance for the community. 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. 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. Meetings with, um, those may be on the city side in terms of our, um, city department leaders. They're on the school side in terms of our administration and school leaders. Um, and they're also very critical school organizations. Um, such as CPAC and LPAC, that I want to make sure that I have a meeting with those important organizations. The operational overview is to enhance understanding of district operations, collaboratively identify key priorities, and foster a culture of trust, transparency, and efficiency. And so I'm going to be holding lots of regular meetings to identify short and long-term priorities. So the first bullet is that continued and ongoing focus and overview of academics, which is the position that I was in. And so for the duration of this year, there will be a lot of oversight still on my part. to make sure that the academic gains and the systems and structures we have in place are going to continue. So that won't change. 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. 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. 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. 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. The other piece would be contract negotiations. 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. 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. That would be the teachers, the administrators, maintenance, paraprofessionals, food service, and nurses. So that is a significant amount of work that will be happening and continuing to happen this year. Along that thread is also the ongoing MSBA, so the Massachusetts School Building Authority process that we engaged in for Medford High School. So I was on that board previously. My role clearly will shift, but participating in that process to explore funding opportunities and develop a strategic plan. for building a new Medford High School that meets the needs of our students and the community. So that will continue and I know that our meetings will kick up in the next month or two. And then finally is to plan for the school year 25-26. So 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. 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. 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. Our strategic plan is 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. 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. A review of internal systems and structures for how we're operating and functioning. and see if there are ways that we can be operating better and more efficiently. And then a review of district enrollment and school assignment procedures that reflect our most immediate challenges. 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 work to alleviate some of that moving forward, as well as our middle school lottery process. 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. 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. So those are just a few things. 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. I think that was going to be my clarifying point is just to make sure the sliding scale has already been created for afterschool. This is so we would start there. This is a little different because we're also talking nine hours of childcare. So we have to go back to Dr. Cushing's point and we have to have conversations with our staff, including Mr. Petrelis, and see what that looks like. 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. 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. So in terms of at least what it looks like for the functioning of us behind, we are having ongoing conversations with principals. We have another meeting tomorrow where Dr. Cushing and I are going to just make sure that like part of the information in here, but like our communication plan is tight. We're having a conversation with the bus company, um, per the amendment to, um, member, um, Reinfeld. So I think those conversations are already happening. So I think this is just making sure that we are solidifying, putting it all together. Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Perfect. Thank you very much. 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. If you could please advance to the next. Thank you. So, I think it's important to just highlight the work that has kind of culminated into creating our instructional vision. So in 2021, coming out of the pandemic, as a district, we really worked on aligning our common assessments and some of our common approaches to ensure that instruction meets the needs of our students. So in 2021 we saw the implementation of NWEA MAP as a district wide assessment tool. I mean, at that point it was grades K through 10. We've slightly adapted that now to be grades 2 through 10, but that provides a common measure to ensure that we're meeting student needs and that we are standards-based. 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. So ensuring that our classrooms are setting that foundation for optimal learning, and then ensuring that our instruction and our materials are meeting state standards and national standards. In 2022, we really looked at the alignment of evaluation techniques. So we partnered with Rebus and the administrators really worked on aligning observational and evaluative feedback for our staff. 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. Advancing to 2023, we really dug into our instructional alignment, calling it 1.0. At this time, we were grounded in the work that we received from 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. an instructional leadership seminar hosted by the Department of Education. So we created a series of professional development opportunities to align our instruction district-wide. That was titled right here, Moving Towards Opportunity for All Students. And the bulk of that was given during staff meetings by our school leaders, and also followed up in department meetings by our directors. Advancing to this current year of 2024, that work is continuing. And between the August administrative time of 2023, 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. So in continuing the professional development, we created, Dr. Cushing, if you don't mind, this took several iterations. So this began with group work in terms of elements that we wanted to really hone in on. to make sure that our students are receiving, and right down to the introductory equity statement at the top. This instructional vision, we believe, captures the priorities for teaching and learning district-wide. So there are four core quadrants, as you can see. To frame the entire instructional vision, the equity statement is as follows. We are committed to providing educational equity for every child. by offering the necessary resources, support, and opportunities for students to reach their full potential. So first and foremost is high quality instruction, and that establishes high expectations for all students. that promote critical thinking and problem solving. 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. We also want to ensure that our instruction is deeply engaging. 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. 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. We also want to ensure that our instruction is data informed. So that is consistent. Educators should be consistently collecting and analyzing data to inform and adjust their instructional practices, ensuring that all students reach their full potential. So there are various sets of data that teachers are using constantly to inform their instructional approaches. 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. But some of that summative data is around the MAP, the NWEA MAP. It's unit tests. It's even part of MCAS. But making sure that they're collecting various forms of data and targeting their instruction to meet student needs. All of this should result in a sense of belonging for our students, which is the crux of why we're doing this. So we want educators to be using inclusive and culturally affirming instruction and curriculum that acknowledges students' backgrounds and identities. We want to ensure that an environment of connectedness is created where all students feel heard, valued, and supported in their identities and where relationships are built on empathy and respect. We were very mindful that this display is circular because all four quadrants rely on one another. So we can't have belonging if our instruction is not high quality, deeply engaging. We can't have high quality instruction if we're not using data to inform our practices and vice versa. So as the superintendent mentioned, tomorrow is the PD day in which we're very excited for this. This whole entire professional development day was created by the Professional Development Advisory Committee. It's all choice-based. Our administrators are providing sessions in which the educators selected what they were interested in learning more about. And within between those two sessions, we are spending some time on this instructional vision. 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. And we're going to be able to have that data to inform our next steps as we work to actualize the instructional vision within our schools. So part of the next steps after the teachers engage with this work, provide us some feedback. 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. 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. 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. Good evening again. As the superintendent previously mentioned, I'm honored to be joined by our curriculum directors. We have the Director of Humanities, Dr. Nicole Chiesa. the Director of Mathematics, Faiza Khan, and the Director of Science, Rako Sieri. And collectively, we will be presenting on the district's MCAS scores, accountability, and action steps as a result. So this is our agenda for this evening. 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 test results in their respective departments. 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. So a lot of assessments in the eighth grade. 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. Thank you, Dr. Cushing. So for the results this evening, the directors are going to be discussing with you two areas of reports. They are going to show you the achievement within their departments, and they are going to discuss student growth within their departments. 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. 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. So this chart shows you the criteria or the key features that all go into how the Department of Education calculates the accountability rating for schools and the district. So they look at the achievement in all of the content areas. They look at student growth in all of the content areas. They also look at high school completion. 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. All schools are looked at for their English language proficiency rating, which also calculates the score that we get for EL students that take the ACCESS statewide testing. 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. You may go to the next slide, Dr. Cushing. Thank you. This just shows a basic overview of the accountability ratings for the past three years. You will see on average that the accountability rates across the district show substantial progress. And we had some schools that really showed a great gain in accountability percentage from in the past three years. And you will also see that the majority of our schools do not require any sort of assistance or intervention from this Department of Education. Before I advance, are there any questions on the first two slides regarding accountability?
[Suzanne Galusi]: The latter. Okay. Member Ruseau.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I can cover that here. If you look, the Roberts has shown great gains in their accountability. They also showed some pretty great gains in their achievement overall. But as I indicated, one of the measures that the Department of Education has in their calculation to determine their accountability rating is the participation rate across grade levels, across the school, and across subgroups. And there was one subgroup where the participation dipped a little bit below what they want to see, and so they have this requiring assistance or intervention. 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 factor into the overall accountability rate from the Department of Education. And so that does affect our scores. And that is what happened at the Roberts.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Correct.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, Dr. Cushing, do you mind advancing two slides? Thank you, so one more. Thank you. 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. So for third grade, there's an English language arts test and a math. That's the same for fourth grade. Same for fifth grade, except there's also a science test given. Grades six and seven, English Language Arts and Math. Grade eight, again, has science, as well as this year a field test for civics, which Dr. Chiesa will speak more about. Grade nine is the science requirement for graduation. And grade 10 has the English Language Arts and the math requirement for graduation. 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. No science questions. Go to it. Thank you, Dr. Cushing. I just think it's important. I'll go very quickly, but the next slide, please, Dr. Cushing. 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. So our subgroup data, I think it's just important to note that the Department of Education reports around 11 subgroups. They are listed here. 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. Overall, we saw improvement in nearly all of the subgroups. There are some dependent on the grade and dependent on the content. There are some areas in which we're digging a little bit deeper into, not just specifically with 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. 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 factors into some of our subgroup data. 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. And high school students actually met or exceeded achievement targets in nearly all subgroups with high growth gains overall. And so we do acknowledge that I think the overall, as you heard in most of the presentations, is that our story is growth. 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. And so we recognize that. 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. Next slide, please. 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. That continued focus on instructional priorities and culturally responsive practices really factor in as well to ensuring the growth and achievement of our students. 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. We saw tremendous growth around. 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 mentioned, there were two parts of that Saturday Academy. One focused on regaining for MCAS and one was on just course credit. 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 partially or fully met the expectations in terms of the MCAS. So we saw that direct correlation to the work they did throughout the school year and how they did on MCAS. And so overall, The students that attended that Saturday program increased 17 points from their grade eight MCAS ELA to their grade 10. Respectfully for the math, we saw 18 out of 21 students partially or meet expectations. And overall, they increased from two points from eighth grade to their 10th grade. And Mr. Seery already spoke about the science piece, but there was a program for afterschool support. in which 16 students were offered and 12 of the 16 passed the biology test the second time around. 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. But we're definitely looking to It won't be Saturday, but it will be an extended day program at the middle school level. 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 closing some of that achievement. 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. And so one of the things that we are looking at is that we do, there's limited time right now reflected in the elementary schedule, as well as the middle school schedule. 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 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. I'm happy to answer any broad, overarching questions.
[Suzanne Galusi]: a collaboration of funding sources. 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. 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. So the Saturday Academy kind of did become based on that. 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. 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 absolutely students sometimes have to choose between the enrichment activity of strings or band and another specialist class or morning meeting. It should not be at the expense of content, but even if all the stars align, it is very Science and social studies definitely wind up taking somewhat of a backseat to literacy and math. 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. That's the same for all content. That's the same for reading skills. That's the same for science skills. And so it does somewhat become a vicious cycle. And then it leads into middle school where the academic blocks are very small. 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. Would help if I turn the microphone on. As Dr. Cushing puts the presentation up, I just want to say good evening. Thank you very much for the opportunity for us to talk to you tonight and provide an elementary literacy update. 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. This is a plan that is co-constructed with administration and the district leadership literacy team, as well as our consultant Hill for Literacy. Our agenda for this evening We are going to highlight the elementary district literacy plan. I'm going to speak to about the role of the elementary literacy coaches. 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. How the inter-reading program implementation has gone and will continue to go. 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. 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. 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. 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. use core supplemental and intervention literacy curricula in a multi-tiered instructional model at each grade level effectively and strategically. 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. Collaborate through shared knowledge, skills, language, and collaboration among teachers based on the essential components of literacy and evidence-based instructional practices. This is the key piece of that collaboration. Teachers coming together to share their 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. I'm gonna say DLLT for short. 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. And that's kind of the fruition of all of our work here. We are so excited. We're growing very, excuse me, yeah, I know. We're growing very slowly here. But this body so graciously made sure that literacy coaches were a priority in the budget, which we are very grateful for, and thank you for that. 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. 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 resumes and going through that process. But we are so happy and very pleased. We have Kristen Howell, who has been a very long devoted Medford Public Schools employee. 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. She's phenomenal. She will be servicing grades K through two. And she also does work for the Hill for Literacy as a coach and an instruction specialist. Both of our literacy coaches are reading licensed and fully accredited. And new to Medford Public Schools is Julie Terwitz. She has come to us, she has taught in primary grades in Dedham Public Schools, and most recently in Needham Public Schools as both a classroom teacher and then also as a literacy coach. Julie is also highly accredited, but she will be servicing grades three through five for Metropolitan Public Schools. They work in tandem. And so when they are creating their schedules, they are going to schools together so that they are working with teachers. Their role this year, they're going to get some direct coaching from Hill for Literacy. but they are here to support teachers and to support principals. So in their support for teachers district-wide, they are working with them to model lessons for the newly implemented inter-reading program. They are helping troubleshoot. 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. 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. They also are helping to support the elementary principals. 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. Last year, Kristen Howell was in the same role as a literacy coach, and she did provide a caregiver Dibbles presentation. We are going to continue that this year, and both Kristen and Julie 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. 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 on the recent DIBLS assessment. And so we will highlight a little bit of that. So some parents will also get this specifically in Letters Home, just to highlight the dates. 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. That's okay. Part of this work in the data meetings that we're creating the structure for is this continuum 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. 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 target specifically what the need is. And then as they're progressing, move on to what's next. I just wanted to draw to that, that attention, um, to the platform that's being used during a lot of these data meetings. 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. And these are the meetings that happen that are, uh, literacy and action we're calling it. And so, 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. We're also making sure that we have monthly meetings with principals. So this, principals have a lot on their plates. 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. And also that, how they can support teachers during literacy instruction in their classrooms. We also have meetings with the literacy coaches on quite a regular basis. 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. 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. 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. 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. And then I've already kind of highlighted a lot of the principles. 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. 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. So as previously mentioned, the literacy coaches will be doing a DIBLS 8 overview again in two different ways. Dr. Chiesa and I, as we did last year, will send out the DIBLS screening letter globally this week. 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. We also sent home the NWEA map 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. Because just as a reminder, 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. We also have the report card conference opportunities. And then the elementary reading department provides three to four family events for students and the caregivers of those students that receive reading services. Those are in the process of being created right now. There's usually three to four a year. And then Dr. Chiesa and I are also in the process of finalizing. We're going to have a caregiver evening that kind of shows the inter-reading program in action for caregivers. That will be sometime this fall. We're trying to be very ambitious just so that we can set the stage for that. And we welcome any questions or suggestions that you may have. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So when we rolled this out last year, we were following the guidelines for mass literacy. 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. So their recommendation is for grades one through five, you use the first year benchmark and that you are informing parents that whose students were at risk. 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. So part of it is, I think we can have that conversation that I think that's fine. The way that we have, first I'll answer your first question. I was trying to remember your first question. So the first question was about, so for each grade level, there is a threshold. 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. And so for students that were flagged, it could mean several reasons. And a lot of times it just, some of it is readiness, but they, it's for students that are performing below grade level. And so for students in grades two through five, we use a predominant measure because we have the NWEA map. So we're not using the comprehension component of the DIBLS program. So it's, 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. Okay. Through K through five. It's just that level shifts depending on the grade.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So I would I would say Yes. 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. Um, but I also want, we can absolutely get you those numbers. I just also want to make note that the way that the reading services are also structured is a tiered approach. 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. And then there are some students that are duly identified. So they're EL and they're also special education. So we could always use more support, but I will say that, especially for fiscal year 25, 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. 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. Every single teacher needs to have that science of reading training. And that's not an easy feat. 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. 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. because of where the numbers are falling. 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. Okay, thank you. Yeah, thank you. 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. However, we also sent out several surveys throughout the year so that we got all teacher perspectives. It was brought up as part of common planning times to also have those discussions within those smaller groups. 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. And we're gonna still need to do that this year as we move, because it is massive and overwhelming.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening. Welcome back. I just have one update before I kick it off. Thank you for introducing everyone. Director Fee is not here this evening. So I will be covering the music and the art programming as well as the early literacy. 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. So she's also available. But thank you very much. And I'm going to have Joan Bowen start first.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. This spanned Medford Public School students from... grades one to grade nine. The focus of this was on literacy and grade level skills and easing the transition to the next grade level. You can go to the next slide, please. 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. So at the elementary level for students in grades one through three, that was primarily DIBELS data with some of the MAP data. For students in grades four and five, That was a combination of DIBELS data, MAP data, and MCAS data. And for rising sixth graders and ninth graders, again, some of those students had DIBELS data as well as MAP growth and MCAS data. This acceleration program was a full day program that took place at the McGlynn School for one week, the week of July 29th. free breakfast and lunch was provided. 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. We had a physical education teacher, on staff and an art teacher on staff. Each classroom, so the way the grant was set up was that it really was structured for small group targeted tiered instruction. And so we made sure that we structured that format so that within each grade level span, we had multiple teachers in a classroom. So each grade more, more in the younger grades and a little bit less as they progressed. But we had about two to three teachers in each classroom so that we were able to target very specifically that small group instruction. And so that in those grades, there was a content teacher or a classroom teacher and a reading specialist. 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. At the end of the grant program, Dr. Chiesa sent 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. Teachers, we got a lot of positive feedback from teachers in terms of the format that we had for that small group instruction. that they were able to work collaboratively and really target the instruction and each kind of own some of that reading instruction. So there were some future recommendations to have the program start a little closer to when school gets out. Some of the feedback was that it needs to be a longer program. 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. And a lot of the positives from teachers, they really enjoyed that daily schedule. They liked having co-teachers to facilitate with, and they loved the small group instruction. The feedback from caregivers, 100% of caregivers said that they would love to have their students participate in this program again. They thought it was very beneficial. They appreciated the ongoing communication. They wished that it was a little bit longer or that there was some extended opportunities for extended care. And the location, we were very mindful to have this housed at the McGlynn School for several reasons. Transportation was not part of this opportunity that we gave to our families. And so the students that were invited, a lot of them primarily lived in that area. And so we wanted to make sure that we were bringing the program to the students that needed it the most. In addition, that because our programs span from grades one to nine or high school, the McGlynn lent itself nicely to the space and the air conditioning. 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. And again, This would not be possible without the teachers and the people heavily involved in this program. So Dr. Chiesa, the humanities director, was this program's facilitator. She did a phenomenal job. 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. 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. And we've had a couple of different formats that we've used. One year, last year or the year before, we've done two-week half-day program. And so there's pros and cons to each format that you provide. But for working parents, half-day is also quite difficult to drop students off and pick them up when we don't have transportation. So we could have done the half day program. 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. So I think that outweighs a little bit of, I would like to see it be longer than one week. But I think that the full-day programming is important for a lot of our families.
[Suzanne Galusi]: We did do that. And so and we had a lot of a lot of the names that were listed on on there. did a lot of correspondence and outreach to families. And in our survey, we had that question as well. 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. And so we did hear from some families that they had vacations or they were already enrolled in other camps. 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. And if we were planning, 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. And then you apply, but you have to wait for the response to see if you've been awarded the grant. Got it. Thank you. And then it's...
[Suzanne Galusi]: It's a lot of work.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, for the grant? Yes. It was literally titled a vacation grant. So it was the intention of the grant was for vacation weeks. or summer, but for one year or one year program. Okay, that's all right.
[Suzanne Galusi]: We did, we did. So we actually, I can get you the exact number in terms of like a percentile. For the students that we invited, we were quite successful in that, in the students participating. we only, because we did have a tiered approach in terms of the students that we were inviting. So we only had to go to that next tier just a few times. 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. All right. 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... students in the rising grades four to rising grade nine, that took a little bit more correspondence.
[Suzanne Galusi]: We do. And actually, so this week started both our DIBELS assessments and our math assessments. So we will have a lot of that preliminary data. 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, they suggest, especially for struggling readers, that we're not assessing until after 10 days of instruction. 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. I'm going to answer it twofold. 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... Principal Cabral. There was a lot of interest to use that model and bring it over to the fifth quarter, especially for middle school students. 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. But also too, where this is our new, this is our second year in the literacy program 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. 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. So much so that... over the summer, we used teachers from the district literacy leadership team, as well as school leaders. We met in June to really look at our elementary schedule and the teachers worked with their principals over the summer. And we were able to not only align the teachers, 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. So we were able to really look at our literacy blocks, K to five, 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. So that's a very big focus of the literacy instruction this year is that small group instruction. 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 on that piece of the implementation of the program. 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. Does it affect the tier two model as well? The coaching or the schedule? I guess both. 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. It could be special education, EL, related services. And too often students were missing that tier one time with their peers. And so we wanted to make that sacred so that students are learning alongside with their peers. They have time with their teacher in small group instruction, as well as having to leave the room for small group instruction. And so we were able to 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. Thank you. Yeah.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Roughly. I don't want to misquote. Is Dr. Keyes on the call? I am. 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. Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay. Got it. But I would like to be, I would like to, in conversations with Dr. Chiesa and the literacy coaches, I think we would also like to see if there's other ways to fund the expansion. 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. So Director Fee, moving on to the last part of this presentation, and I am saddened she couldn't be here. She's very dedicated and has done such a fabulous job. She did not have a summer. 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. So started during COVID was the Jumpstart Music Program to try to re-energize. That has now become an annual staple. And so the Jumpstart Music Program was very successful. It was a two-week program. 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. There were over 80 students that participated in the Jumpstart music program. Our brand new band director and music teacher, Michael Dampier was there as well as Emma Baptist, Sophia Chang. And we even had high school students 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 up to the family. For the first time this year as part of Jumpstart Music, we were able to include a color guard section. So there were students in rising, I believe they were rising fifth and sixth graders. And we had, excuse me. Oh, there were. Okay. Thank you for that. But it was wonderful. 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. It was a wonderful addition. And it's important to note that a lot of... The coordination was also with the Banned Parent Organization. They've worked tirelessly this summer and very closely with Director Fee and Medford Public Schools. And so we're very appreciative of them. And they were able to also secure a Tufts grant to help with that. And then for the first time, Director Fee also had a summer art program. And so this was free of charge for this first annual year. And it was funded by the Medford Arts Council, the Cummings Foundation, and the City of Medford Community Fund. It was a pilot program, but it was very, very successful. 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. They created ceramic pieces, cardboard sculptures, paintings, drawings, and more. For students in grades four through eight, there were 30 students that participated. They learned and practiced different skills and techniques and applied them to personal projects that reflected a social issue of their choice. And then for students in grades one through three, approximately 25 students participated there. And they spent the week using just exploring different art materials and learning around the themes of kindness. You will see on this last slide, there's just a few pictures that Director Fee included from the workshop. And again, as with all programming this summer, would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of teachers and community. We actually had community members helping as well. And thank you, if you have any questions, I can attempt.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that. 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. And so we're greatly appreciative of that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. All right, thank you. Dr. Cushing is just going to present. I know you had in your packets just a basic overview of the enrollment so far for Metro Public Schools. 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. Our reporting to DESE is always the first, October 1st. And so there's a lot that's happening between now and October 1st. So much so that even the, Dr. Cushing, you may go to the next slide. I believe in your packets on Friday, you received this as an overall enrollment view. 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. Our data analyst Kim Miles works tirelessly always, but especially this time of year, constantly updating this for us. And so one of the things you'll see in the far right is something that's called TBD. and it doesn't reflect a specific school. 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. And so they may not have been assigned to a school yet, which is why things are constantly changing. That could be for, it could be medically pending, and it's with Nurse Director Jen Silva. It could be EL, and... 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. So over the weekend, if you just advance, please, Dr. Cushing, to the next slide. Kim Miles had sent this because, again, over the weekend, she was working on cleaning up some of the information. And so this was of yesterday. And this is the most current information that we have. 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. Oh, I'm terribly sorry. 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. Thank you. Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: That is possible, yes. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I can respond after you comment. 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 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. To date, we've hired, again, this is also fluid. So we have had people, resign or retire as early as this week or last week. And so, but in total, we have hired around 44-ish teachers. We do have a new literacy coach. We did have two new literacy coaches, but... One was part of the resignation. But we've had new literacy coaches, adjustment Councilors, behavior therapists, educational team leaders, a new carpentry teacher. There is a new nurse to help with the Brooks and the Andrews school communities. We have an engagement specialist for Medford Public Schools, who just started today, which is wonderful, and a new payroll manager. And also in total, we have about nine new paraprofessionals. But there are still some vacancies in areas in where we are hiring. There's still about, and I use that about, 20. 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. And we still have about, I think, just three paraprofessional positions to fill. So if you have any questions broadly about personnel.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it was, no, it's in the drive. But I'll make a, I can do a print copy. Yes, yes, yes. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, absolutely. Thank you for for updating the things that are kind of rolling as we go. So because the that position that person has left the district. Right now we have Suzanne fee who is the director of fine arts. And so we would be. consolidating the two departments. And so Suzanne Fee will also be running both the performing arts and the fine arts departments. I think it's important to note that that is the way institutionally Medford has done the arts departments. It's only been for two years that we created coordinator positions where we kind of separated the fine arts from performing arts. 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. We would be merging the two so that she would be in charge of both departments. Um, I know that the superintendent, uh, Suzanne fee and I plan on having conversations this week and throughout the summer, um, with. 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. I'm just here to update you. Dr. Chiesa had applied a couple months ago for the Vacation Acceleration Academy Grant through Governor Healey's office and the Department of Education. And on May 2nd, Medford Public Schools was awarded with that grant. The sum will be $42,000. And so I'm just here to let you know and update you on how we are going to fulfill that grant. 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. to ensure that we are minimizing some of that literacy growth that we've seen in our students. And we are really focusing on the elementary levels, as well as the transitional grades of six and nine. With that $42,000, we will hire licensed educators, Medford Public School educators. And we have several that have already given interest. 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. So there will also be art-based activities and that will include the inclusion of physical education teacher and an elementary nexus teacher, and also coverage by school nurse. Additionally, paraprofessional or behaviorist support may be included in the staffing needs. So this is going to be a one-week program. and it will be housed at the McGlynn School Complex. And last week on Friday, caregivers received the invitations from me to register their students if they are interested. It will run the week of July 29th to August 1st, and it's a full day program. So instruction will run from nine to two with drop off at 8.45. 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. Next slide, just to speak about the format. At the elementary level, there are two lanes for this grant opportunity. One is the early literacy program, and the other is the ELA program. 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. The invitations that, some families received for their children to participate in this program. The primary focus of data was DIBLS. 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. 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, with some supplemental Lexia Core 5. 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. 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. 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. The curricular is the same. It's the inter-reading program, as well as supplemental materials that we use, Lexia Core 5, NewZella, and some MPS-created materials. 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. We have them for those current fifth grade students that are moving on to sixth grade. And DIBELS is also used, as previously mentioned, for students receiving intervention at the middle school level. So when applicable, we used DIBL scores as well as MAP growth data and MCAS data to determine invitations. 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. 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. And if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So we used the student data in order to determine the invitations for students. 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. So we used, DIBLS was primary at the elementary level, and then we also used our MAP growth data, MCAS data, That's all of our benchmark data.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So they went out on Friday. The emails went out. I personally sent them all. They went out on Friday, so it would be from my email for anybody at home listening. They could search my email, or they could reach out to me directly. I've already been corresponding with a few parent questions here or there, and there's an attached embedded survey link to register students. And how many students total? So the grant regulations, where we are looking to see, we know that the invites range per grade level. I can provide that data to you if you would like. And we're waiting to see what the participation will be. The requirement for the grant is that each classroom needs to have no more than a group of 10 to 12 students. So our staffing will fluctuate depending on the response for participation that we get. We have healthy staffing interest right now, which is wonderful. Great, thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Much agreed, I can work on that, absolutely. 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. Because I think often, I don't typically, I think the bigger piece is that some just don't participate. 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. No, that's a great question. We've definitely been talking about that. So there will be pre-assessments as well as post-assessments. It's just a one-week program. But we are going to be utilizing a pre-assessment and a post-assessment. And then I think we've seen the data that we have at the elementary level around dibbles. 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. So I think we'll be able to kind of see a little bit of that. What we're hoping to see is a little bit of that bump 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. So. Fingers crossed, because we also have the end of year dibbles data and and then the beginning of the year dibbles data. So we're hoping that we're going to see that progress maintained with that check in the middle of the summer. Thank you. Yeah, thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Not to the structure, but I know that there was work done to create like trails within the fells and to create some outdoor space within the fells, but I don't know.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I would agree. Would you, would it be okay if everybody just kind of went around and introduced themselves and what their role is within the district? That would be great. So, I mean, you already introduced me, but Suzanne Galussi, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. Thank you so much.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And we definitely also have Michelle Kroll on the call. 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. And I know somewhere Dr. Cushing was on this call as well, but I think he's just in listening mode right now. 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. And so, oh, and I see Paul Texera is coming in to the call right now, the director of English Learner Department. 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. Member Reinfeld, I would agree to start with, I had made a copy, if you would like, I can share my screen. I had made a copy of the A1 curriculum document that's linked to the strategic plan. 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. Does that sound okay? All right, can everyone see my screen? So I've lost sight of all of you, so I just need a verbal.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. Thank you. Okay, so this is the A1 curriculum tab from the strategic plan. And this outlined the work that the district did between the years of 2021 and 2024, so currently. So for each action item, we just provided an update. So the first one said, deliver professional development activities related to the revisions of the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks. 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. And it kind of lets us know where we are within the curriculum cycle per department, per grade level. 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. So like this is the English language arts one. So you can see it goes from K to 12 and it just, 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. And we have that for all of our departments, just to get an understanding of how we're tracking things internally. So the second action item was use a protocol for assessing instructional materials for bias. 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. And part of that cycle per the Department of Education 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. 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. 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. And then one of the things that we've been working on is a draft process to finalize 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. Okay. So the next one just says update curriculum. So this is something as in that spreadsheet that's ongoing. 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. Sometimes it's the Massachusetts Department of Education has updated the frameworks and the standards that teachers use when they're teaching. And so there are many reasons why we initiate curriculum reviews. When the strategic plan was written in 2020, for a launch in 2021. This column here highlighted some of the work that was, had begun and or ongoing, or maybe nearly completed. And so over here, the updates per department are all listed here. 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, started the core review process for a new curriculum last year. And last year was like the review process. This year was the full implementation of the Houghton Mifflin program. 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 reading specialists in the field. Physical education and health is quite long because they've been doing a lot of work. So their health curriculum updated per the Department of Education in 2023. And so I know that director Rachel Perry, along with assistant superintendent, Dr. Cushing, they both sat on the HECAC committee. I believe member Reinfeld, member Rousseau also sat on that committee. I'm apologizing if anyone else on this meeting also sat on that committee and I failed to acknowledge you, I apologize. But I know they've done a lot of work. So this is the, In a snapshot, I know the biggest implementations, that work is ongoing. 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. Those lessons have started this year. And so some of the work is still continuous as they're looking to update 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. So implemented this year, as I have said, was the fifth grade puberty lessons, along with making sure that that work aligned. We've updated Nexus at the elementary level, so that Nexus is handling the health curriculum, which is Michigan model. Ms. Perry has been working directly with the Nexus teachers in that department. And I know that the work to finish the new sex ed curriculum will be finished next year. 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. World Language also had frameworks somewhat recently updated, and so Dr. Vilma Bobo has started working with her staff to review the updated standards. She's provided numerous opportunities for professional development and professional affiliations within her department, and 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. 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. And elementary last year went through their full implementation year. of the investigations three curriculum. So this is year two for that curriculum. Science FOSS was implemented, I believe, in 2018. So next year we'll be looking to kind of review FOSS. and see where we go from there. And then the rest is pretty much, some of it is reiterating the things that I have just said in terms of the departments. Additional information for science would be that at middle school, the STEM scopes curriculum was implemented in school year 2021. High school ranges, which is reflective in the spreadsheet, but it ranges depending on the course. So some of the curriculum began in 2019, where others were just updated last school year or this school year. We spoke about health and world language. And the only other piece right now would be technology. Molly Layden, Director Molly Layden has worked to update the technology curriculum that is offered through the schools. 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. 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. So that was a mouthful, but basically this has kind of two levels to it. One was the work we did to become compliant with the, Massachusetts literacy screener regulations under the dyslexia regulation. And so that was the we've had like a tiered approach to that and that was this bottom piece here, which is 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. 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. and grades six through eight intervention students received DIBELS, either in a benchmark or progress monitoring situation. When it comes to, oh, also we implemented ECRI, which is Enhanced Core Reading Instruction. This was to also comply to make sure that our reading instruction is structured and explicit. And so all of our K-2 staff use ECRI when they're teaching reading to their students. In terms of the core review process, the Department of Education, as I stated, is very Particular about the process that's used when we when districts are selecting new curriculum. And so this core review process as aligned by ed reports and the curate system. We used helpful literacy to help us engage in that work. For the ELA reading program. This folder that's linked here also kind of explains the core review process, which was quite extensive. It included teachers, administrators, and caregivers to narrow down ELA programs and to finally select the one into reading that was implemented this year. Any questions before I maybe stop the screen share? I do apologize, I've lost the ability to see people. So I'm not quite sure if there are hands in the air. 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. 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. 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. But I welcome that conversation at another point.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you for that. I appreciate that. I think that is one of the main reasons why the district moved to bring in NWEA map growth. Because 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 benchmark through the Department of Education, but it is, it's a one time test. It's not a system. And so, NWEA, NWEA map growth. checked some of those boxes for us in that it is aligned to Common Core standards. 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. 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. And so I think that is definitely a component that we rely on. 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. 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. 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. So I think And then there is the piece of, to your point, like the observational and the instruction and the fidelity to the program. But I think it's important to continue this conversation so that it is in a more formalized manner. But I would offer other people to kind of chime in if they feel. Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, you're up.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think we agree. 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 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. 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. What does that look like as we're monitoring the curriculum to see how it's meeting the needs of our students? And when that varied use of stakeholders kind of enters that monitoring phase, I do think is worthy of discussion. And I think it's going to look different. at each level and at each department. And I think we, you know, you use data to kind of guide those discussions. 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. But in terms of, you know, I mean, so that math piece is in the monitoring phase that will stay in the monitoring phase for a couple more years. But if we see a dip in that student data, then it's going to warrant a closer eye. 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, 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. FISA and curriculum directors are also monitoring the scores that our students are receiving on AP exams. 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. I mean, there are AP courses as well, but there's also the seal of biliteracy. And then there's also just, there's enrollment. And so at least at the high school level where students have a choice, starting in grade 10 with really like what their, 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. but I do defer to my experts on the call.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think Rocco and Fiza could speak to that. They work very closely on that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I don't think there's like a definite answer for that right now. 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. And I think 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? Because that's the key. We've already well established that we have MAP growth and how it's used. 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. And I think the, like the observational rounds, which have been very effective in pockets. Mr. Teixeira, Mr. Tucci, and Ms. Khan, as well as others, but like, they've really took like a deep dive on that. And I think, you know, that's work that we can also build. As well as I think, you know, aligning to the Ed Reports and the curate process is, the Department of Education pushes high quality grade level curriculum right across the board. 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 created in-house is a different process. 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. 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 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. And I think that that's one that we could also discuss. 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. 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. I think since this is a draft, I would love to add that into our guiding questions somewhere. But this basically just kind of takes into account the four phases when we're looking at assessing curriculum. which is what happens in the planning and the review. 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 what is the research saying about the current content so that the people on this team and all stakeholders kind of understand. 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. Then the second phase is like the analysis, where we're looking at our internal data around all those triangulation pieces. 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. And then the next phase is like making a determination about is the curriculum meeting the needs of students? Do we need to move on? Do we need to enhance? Is it time to look for a new program? And the team would be making those decisions to chart a path forward. And then this is the very long part here, because it's not only the implementation, but it's the monitoring. And this is where we can live for like three to four years as we're kind of implementing a program and continuously kind of like progress monitoring it. 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. To this, like I almost view this a little bit. Right. So it's going to look different at each level. Right. Within each department. So. 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, something posted, right, so that it's very clear on our website, year by year, where we are. 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. It's year four for FOSS, I think, Rocco, four or five, four.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay. And it's year one for inter-reading, right? And I think we need to be able to build that so that there is a clear understanding of where we are. I mean, there is, you know, you can't go on the Department of Education, but they only list reading math and science.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It's not.
[Suzanne Galusi]: We have to update it. But I think there should be something on our website as well.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I know people argue about that. Best practice is a five to six year cycle.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So to that point, we should be looking at FOS That should be one of the next focus areas for elementary. But I want to be able to like create that cycle so that we can see on a yearly basis where we are. And I think that would be very helpful.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Absolutely.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes. Thank you, everybody, for joining.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Hi, good afternoon. Suzanne Galussi, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. 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. Okay. 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. This is my 27th year. So I, too, was born and raised in Medford, one of my favorite schools. I no longer live here, but my whole career has been here. 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. 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. I think as someone that was Maria kind of spoke a little bit about it. So, you know, my father was the project manager for the K to eight buildings. So I feel like I have kind of lived both sides of this a little bit, but being blessed enough 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. 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 take this very seriously. 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. Dr. Cushing's going to present the small slide deck. So while he's searching for it, I'm just gonna kind of start. So good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the school committee. Thank you so much, Dr. Cushing. Tonight, I'm presenting the requested substitute teachers supply and demand report. As background information, the school committee stated the following rationale for requesting this report. First, substitute teachers play a critical role in maintaining educational continuity and quality. when regular teachers are absent. Meanwhile, Medford appears to struggle to obtain enough substitutes to cover the need. 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. And third, understanding patterns and reasons for teacher absenteeism is crucial for addressing any underlying issues and ensuring the effective allocation of resources. So as such, the slides presentation for this report will cover the sections listed within the request. The first section as listed here covers substitute teacher compensation and district comparisons of substitute pay rates. You can advance the slide. Thank you, Dr. Cushing. 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. And then you're going to see the comparison of surrounding districts. 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. Dr. Cushing's trying out his pointer. You'll also notice that some districts have set a different long-term daily sub rate, and some districts have not. At the current time, Medford does have two separate scales for substitutes that are working in long-term coverage needs. If they're licensed, it's $125. Otherwise, it's about $100. Currently Medford, as you'll notice, Malden has a tiered approach, which reflects the substitute's education, experience, and licensure. Currently Medford does not have a tiered approach. Moving. Thank you. So the second section covers substitute need and availability. 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. It's important to note a few things here. 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, workman's compensation, et cetera. So that is the third column, which for each school year is just a data point to acknowledge that there are leaves of absence. And each leave of absence ranges drastically in the amount of days that a teacher may be out. So that data point is going to fluctuate drastically. You will also notice that the amount of, this data is just for teachers. So it does not include any other staff. And the number of total teachers is listed underneath the school name. There are two asterisks at the bottom of this chart that I think are important to note. And one is that there are 17 teachers who have like a district wide status. And so they're not reflected in this chart. and that the total number of teachers active also fluctuates due to various needs for leave of absence. Currently, there are 495 employed teachers, but 489 are currently active as of right now. In looking at, you can see that there are trends. The total absences by building for last year, For the most part, absences have drastically fell for this school year. In some schools, maybe not all. So hopefully we're seeing that kind of, as we move closer away from the pandemic will start to see these numbers. improve a bit, but last year if we averaged out the daily need for a sub, it was 55 subs district-wide. That includes all reasons for absences. And then this year our average daily need for substitutes is about 32 people. I'm sure there'll be questions, but I don't know if you want me to pause or continue going. All right, I'm gonna continue going. So the third section in this report covers the substitute pool and the current coverage structure for Medford Public Schools. So our active pool of substitutes for school year 22-23 consisted of 38 substitutes. Three of those were assigned as long-term subs. While this year, our current active pool is 46 substitutes, and six of those have been assigned as long-term substitutes. So we have been increasing the pool of substitutes from year to year, but it still cannot meet the current demand. Most of our substitute pool comprises of college students, current Medford Public Schools, caregivers, and retired professionals. 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. 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. Dr. Cushing, if you mind going to the next slide. This is just a current structure of some internal coverage that we try to employ within the Medford Public Schools. So first, there are instructional support staff. Honestly, aka, these are the building substitutes. And so we have through ESSER, but we have one budgeted position at each school. However, not each school has been able to fill the need of one dedicated position. Currently, the Curtis Tufts, the McGlynn Elementary School, the Brooks, and the Andrews has a dedicated, what we call ISS, or building sub. The Roberts, the Missituk, and the McGlynn Middle have not been able to fill this position to date. The other position that we have are academic support leads. These are new positions to Medford High School. So with the shift in leadership, Principal Cabral created two dedicated positions this year to help alleviate daily absent coverages. And their title is the academic support lead. And then the third layer is a student supervisory assistant or SSA. These were created during the pandemic to help alleviate some of the coverage needs around lunch supervision or just daily coverage needs. These positions are unique because they work no more than about 18 hours a week. Currently, right now, we have an SSA position at the Missituk, the Brooks, and the Roberts. It is important to note that some of our SSAs were hired as paraprofessionals in the past couple of years. 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. 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. while at the elementary level that's not possible. And so principals are unfortunately forced to make difficult decisions to cover the class with in-school resources. And those in-school resources can range from the ISS or building sub, but it could also include specialist teachers. like Art, Music, PE, Computer, Library, Nexus, and it also can include reading and EL teachers, as well as school leaders themselves. And those coverages can range between blocks of time to the entire day worth of coverage. Okay, we may go to the next. Thank you. So the fourth section covers the budget impact of everything I just presented here. So on this next table, Thank you. 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. So you will see that last year, in total, we spent $448,960 just in teacher coverages and loss of prep. The anomaly, as noted in the comments section for March of 2023, includes a few things. One, It includes, so when the contract was ratified, there was the retro pay of per hour rate for teachers increased. 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. 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. 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. So we do not have clearly, but data for April, May or June. So to date, our current total of teacher coverage and loss of prep is $34,408.89. Next slide. breaks down the total impact. 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. versus what we're actually spending. 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. That number includes the $448,000 and change from the previous slide because this spending includes all three. It includes what we pay for substitutes, what we pay for teacher coverage, and what we pay for loss of prep. So if we were to subtract the $878,324,000, by the 448 and change, you'd get the total cost we spent on substitutes. And then the final section. is our recommendations and next steps to address the findings of this report and how to effectively address substitute supply and demand. And so, final slide, Dr. Cushing. Some of the things that we've been talking about internally are adjustments to the current substitute teacher compensation structure. We're discussing it and we're vetting out the implementation for fiscal year 25. This includes, but is not limited to. 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, 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. 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. And at this time, if you have any questions, please let me know.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, and I can get that to you. I don't have it at my disposal right now, but I know most of the principals. I think the tricky part would maybe be data from last year, where there was a turnover at one building. But I know principals have been keeping that data, so I can get that for you, definitely.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Correct. So teacher coverage is that
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, it's okay. 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. And so we have to pay for that coverage. Does that make sense? 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. And in the new contract, it's now $40 an hour. 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. for the year.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think probably, honestly, I want to have that conversation with the superintendent and Gerry McCue. 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. 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. 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. And to date, there is not a timeline. The only thing that they're clear about is that they can't build a pool overnight. And so they spoke a lot about the recruitment strategies that they would utilize to increase our existing substitute pool. 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, 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. 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. 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. They'll deal with that for the first couple months of employment. And so there is, they take a percentage of the fee, the pay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So I will be honest. I mean, I did not go and do a deep dive into pre-pandemic numbers. So I could do that. I mean, I do think that the absences and the need for absences has definitely been decreasing as we're kind of going month by month, year by year out of the COVID pandemic. So I think, but also the need for leaves of absence fluctuates so much, which you can also see in that chart. And that's a definite factor in terms of some of them might've been entire years of a leave of absence, right? So, and some of them may have been short-term. I can get some more data for you if you would like a comparison to pre-pandemic.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think there may be. Yeah, I think there may be a lot of reasons at play. I would be curious to kind of watch the trajectory from year to year. But.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, for during the day. I would have to get back to you. I think some attend staff meetings and training sessions, while not all do. All right. But common planning time during the day with teams, yes. Good to know.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And I think that's, especially at the elementary level, At the elementary level, it's at the expense of. So I think we do have to look at the amount of money that we are spending on coverages and loss of PrEP. 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 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. And then that means we're affecting students and their services, and that's not equitable, and that's not okay. So we do have to do something to increase that. because right now we also don't have an active sub-pool that meets the daily demand. Absolutely.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure. 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. Let's just say we don't have someone right now that works on recruitment and that actually organizes daily coverage needs. So the way it works right now is we have an online portal called Frontline, and teachers, when they need to be absent, they go in digitally and they record their absence in that system. 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. But there isn't someone that's maybe actively making phone calls. and trying to connect substitutes to the coverages that are needed. 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. I'm just going to welcome Dr. Bernadette Riccadeli and Paul DeLava. They're going to do the bulk of the presentation. 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. Dr. Nicole Chiesa, Director of Humanities, will be joining us shortly. And unfortunately, Rocco Sieri, the Director of Science, I believe this is his soccer banquet. I think he has his banquet this evening for the soccer team. So he will not be here in attendance. But we want to thank you very much for your time. 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. And Mr. DeLaver is going to cover the reports again, but I just think it's very crucial that the importance of MAP data is to inform instruction. 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. The importance of map data for us as educators, both administrators and teachers, is to have that information to inform instruction, to help which I don't wanna, Mr. DeLay was gonna talk about how we're using all of this data. 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. screening. 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. 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. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So, trying to see where I want to begin with this. 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. Part of this 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. So K and not K, but grade one is, is we're using it for math because it's an important data point. We're also having conversations and, um, 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. So we are having a lot of those internal conversations to make sure that we are using the data appropriately to inform our instruction. I think the piece of it is, 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. So nationally, we're not going to be, our students are gonna be scored against other students that took it within that timeframe. So sometimes with the way our cohorts go, there are different blocks of time in which we can use the data based on when the assessments were taken. 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. And last year there was a little blip because Again, this balance of not over-assessing, but some of the EL students did not take, map all three terms. 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. This year, we are going to have all students participate, 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. And this is my favorite report as well, because it's also interactive. So you can see that the way they've categorized math The student is scoring in the yellow. You can see that reading is a strength and science is a strength. But because the yellow was highlighted, there are a couple pieces here. 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. So I know it's super small print, I'm sorry, but it says between 184 and 190. So you're right, that average score, RIT score for this student is 187. 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? So this student is fine Measurement and data is a strength. Well, operations and algebraic thinking is a strength. 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. 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. It will give teachers where to start in terms of an instructional area of focus. 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. 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. You heard Principal Kaye talk about ST Math. and we're trying to encourage that that is done for 10 minutes a day. That's an additional piece. It's normed the way Lexia Core 5 is, and it's all, it's language-free. So it's all conceptual mathematical problems. 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. In addition to that, 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 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. 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. So how teachers or what reports teachers are using is going to be based on what they're looking for for their instruction. 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, they're focused on specific skills and standards. When those, and a lot of them are cyclical, right? So students, sometimes the intent of the lesson is just for exposure, and sometimes it's mastery. 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. to then be able to, when you look at this one, you can do this by the skill, by that target. So then when that lesson comes up, teachers can then take that skill and say, where did the students fall within that range? Because this is where I am, and this is where I wanna target my instruction. So it's just a different, it's different utility for each report. May I?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Huge. And I think that's something that's going to be growing. Because I think even from where we started with MAP, to where we are now, to where we need to be, you know, I'm going to just review in a little bit about the instructional, and I don't know where we are. 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. 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 also the continuous work. 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. And so the principals and the department directors are doing that work on a consistent basis. So making sure that we're providing them that drilled down data is something that's happening right now because we agree. 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. And part of that work is going to be the cross-reference of students. 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. 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. But I do appreciate your input and we'll make sure that we include all of that feedback in the next presentation. Great.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, there we go. Okay, good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the School Committee and Superintendent Edouard-Vincent. Tonight I'm joined by quite a team. I have Joan Bowen, Director of Student Services, Dr. Bernadette Riccidelli, Director of Professional Learning and Student Assessment. Paul DeLeva, Executive Director of Data and Reporting. Dr. Nicole Chiesa, Director of Humanities. Faiza Khan, Director of Mathematics. And Rocco Sieri, Director of Science. And we are going to present the 2023 Accountability and MCAS results. Tonight, the team will take you through a detailed presentation of the district's MCAS scores, highlights, areas of growth, and any challenges that we faced. 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. At this time, I'm going to pass it to Dr. Riccadeli and Paul DeLeva. 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. Part of that came from the work that we had from the comprehensive review through the Department of Education last year. And our instructional priorities are the pathway for us to improve as a district. 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. So just as a very brief recap, this school year we are focusing on high quality instructional professional development. 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. We are going to be focusing again on our literacy. 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 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. 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 beginning, as Dr. Edouard-Vincent also commented on. 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. I think a couple things. So one, it's difficult to look at scores that are less than 50% and feel encouraged by them. So I hear that and understand completely. I think this is when you do have to look at the entire state is at that same spot. 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. 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. 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. And that deep dive is looking at the MCAS results by standard, by area, to see where our students had the most difficulties, Where in our curriculum are those standards present? Do we need to move things around? 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? I know I'm, does that, yeah, please. 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. And I think by these slides, you can see that's not our intention because Data doesn't lie. 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. And yes, MCAS is important. Yes, it is a graduation requirement. However, it is one summative test that is just one piece of data for teachers to use. And so I'm not, we're not trying to mask anything, but I just want, as evidenced by the slides, but I think Medford has increasingly become the tale of two cities. 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. So there are two schools that need a lot more support than at the elementary level, than the other two schools. So demographics, whether that's the ugly truth, but demographics do play a role in some of this data. In comparison, when we overlay these results, they do line up a little bit with the DESI comprehensive report that we had last year. And so we do feel 100% that part of the path forward to focusing on the subgroups, 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. That's tier one instruction, that's tier two instruction. 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, 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.? 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. that the first block of the day is when all staff are available to have those meetings. 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. because I find the use of prohibit quite strong. 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. And so I think there are times that logical consequences do involve that students are not participating in a physical activity because that is the manner in which they have been physical. 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? What if the behavior is happening at recess?
[Suzanne Galusi]: But I'm talking about in the moment. So unsafe behavior cannot continue where it may impact other students. So there are, I just don't want to have, 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 after school clubs that also encourage physical activity. I know several schools have girls on the run. I'm sure Mr. Tucci could speak to some other beyond just the athletics program, just after school clubs.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It doesn't. 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. But there are situations in which this could apply to another UA class. And I just feel like we're going to be going down a rabbit hole or creating like a Pandora's box. I think there are several situations and more than just physical education, there are different classes, there are different environments. Every student needs are taken into account. And I think those situations are usually handled with the staff where it's needed, whether that's medical in its Avery Hines department, whether it's Joan Bowen, Stacey Shulman's department, principals are involved. I just worry that this is a little, I worry with this one. 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. I just think that this is the language that is being discussed here is very specific. And I think is going to, these situations can span outside of physical education. 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. 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. So as Dr. Cushing mentioned, tonight we are going to present to you on student-centered systems. So I'm going, Ms. Bowen and I are going to discuss curriculum and instruction, assessment, and student services. 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. So in the report, They provide some narrative. They also give the strengths of the district. And then they give us recommendations for what they would like to see our work moving forward. 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. that teachers participate in curriculum selection processes and provide regular feedback throughout implementation. 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. There's a clear alignment between the curriculum selection process and the district strategic plan, including an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 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. And that the district has increased consistency of access to rigorous grade level curriculum and instruction at the elementary level. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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. I don't want to make it seem like we're glossing over any of the recommendations. The next is assessment. 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. They looked at how we're using that data, and then they looked at how we're sharing the results. So strengths for Medford Public Schools are that we have a strong capacity to support instructional alignment across K to 12 with the positions of the curriculum directors. Teachers participate in curricular selection processes and provide regular feedback throughout the implementation. There's a clear alignment between the curriculum selection process and the district's strategic plan. And that the district has increased consistency of access to rigorous grade level. Oh, excuse me. I'm so sorry. Content, hold on. Let me, hold on one second. Let me just double check that that's accurate.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So my apologies, I will correct that, that's not accurate. 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. and that our formative assessment practices align across grade and subject areas. 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. and that the district should set norms and clear expectations for schools around the frequency and quality of communications to families and student progress. 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 than others, and so a lot of the feedback was around making sure that there is alignment district-wide around communication. I do apologize for not having the accurate piece in this. I'm gonna fix that right now as Ms. 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 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. Because right now there's just a lot of 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. 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. to maintain both. That's something we're gonna continue to review.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so further updates for recommendations include the ILTs district-wide. So there was a reference in there as the IAT being a strength at Medford High School. Yep, the instructional academic team. I want to just highlight the difference between the instructional academic team and the instructional leadership team. So the instructional academic team, which they called a strength, just included administrators. So it was a meeting with the principal, assistant principals, and curriculum directors, or department directors. 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. 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. Both data that is given to us in the form of assessments, in the form of observations, in the form of conversations. But aligning our instruction based on data is something that is going to be expanding this year. So it's not just going to be at the high school level, It's also going to be at the middle schools and the elementaries. The communication for families is always something. 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. 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. And when that will be happening, as well as how often we're updating the website. I think Medford Public Schools has done a good job. It's been inconsistent for sure, but a good job communicating with families around MCAS and NWEA assessment data. But we are continuing to improve and Thomas is helping us do that. Diversity, equity and inclusion. So this is the year that there's Medford Public Schools strategic plan. will run its course. 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. That work will be coming. Last year, we embedded a lot of professional development. We heard from teachers, the superintendent has been very clear about how she wants to see professional development around the EIB. 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. They wanted to have meaningful conversations with their working colleagues at their schools. So a lot of what we did last year was embedded PD series. So we as the central team and with 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. That's going to continue through this school year. And also too, we've had a very strong and close partnership with Frances Nwaje, who's the director here of DEI. I don't know if she has more to her title now. Nope.
[Suzanne Galusi]: We have appreciated her partnership. 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 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 equity centered educational opportunities for students. 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. So one of the things that really spoke to us is this image right here that I think you will be seeing a lot for Medford Public Schools. It shows the intersection of how we create belonging for our students. And so we know that diversity is a fact, equity is a choice, inclusion is an action, and belonging is the outcome. So this graphic was shared in a different format at this institute, but something that we are centering our work in this year. 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. But our instructional priorities are to create these environments for our students. And so what that looks like in a nutshell is we are going to be ensuring high quality instruction. We are going to take the superintendent's five core actions and dig deeper. 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 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. We are going to be making sure and starting to review that all of our materials are high quality. and grade appropriate. 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. 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 taking the cognitive lift off of themselves and putting it on the students. 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. The other piece is around the data. So we have great systems in place, but our recommendations are now what? So what are we doing with them? 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. So this data informed instruction is something that we're going to be working on all year. We are bringing in two consultants to help us with that so that principals and directors will be coached through this process. And then we will be continuing, but enhancing our learning walks. So learning walks within the district were done kind of pocketed, honestly. Paul Teixeira, who's on the call, could speak. 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. And so we want to make sure that we are, with all of these priorities, in classrooms and having conversations with teachers to provide the feedback and be support for this work. And that's pretty much it in a nutshell. The last slide is just a quote from the superintendent that talked about the instructional vision and mission for the district this year. 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. Faculty and staff will challenge and help them grow. 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? Sure.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I would just say, I hear you. Those three reports that you mentioned are distinctly different. I am sure that there is some overlap. I could see that for sure. But the focus of those three reports had an entirely separate agenda with with goals as a result. I think we will get to where you're speaking of having all of it overlay when we work on updating the strategic plan. 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. However, we're going to write the strategic plan.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It is happening in a lot of the schools. Was it happening at the level it needed to at some of the schools? No, no, it wasn't. And that's what the report has stated, but it is able to get done. Time will always be something that's mentioned as a constraint or a restriction, but there are ways in which 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. 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. And we were just presenting on half of the findings.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes. Okay. Yeah, good evening. I'm going to just introduce the team. We're all here to present on the map assessment reports for this current school year. And to get us started, I'm going to introduce Dr. Bernadette Riccidelli.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. So we're going to just shift a little bit to talk about data and what we're doing with it. And you've seen this image before. It's been in our slide deck when we've presented to this body about the NWEA map assessment results. 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. And part of triangulating data is taking all the pieces of data that we have at our fingertips. But I also wanted to say that the essence of the MAP assessment is information for the teachers. It's information for the teachers that are going to give them the instructional level and capabilities of their students. 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. 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. not necessarily the vehicle we've provided, you know, for community-wide presentations. It's really meant to provide teachers with that information when they're working with students. The information we've given you this evening are the pieces of that global information in relative for how we are as a district overall? Are we meeting our growth? Where are those projections and how we are in comparison to the national standards? So if we go to the next slide, we have some goals for what we're doing with our data. So this is a work in progress. 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. 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. It's been happening in pockets around Medford. It hasn't been structured. So we need to create that system, and that's part of what we're going to be building here as we go. And this will be for K to 12. 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. And so a lot of this work is ongoing, we just need to keep continuing and finalize. 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. 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, And having data cycles and data conversations, we're all aligned on the calibration of teaching and learning for the city of Medford. That in continuation is also the professional development around that. So we're ensuring that that professional development continues for administrators and also includes educators for next year. 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 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. 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. across the board in all of the data sets, not just one. 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. 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. Another thing is to make sure so each year all educators at every level teachers and administrators. 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. So that is some of the work that we're going to be doing across the board. 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. Year two, Common assessment rubrics beyond midterms and finals at the secondary level. 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 calibrated across the district and that common assessment rubrics have been created. 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. continued work on the report cards from K to five, and then fitnessing year two and into year three. 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. Moving to the next slide, this is just a, it's very broad. This is something we're still building, but this speaks to the data cycles that we will be implementing next year. At the elementary level, this is part of what HILFA literacy is going to help guide us in doing. And we're going to also ensure that we're continuing that work and implementing that work six through 12. 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. 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. The map growth beginning, middle and end. That also includes dibbles data. So any type of assessment that's given three times a year. That's the very structured formal data cycle where we're looking at achievement and how students are doing In those meetings. 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. 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. And likewise, in between the middle of the year and the end of the year, there's another progress monitoring cycle. At the secondary level, around report cards, they have progress reports. 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. For the reading interventionists, they are using DIBLS, so the DIBLS data is progress monitored and we will have that data as well. I know that was a lot. 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. 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. I think what's interesting to me is that originally that was the intent of MCAS. It was. which is what the S stands for. It really was supposed to be a system and not just a test. So I think it's a long time coming. I would be very interested in hearing the perspectives, but I can, through you to connect. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: That would be great. Thank you very much.
[Suzanne Galusi]: First of all, you're 100% correct, and I want to let my team chime in. I just happened to be the last one holding the microphone. Two pieces, though, for me. One is yes. 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. So that's also the other end, because that percentage is not just encompassing students that are not meeting the mark, if that makes sense. And I think that it's difficult. We showed in the fall all the different reports that teachers have their fingertips on, because again, the point of MAP is the conversation for teachers to have within their school leaders and with families. 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. 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. 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. 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. Was there more that?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, thank you, thank you again. 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. So Dr. Chiesa started this process last year. 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. 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. The professional development for teachers and administrators. 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. This is what is going to be through the program. We also still have our partnership with Hill for Literacy next year as well. 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. 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. 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. 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. Many came up here to get their hands on the print materials. 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. 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 for now this year K through three staff, but predominantly it's been focused K to two. 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. 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. So part of the grant that we just received, which is wonderful, the high quality materials grant from the Department of Education. We received $200,000, which is the highest threshold that they gave out to municipalities. You can see that on the website. Part of that grant also includes coaching. that comes along with part of the purchase of the program. 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. 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. 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. Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: The Hill for literacy will, yes. So the Hill for literacy will be in addition to 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. I mean, I think I would probably have to maybe look back. I think when before school started with just each individual school running their own before school program. So if Ms. Fidler-Carey is saying that the price has not increased since she assumed this position, I think that's something that we can look into. We just have a newly agreed upon contract through the teacher's union, typically things that are outside, you know, contractual time. That's the difference here. 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. 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. So as Dr. Chiesa highlighted, might be it's like moving parts right now, right? So we have the district level leadership team, and then we also have the school-based teams. Those two teams are gonna kind of come together as well as the parent task force in helping to select the literacy program. 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. So the grant is competitive, but it's also highly, it's a really tight turnaround. I know I reported on this previously, but I just want to remind you. So the grant, which we have our fingers crossed, apparently it's on the governor's desk right now. 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. 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, sending out survey to parents and guardians, elementary parents and guardians, that wish to be a part of this process. And from there, Dr. Chiesa, Dr. Riccadeli and I will be holding meetings, providing them resource materials to review. 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 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. 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. So there are some practitioners that are also part of these round table discussions. So that way it gives a real complete view for the Medford team in terms of selecting the program. 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. 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 their personal perspective. Just a few points on that though as well is that this shift. So we also have been looking at neighboring districts to see what they're doing for literacy. I'm on a list serve with the other assistant superintendents. 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. As you know, because we've talked about this several times, we kind of got right on board right away. Many districts are really just beginning a lot of this work. 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. That's why Massachusetts, all of their grants 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. and you can create gaps and holes. 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. 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, diverse roles within the district, and then bringing in the parent voice. 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. Um, the part of this process, Hill for Literacy has an assessment tool. It's a review tool. So it is a spreadsheet, which we will give to you. 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. And it's, it's like a rubric with a scoring piece. that will be reviewed by everyone that participated in this process.
[Suzanne Galusi]: All right. 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. So in terms of this particular conversation around incidents, there's nothing that's uploaded to Schoolbrains. Schoolbrains at the elementary level is not used for teachers to record anything other than attendance and report card grading. 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. So that may mean the school principal or the assistant principal. It also may mean support staff in terms of school adjustment Councilors. And it also may mean the teacher,
[Suzanne Galusi]: That absolutely should be sent home. Uh-huh, okay. 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. If there is something beyond what is typical for that age and grade, 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. 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. I also think as students grow and mature, I still think the first piece should be a lot of that conversation. 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. 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. I really would like the priority to still be that conversation between school and home at really developmental ages. 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. I think that's very valid. And I hear, you know, where you're coming from. And I think there are definitely situations that are unfortunate, like the one you just mentioned, that I'd hope to say are not typical, but I do think that there's definitely some work still. 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. 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. and come up with some more aligned, like a, yeah?
[Suzanne Galusi]: So I mean, the superintendent can speak. 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. Okay, thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Hi, good evening. Good evening. Okay, so This, I have a report that was requested by the committee by committee members, Paul Rousseau, Sharon Hayes, and Jenny Graham. 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. So the first one was NWA MAP does not include assessments for nonsense word decoding or rapid automatic naming of letters. Both recommended in the DESE guidelines. How are we assessing those areas? How were we screening prior to MAP? So that is correct. 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. But in lieu of that, what we've done is, and I've presented to this body before, the elementary reading department teachers, have been trained and received ongoing professional development in DIBLS, which is Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills program. That fully checks all of DESE's boxes for the dyslexia screening guidelines. And so what those teachers have done is they're assessing all students K to two using the dibbles. 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. They're finishing up those assessments actually as we speak. And then as we do with all data, it will be, analyzed, I'll get to that in some subsequent answers. Prior to this, the district, when they piloted Lexia and MAP at the time, the Columbus School, 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. We made the shift now because we have trained teachers in the DIBLS system. and its best practice. 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? So we have our universal screeners, as I've spoken about before, to assess students in the district three times a year. At each cycle, data is analyzed to inform instruction and determine student needs. excuse me, to determine student supports based on the need. And then the level of tiered instruction is decided based on those data sets. So that's consistent with the MTSS model through the Department of Education. 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. Those can happen both in the general education classroom as well as outside of the general education classroom. 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 reading support. Teachers during that wind block, that targeted intervention time, teachers are also administering tier two supports during that time as well. 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. Okay, question three. How many K through two students are receiving targeted intervention? 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. The elementary reading department is comprised of reading specialists. Those are teachers that typically fall with what people might know as title one. 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. So we're all together in the elementary reading department and we're all aligned because the work is the same. 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. I also put in here to note the number of reading teachers within the elementary reading department that are at each building. So for example, the Brooks has two teachers, the McGlynn has four, the Missituk has three, the Roberts has three. 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. 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. And so you will see that reflected in that, you know, Population numbers are completely different for some of these buildings. 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. And so the reading staff numbers look the same, but because the population is so large at the Roberts, 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. So we do make sure that staffing is equipped for the grade, excuse me, for the school. So question four had several different components. 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? So dyslexia screeners screen a broad area of abilities. 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. And so those components are phonological awareness, the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound structure of language, rapid automatic naming, which is the ability to quickly retrieve information from phonological memory. 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. This is testing the automaticity for students because 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. So what are students putting into their memories and able to retrieve? If that's difficulty, 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. Okay, so we don't expect students to necessarily know all their letters when this portion is given. 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. kindergarten students at the very beginning. And that's where the multiple measures come in. And we look at other assessment data. So alphabetic principle is another one, the ability to associate letters with sounds to read words. And then word reading, the ability to fluently and accurately read words using sound symbol correspondence and sight word recognition. So those are the pieces that the DIBLs will assess for. Those are the pieces that are flagged. 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. DIBELS meets all of this criteria that's here in these charts for your reference. 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. So when I presented on the MAP data with my team, we could see those colors and where The concern, right, is the red and the yellow. We're not concerned with blue and green, and DIBLS is the same. So when teachers are inputting the data, they can see where the flags are. And so when the red colors come up, we're looking at the areas, those four areas I just referred to. Where is it that the students are having difficulty with? Because that is going to target the instruction. 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. We are looking at data across the grade level at every school. 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. We're looking to identify those students 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. So that the students that are read, they're going to be with a specific teacher because they're all needing that same content. Another teacher might be taking the students, maybe there's two groups of red, maybe there's another group that's working with the students that are flagged in yellow or in that one area. 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. There's a tier, like a step down approach to the reading services that they are getting and that they are receiving. I hope that makes sense. 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. And those teachers, when they have the students, they're doing progress monitoring. So they're doing assessments within the three benchmarks that we're doing, beginning, middle, and end. Who provides the support? 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. 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. And it's very important to just clarify again that students all should be receiving tiered instruction from their classroom teachers as well. 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. C, does the amount of support at each building differ? I think I covered that one, hopefully. What is the exit criteria, which I've spoke to a little bit. I can just drill that down a little bit. We use, 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. I'm in the middle of those conversations right now with some of the schools, there is some shifting. So there are some students that may not require all five days because they're approaching like that next color coding. And so they're, going to be working on the skills they need to have them ready to transition back into the general education classroom. All of those decisions are made at the school level. There are conversations based on data with the reading team, the principals, and myself. 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. as well as when the data has shown that they're ready or no longer need those services. All of that is communicated with families. 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. How is progress monitored of at-risk students who are not receiving interventions? It's the expectation of Medford Public Schools that all students are receiving interventions if needed. If you want to drill down on that or ask me more specific questions, I would be happy to answer that. How are parents notified? So we've already highlighted about talking points. Parents receive their child's MAP assessment data. Every time it's administered, it will go home at elementary. For the first one, it's the report card conferences. And then for each one, the middle of the year, it will be sent home. And then at the end of the year, it goes home with the report card on the last day. In addition to that, I just mentioned the communication if students are receiving services. 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. And so oftentimes, that's when the student support system should be used, and teachers will put the student through the SST. One of the first steps of the SST is notifying the parent. So they should be notified that there's some additional concerns that they would like to look at with their child. And that should happen first. And then they go through the team process to see if there are other interventions. or other needs. What does a typical tier two intervention look like from a staffing perspective? It's based on the specific need of each individual student. 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. Some tier two interventions may be outside of the classroom by the elementary reading department or an EL teacher. And so it depends really on the student need. And it's fluid based on data cycles. 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? Yes, it can. I can absolutely do that. But I do wanna just caution again that MAP is one form of data. We're now also using the DIBLS data, which I'm still in conversations about. There's a lot of movement to be made and not a lot of time. And so I'm really cognizant of the fact that we need a new elementary core literacy program. And that's what we're working on right now is that process so that next year there'll be a new literacy program 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. Because the materials they have right now are outdated and teachers need more because students need more. And so I'm really excited for that and for the professional development that is going to be crucially needed next year. And so, but we also have the DIBLS piece, which is why it's brought in with the elementary reading department. But I think for right now, that's where it's living. And so we're going to be having conversations about what that will look like next year. Because there are many districts that have their reading staff assess all the students. And that might make sense for us for next year because we cannot, we just can't put so much on classroom teachers. But I also have to say that the process is important, but the conversations are equally important because sometimes the students that may flag in one component of the test, but not in the other or may flag on map, but not on dibbles. Like those conversations are important so that we can really target what the student needs. 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. I hope that was helpful, but 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. If there's like one area that's, let's just say like indicating red, 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. And there may be another opportunity to do progress monitoring. before you get to the three benchmarks of middle of the year and end of the year. 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 I think probably needs a little bit more look at, a little bit more like vetting. 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 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. Yes and yes and yes. But yes to starting the conversation with the teacher, because I really firmly believe in the chain of communication. And so it doesn't make sense to jump one or maybe two chairs when we have to start with the teacher. 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 They've received that sort of expectation from me on an ongoing basis. K to two teachers have received training and sustained professional development around that. So that is the expectation. Of course, I would be surprised if we didn't have a few of those anomalies, 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. They could reach out to me. 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. And so, We don't have teachers that have enough materials right now. 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. So a decodable is the piece that It's that practice for reading that some students need because those phonetic skills they're learning are embedded within that decodable. 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? The intent is to practice those skills that they're learning. Not every student needs that. 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. 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. And so I'm hoping there would be enough I'm just offering this. I would hope there would maybe be some resource that people could be collaborative within buildings. 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. 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. Yes. And with budget time coming, we should be thinking. Thank you, miss. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening. Thank you very much. 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. So all have to do with current reading instruction at the elementary school level. So the first question asked if Medford Public Schools have curricula from Fountas and Pinnell utilized by their teachers. We do not. Previously, part of one of the assessment benchmarks 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. The second question was, does Medford Public Schools use any curricula from Lucy Calkins? Currently, no, we do not. Years back, we did have a writing program, never anything under reading instruction. 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. rules or system. Question four, how many minutes per day do our K-3 elementary teachers spend on phonics instruction with the entire class? 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. Teachers have That's for K through three. The next question was what percent of our K through three teachers have received training in this phonics instruction. So as previously presented to this body. For the past three years, we have had direct partnership with Hill for Literacy. 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. That includes observations of teachers engaged in enhanced core reading instruction, phonics instruction. It includes observations and feedback. It also includes training. 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. Question six was, have our teachers been taught that using alternatives such as three key, 53 queuing is harmful for students teachers have been provided with, as I just said, with multiple opportunities for the professional development. In speaking of that it is ongoing, but it has been a conversation, I can also make sure that it is. a more direct conversation. 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. Last year, I sent out 18 of them. So I could share those with you if you'd like, but in those memos, I am specifically talking about curriculum 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. So it has been messaged, but it will continue to be so. 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. 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. Part of this messaging, so for the science of reading, that is the pedagogical shift that we've been on for years. It's really difficult to sometimes explain what the science of reading is. to parents or to the community, even sometimes for teachers. But this is what we've been doing and been messaging for the past few years. 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. we are going to be looking at a new program that is part of what we're working on this year. 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. It is a 10-month course. We meet every month. Actually, tomorrow is this month's meeting. That will be, with everything going on this year, we started with the reading teachers. 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. Both of those courses will be offered for staff next year. but this year we really wanted to focus on the elementary staff. I hope that that answers your questions. 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. Thank you. Member Ruseau.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It all depends on how it's formatted. 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. And so how we utilize that is key. And so I think that for now, the report, yes, the word opportunity was used carefully. and purposefully, but it is, I'm really excited and very hopeful for this new schedule. 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. I think if we track back the three years. That was a skill that was definitely. definitely lost a little bit of that skill during the pandemic, especially it's really hard to teach writing virtually. 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. 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 is going to be looking at the components of all of those programs. And part of that will be looking at the writing component, just to see which program would best fit our needs. So I think part of the core review process that all the schools are going to do, I'm working on it right now, 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. 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. And so we're going to have teachers looking at every strand, every English language arts strand within each program. And that way we'll be able to best see what fits Medford's needs. And in that is the writing program.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Something sold, sold a story.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, no, no. That's all we've been doing. So the science of reading is about how we're teaching students to learn to read. Right. Going back to phonics. Oh, yes. And direct explicit instruction.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think it's probably better if you think of it as an umbrella. So Medford Public Schools teachers started to be exposed to this in 2018 through professional development days. And that's K-5. That's the brain-based instruction. That they started in 2018. When I came on board in this position for the 2020-2021 school year, that was just coming back from the pandemic. So we had ECRI. That is when I started to bring in health literacy regularly to be meeting with staff. 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. No more of your DRA kits or your Fountas and Pinnell kits. Have I gone into the school buildings and confiscated them? No, but it's been very clear. It's been very clear that we're no longer using those programs as district assessments. We have now transitioned to utilizing ECRI, we utilize MAP. The reading teachers are being trained this year in dibbles. So we are on the right path, but member McLaughlin is correct. I mean, this brain based, way of teaching students how to read has been around for decades. Yes, yes, there's actual proof. 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. They started as a non-profit through the Massachusetts General Hospital program, which is where a lot of this began. And it's through the University of Oregon, and now Boston University has gotten in on this. So it's all best practice, very well vetted, very aligned. Is DIBLS phonics? Yes. Okay, so now DIBLS is all- But it's an assessment, it's a progress monitoring assessment tool. Okay. I guess- Similar to a map. similar to what we're doing with NWEA map. But DIBLS, no, it is not computerized. It can be. We could talk hours on this. I better listen to the podcast first. The podcast is wonderful. It's six episodes, but it's well worth it.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think our K-2 staff, In all of the embedded training that they've had with helpful literacy in my conversations with staff. 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. 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. So I think, yes, change takes a while. And I do think that the podcast, which is really well done, it's going to elicit some feelings for some teachers too. And I was in the classroom for 15 years and I taught I never taught K to two, but I taught grades three through five. And as a third grade teacher, that's where I spent most of my time. I mean, I listened to that podcast and kind of. 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. 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. So, um, I know it's not a great answer. 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. 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 elementary reading department. They are just fabulous in what they do. They're so energized and excited about this journey that we're all on together. And they're just a really talented group of people. And so I just want to make sure. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. Thank you for bringing that up. 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. 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 as well as executive functioning need, two things that students really lost during the ongoing pandemic. So Nexus has definitely evolved. It's only year two. I have to kind of punctuate a little bit about what Ms. Demos said, because the group this year really works really closely together. They meet each week. They meet with Stacey and I each month. At the beginning of the year, they send out an informational greeting letter to all of the families. 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. I do know that each time Nexus shifts their focus in terms of their lesson planning, 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. constantly between the classroom teachers and the Nexus teachers. 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. And I also wanted to mention this year, Nexus begin the year because Stacey Schulman brought in the Sandy Hook start with hello. Nexus at the elementary level started with that as well at the beginning of the year. And so the whole beginning of the year was about friendship and start with hello. So I think that we can definitely work on building up the communication for the home piece. So I appreciate that. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening. I think we're just giving it one more minute.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Suzanne Galussi, Assistant Superintendent for Academics and Instruction. Welcome. Thank you so much for joining us. 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. 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. This is a line reader. So especially for math and science, If students click this, it will read the question to them because this is really assessing the math skills, not reading skills here. 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. 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. 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. Hold on one minute, please. Why I don't have this in present mode. Does everyone still see my tabs at the top? Yes. Okay, hold on, please. I'm gonna try this again. I want everybody to really be able to see. All right, well, in the interest of time, I guess I'll keep going. I apologize that you have to look at my messy tabs. Is this the next slide, Dr. Riccadeli? Yes. It is, yes. All right, so I'm going to take over from here a little bit to talk about the tests and the scores. As Dr. Riccadeli started this evening talking to you, the MAP growth family reports are sent home at the marking periods. So you have seen the assessment timeline. These are given three times a year. And at the elementary level, it pretty much corresponds with the report cards. There are quarters at the secondary level, but once the students take this, it's sent home. In school, teachers are using map growth to inform their teaching and personalize learning for students. 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. 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. And principals and administrators, curriculum directors, myself, Dr. Cadelli, we're using some of these scores to work with 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, we're able to look at how students are progressing in each of those subject areas throughout the year. 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. So can map growth tell me if my student is working at grade level? Yes, it can. Again, it's one data point, but we're going to show you this evening how the reports will give you that data. And then I just urge the chain of command with any questions or concerns you have. So I would start always with your child's teacher or teachers, and then If you feel you need some more information, I would urge you to go to the building principal. 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. So I've kind of covered some of this. How will I receive my child's MAP growth scores? I'll let you know about that. 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. So we will post this 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. How do I use my students' MAP test results to improve my child's academic performance? 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. 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 Scores, again, this is one data point. You'd get a more complete picture from your child's teacher or teachers. So moving on, this is a sample of the family report. What we have here on the left is the color-coded scale that coincides with the reports that come home. So that you can kind of see the blue areas are children that are performing above the grade level norm. Green is students that are performing at the higher level of the grade level norm. You can see the breakdown of numbers. So that green area means 61 to 80%. That's high. Average, which is like the sweet spot, that's students that are performing in the 41st to 60th percentile of the normed group. and then so on by the color coding. Gray means no score. That can happen for a couple reasons. A student may have been absent for medical reasons. A student may have transferred in. 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. 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. Basically like, what is this report? What does the RIT score mean? Why is my child taking this? That's the purpose of this evening's presentation, but it's also helpful to just have that as a reference point. You're going to see for every subject test that your child takes, math reading for all students, but science starting in grade three, all the way up through high school. 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. On the right, you're going to see your child's growth percentile. Again, in that same group of grade level peers across the nation. 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. it was average achievement. So we're here in the yellow and you can see that this child scored in the 47th percentile. 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. 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. This you can see started, this one just goes from like the fall. in one year. And so you can see their RIT score. These scores on the plot line are their RIT scores that Dr. Riccadeli spoke about. 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. somewhere between 170 and 220. And so it's giving you where your child has performed throughout the year. The solid line will be your child. The dotted line will be the normed national results. Below here, they're going to tell you what overall that means. The other piece is that map growth can correlate to what their proposed MCAS performance would be. So many, you know, we click that piece off. 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 needs improvement or progressing towards. And it'll give a little bit of an indicator as to where they are in relation to MCAS standards. For here, for the high growth, it's not a line plot. You just see the breakdown by color of their growth. Now you can see for this student, average achievement, 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. Students that have really high achievement but low growth, because their achievement is already at a point where. there may be above grade level standards. So their growth is not as big. And also you could have the opposite where the achievement is below grade level standards, but their growth is really high. And that's okay too, because they're making steady progress. If you have concerns, please, I know we can't say it enough, but have those conversations with your child's teacher. I'll just move to the next slide, just so you can see what the science, it's the same setup. 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. 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. 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. Again, we urge you to reach out to school staff if you have questions. And then there is this MAP Parent Toolkit. So when we post this presentation on the Medford Public Schools website, this is another resource for families that's also a hyperlink. 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. The map test platform. And. 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 Yeah, this is the last slide. 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. I think what I'll do is I'll 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. But this way, we could kind of see faces. And if you want, you could just put it in the chat. That way, when I'm not screen sharing, we can both monitor the chat or feel free to unmute yourself and ask any questions. Sarah, did you want to ask a question?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Hold on. I'm pressing ask to unmute. Let's see if that works. Hold on, let's see if I can change that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, thank you. You're welcome.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It's nice to see you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, no, no. Can you see my arrow or my cursor? Yeah. Yeah, I can. So I can see that paragraph. That's where it will appear. It would be right below there.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, I think it's helpful though. I think a lot of people would have that question.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure. Well, you had mentioned kindergarten does have two. They're usually around mealtimes. So before or after morning snack and before or after afternoon lunch. The structure for grades one through five is either before or after lunch. And it's, I mean, about 20 to 30 minutes every day. And so it's structured a little differently depending on space and depending on how the schedules are at each building. 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. So Mr. Johnson has more of a heavy lift in terms of scheduling, I believe. He can speak to that if that's something you want more detail about. 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. And teachers are spread around for supervision, as well as paraprofessionals, if they are at that grade level. If there's more detailed questions, I would be more than happy to answer. But that's kind of just the overall structure of it. 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. Listen to Mr. downs and Mr. Chuchi Mr. Chuchi did a great job with all of this elaborate detail. which sounded child-directed. I know at the elementary level, it's child-directed. Teachers are not structuring and telling students what they should play. 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, 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. well, maybe three conversations, what's done during indoor recess and how those calls are made, and then the child-centered play while outdoors. 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. And I know it's been communicated to some, school communities, but it's really a real feel less than 25 degrees. You're outside and it's not the hard temperature, it's the real feel. That's what warrants indoor recess if it's not a level of precipitation. 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? That's definitely been, you know, an issue. But for the most part, there is that belief of how important fresh air and recess and free play is for children so that real feel of 25 degrees. 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. I do want to say. The elementary schools are responsive classroom schools and the tenant of responsive classroom is about logical consequences. So I do, which means that recess should not be used as a punishment. However, if we do have unsafe behaviors in schools, our job is to educate children around pro-social behaviors and the safety of being around their peers. And so sometimes if they're exhibiting that, especially during play, the logical consequence is that they're removed from that. They're still outside. There may be a reflective moment. There may be a walking moment. The element of child directed may be skewed because that's the logical consequence for the action. I don't know of it being used for anything other than that. If there are those like one off situations I would, I would really welcome a conversation about that. 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. Thanks. That's it.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. And thank you, Member Graham. A lot of 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. 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. But I also do want to like elevate again what Principal Demos said about that time being like individual. And so the individual needs of students are accounted for. And so it is hard to make a blanket statement sometimes about 100% recess should not be used when children exhibit unsafe behaviors. Now the data piece is important to track that some of that is not unearthing a bigger problem. However, there has to be a level of flexibility in whatever it is that's going to be created within this group of people. 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 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. Now if it is brought back to the principle and that it's still not being addressed. That's another issue. And then I feel like, you know, that is something that constituents and family members can go to you, can go to the superintendent. But really if parents are concerned about anything that's happening at recess, really the first person should be the teacher. And then if they're not satisfied with that, it should be the building principal. And the principal should be allowed and be given the opportunity to handle those concerns on an individual basis. And I just, I really wanted to make sure that, you know, that piece was kind of discussed as well. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the School Committee. 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. 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. But I did want to just take this time to thank The academic team for the amount of hours they put into this presentation, which has been many. 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. So there are students that are taking this class maybe 18 minutes and in more. 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. So that if the students keep answering one correctly and then answering one wrong, answering one correctly might take a little bit longer. Additionally, it may, I mean, it also may be that this is representative of more than one sitting. This is an accumulation of how long it took me to take the test. 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. 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 point of data at the teacher and school level. The whole point of this is the progress monitoring. And so all of those, like, nuanced pieces and the students that took a very long time, there's a story there. 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. No, I mean, I think it looks different. Ms.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry, thanks. Not at all. I was just going to say it looks different in every classroom and at every grade level. And so if you want specifics around what that looks like, then that's something that we can look into. But I would say that there's a variety of ways that this looks. 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. One is for tier one and one is for the wind block. 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 individual work or with the teacher. There's numerous ways that it's not stopping learning and that everyone is getting what they need. I'm going to have to reiterate again the importance of this test is for the progress monitoring piece. Teachers need the documentation in terms of making sure that students are getting what they need. And I'll show a little bit of the reports that help them do that. But having data informed discussions to adjust practice is needed.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I know, I know that. So just a reminder for the people like watching or people that are here. I mean, for kindergarten, first grade and second grade, it's a mandate. So the Department of Education, we have to have a screener as part of the dyslexia guidelines. And so that does that for us. So we have to, we have to have some right. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay, so the next section is about the educator reports. So this opening slide here just provides you with the percentile colors. 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. So this just gives you the spectrum so that you can see blue reading from exceeding average achievement and growth to low achievement. 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. So this is a school-wide report that the principals and department heads have access to. So these show the achievement scores at each grade level. So here, you will see a representation of one of our middle about this report, it gives just like a bird's-eye view of each of the levels across the grade. 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 levels, their grit scores, and give just a little bit of a broad application to the scoring. That does not really go into much detail, but just gives a broad overview. The next slide is a class breakdown. So this shows you, teachers can use this. There's two ways. They can use this by average grade score, but they can also look at the instructional area. I know that a lot of our curriculum directors utilize this, a lot of classroom teachers utilize this. So if you see the column on the left, 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. So that means Zoom can't hear you. Okay, okay. Thanks. I should have remembered for some. All I was saying, so member McLaughlin, the column on the left has the domain or the standard which was represented on the test. 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. 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. Let me know if you have any questions as I go. The next report The next report can be classroom as well as individual student. This is one of my favorite reports. This is the quadrant report for achievement and growth. So it gives you both in one report. So you can see that it's broken up into quadrants of, in the far left where it's orange, that's students. So the little specks that you see on there, those represent students. If there are two different icons, it can represent more than one test at a time. 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. 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. If you 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. And below this is also a class breakout of how the students, what their growth was, what their achievement level was, and their percentile. So this is a nice way to group students. Growth is, and then achievement goes horizontally. 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. All right, moving on. This is another report that gives a classroom view as well as a detailed student view. So this is called the class report. It breaks the classroom by that color coding scale that you saw. 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. 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 their peers within their own class. And so the teachers can really use this to get a gauge on how the students are doing. This was an upper level example. So you can also see the breakdown by domain and by test below where it talks about, literature, informational text, vocabulary. So it will give each subsection of the test, not the overall view of the English test. And then the next one is really narrowed down to students. This is student growth summary. So these reports, if you don't mind advancing to the next slide, these reports, The information is important once students actually have data in there to show growth. 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. The orange little diamond is what math projects their growth to be. And then the blue column is where they performed in relation to their projected growth. This allows teachers to see how students are doing on a trajectory. And it also provides information about where they land in terms of relation to their peers and more referenced nationally. And then the last report, which is one of my favorite reports from, this is the last one. And I have to say that we haven't even touched all the reports. It's almost overwhelming for educators, but these are some of the ones that are the most applicable. This is the student profile. This is a snapshot of the students for every test that they've taken for math. This shows you this particular one. If you can see the top bar, see how they have mathematics, reading and science. But this one I wanted to highlight because you can see how this student performed differently in each grade, in each test. So for math, they were yellow, which is kind of like in the average range, but a little slightly approaching the average norm. Where at blue for reading, this student is exceeding the norm. And for science, the student is better than average, but not exceeding. 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. So you can see really quickly, I just wanna draw your eye to that middle column that says instructional areas. Now, because the math was the one that was highlighted, you can see the domains right there for the math test. So for number and operations, this student struggled a little bit. A 75 is below the average RIT score. But you can also see, because it tells you in the yellow up top what the range is for the RIT score. And you can see that math has identified number and operations as an area of focus for the student. You can also see that below operations and algebraic thinking are a strength to the student above what the scaled RIT score should be. So this is information. Now, if you clicked on that, it would bring you to the test. and to the questions. 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. It's my favorite one. And I think teachers are going to find the report that gives them the data that they need to inform their practice. And that's why there's a variety of reports. Next slide.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, that's right. So moving to the next slide, Dr. Cushing, please. 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. So the same reports are being utilized that Dr. Riccadeli just spoke about that I highlighted in that section. 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. Examples around that are teachers helping one another in terms of best practices, differentiation techniques. Sometimes it elevates to the need of a student support system. You can see here, there's the tracking so that at each meeting, the principal is having conversations. 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. 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. 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. Moving to the next slide. These next two slides speak about the communication And so the reports that go home, you know they go home with each marking period. So at the secondary level, that's four times with the report cards. 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. Also on this slide, which there's like a pipeline for the family resources for families that are not only translated, 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. 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. Moving to the next slide, please. This is just a little bit, we've spoken about this. 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. 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 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. 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. It's not like MCAS, it's not one and done. 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. 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. Both are well-versed and able to answer those questions, and the principal can then divert them to someone else if need be. But I just wanted to reiterate that, if there are people at home wondering where they should go to if they have a concern. That leads us to the next steps for Metro Public Schools. Just one slide before that, Dr. Cushing, sorry. 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 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. I clicked on the mathematics one so that you can see the range for where the rich should fall. Okay, you can see the range for where their scale should fall. You can't see that for reading or for science because I didn't click on that. 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. 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. And so a low growth 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. but they're making huge growth gains. And that is something to be celebrated as well. The piece of this is that drill down data for each student to see what they need. 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. 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. 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. Tonight I'm here with, I was going to mention everybody's name, but the mayor, I think kind of covered that. 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. Tonight, our goal is to, review the information that the Department of Education has set out regarding the format, the scoring, as well as the results. And then Dr. Riccadeli and I will also talk about next steps moving forward. So I'm going to pass it off to Dr. Riccadeli.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So it's so interesting you've asked that question. 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, that was like, it wasn't counted as an absent necessarily. So she's working on that and I'll be able to give that information to the district. 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. 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. We just wanted to have that additional data as a counter to this for how it impact, what the impact was in Medford. It's just gonna take some time to get that information. But it's a great segue to talk about the chronic absenteeism due to the pandemic. to talk about student growth percentile. 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. The difficulty now is that there's been this break and there hasn't really been a formal way to do that. 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. But they are using the same recording 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. 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. Okay. 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. So there will be no overall district accountability determination. What they're doing is just continuing the determination that districts have had in the past. We have not been, so those underperforming districts, that will continue. And districts that aren't, we're still held harmless for that. Because the Department of Education has not set targets. 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. They have not done that due to the pandemic. So therefore, there's no progress towards any targets. There's no, 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. And with all due respect to the Department of Education. This is a test that's administered once in a year. There has been a big disruption in the past two years. And so right now it's even more difficult to see growth. 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. 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. We're going to talk a little bit about that at the end of the presentation. I think maybe just to be fair, if we could.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So page 11. Page 11 in the report gives a breakdown for grade 10. 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. Page 11 has a table that shows that 14% of students, Medford students, do not meet expectations, and it was 10% of state. That was about 42 students.
[Suzanne Galusi]: They don't make it easy. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think the only thing I would add is that it was fully implemented last year as well. So this is we're now going on year two. Yeah. Great. Thank you all for a great presentation. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: We'll go really quickly. Sorry. 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. 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. And so that balance of making sure that students social emotional needs are met will also increase their academic outcomes. 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. 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. 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. One of the things we are doing is having the data teams to talk about that. The curriculum directors are doing with their departments, but principals are also doing it with their staff. 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. The trend, so three of our four elementary schools qualify for Title I services. And so that is, so the two schools with the neediest population, require the more support in that area. So they have more staff put towards servicing students in those areas. 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, 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, 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 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. But I think that's part of something that is not going to be done overnight. That's part of the, the partnership here between Dr. Rigodelli and myself in doing, and with Joan Bowen and Paul Texera and having looking at the data and having those meetings to see where the supports are needed. That is definitely a part of the conversation. Yes. Mayor?
[Suzanne Galusi]: I'm advisories at the high school.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, we can compile that list. Some of them were highlighted in this presentation this evening. Again, it will be reiterated as we present the NWEA map results in terms of our focus. 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 Working even more closely, one of the structures that we are implementing starting this year is having those leveled conversations with building principals. 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. and what they're doing in their buildings to build those support systems and how they're working with their teachers. So that's something that we're starting this year and will be ongoing. 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. First, there is a mathematical way in which I have to put the supports based on the grant. So first, and of course, again, it's supplement, not supplant. So if I take where you just mentioned the Roberts, the Roberts has one Title I teacher, two remedial reading. The Brooks has two reading. not associated with title one and then the needs increased so the staff increases across the district. 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. That's great. Because just like that calculation where it used to be the lowest six students. Right. And so what we're doing is we're looking at the student need across grade levels. And so the lowest percentage of students We're assessing those students for their eligibility to receive the services. That way we're able to really service the students that require it the most. 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. The tier two services need to be there to support 100%. That's one of the things that I'm looking at. 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, the tier one instruction to make sure that all teachers have what they need in order to meet their students needs within the classroom. 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. And so we have to look at that data too, because, oh, there might be something going on. this school at this particular grade level.
[Suzanne Galusi]: And then yeah, there's a lot of variables. It's not that that's just my only point. But I don't know, I probably got a little off track.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep. To be continued because that's one of the things that we're looking at right now. 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. 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. 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. We're going to be using our partnership with Hill for Literacy, the company. 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. So everyone will kind of have a hand in that process. 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. I'm so pleased to be here this evening with Dr. Riccadeli. She's going to speak this evening to you about our MPS Educator Induction and Mentoring Program. But I just wanna say that since Dr. Eduard Vincent restructured, 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. So without further ado. She's going to discuss the program and then I'll just kind of wrap up at the end.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. Don't really know what took so long, but. Here we are. 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. So that the professional development and mentoring opportunities for new administrators are also sustained throughout the year. So they will have their, just as the teachers do, these, 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. 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. 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. So it kind of depends on the topic.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So part of that, I believe, let me just pull it up. The part of that is, well, first of all, I do want to just say that part of that work, it's not another. So it's kind of the equity piece, the DEI piece is woven into everything that we do. But specifically the topic about bias and assessment curriculum and learning will cover a piece of that. And that's where we're looking for both internal and external partnerships.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I guess we were timed out. We're going to be partnering with Joan Bowen, director of student services. 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. Oh, and Julie Santos. 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. The effort to do that was to help students transition back from summer and any gaps that may have been lost over the summer. 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. 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. That was the centralized location. 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. The day consisted of academics with us provided snack and a recess period. I do want to note that for a lot of our programming this summer. 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 academic step up as well as the credit recovery. Mr. extended all of the summer programming. Yeah. Big shout out they were great to work with and I think that it's important for people to know. 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. If we just go to the next slide, there's just a couple of pictures. These are a few pictures from the reading, in which students were sharing some of their reading and writing skills and working collaboratively. And the next two slides have to do with math, math groupings. And then again, like Mr. Texera had mentioned, I'm very grateful, you can advance to the next slide, for the teachers that 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. also came and worked a day for my program as well in someone's absence. 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. Nancy Gersick. So I just wanted to thank them tremendously for their work. Moving to the next slide, please. 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. It was very exciting and pretty much doubled their numbers. So when we presented last year, there were about 40 students that participated in this, and this summer there were over 80. And so this is for rising fourth through eighth grade students. 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. It all accumulated in, as you can see from these two pictures, a concert in Marsha Caron Theater for families to come and witness. And then the last slide, I love this picture. 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. And so, as you can see here, this was a drum circle. I think you could make out some of the barrels and unique objects that were used for the drums. And so Haley Rello was the coordinator for this program. 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. Thank you very much. Let us know if you have any questions.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening. 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. feels that each test should take about an hour, but because of the adaptability, there is variation in how long it takes individual students. So some students, it may take a lot longer as the questions increase in difficulty and challenge to get to their proximal level there. At the elementary level, it also varied. So one of the things that we're learning as we're going through this first implementation year, 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. They knew they had two to three topics of assessments to give students. And so some teachers gave them during, let's say, their prescribed or scheduled ELA block, math block. 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. 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. 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 decided to administer the tests. 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. 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. Like our assessment schedule was thrown off completely come January. 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. 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. 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. Uh, and that's something that will be like fully implemented next year. This year, there've been conversations with principals and grade level teams around the beginning phases of looking at this data. 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. There are ones that will align as you are speaking, reports that align the standards to have a student's scores are. There are also quadrant reports that will show the teachers 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. So there's multiple ways to use the data, and that's part of the conversations that are happening around common planning time. 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, then we're able to, teachers are able to add those supports in. Now, some of them are tier two, but a lot of them are tier one during that wind block time as well. 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 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 if they're perfectionists at all, are going to get stuck on that one question, which will also increase the time. And so part of that is also teaching students how to tackle some of these things as they come along. So yes, there may be discrepancies when they get that family report at the end of the year. I always encourage the conversation, but I don't feel that necessarily. So two things, one part of this is with the testing coming out this late. 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. are still accessible via email, they can reach out to me as well. 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. 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. I think for me, yes, I understand that this dress code is gonna serve pre-K to grade 12, and so, 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. If the real feel is. above 25 degrees or higher. 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. But I think in terms of students playing on play structures and being warm enough, 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. Sure.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I couldn't hear you, member Ruseau.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Oh, I apologize. I apologize.
[Suzanne Galusi]: That's okay, I just wanted to clarify a few things. I'm not as less, I'm not as tied to the word profanity as maybe I am about swear words. 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. But part of the work that I did with my principals was just to go through this proposal and make sure that I got you know, input from the principals in the buildings. 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. 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. Although I'm open to member Graham's wordsmithing again here, because I just feel like 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. I just wanted to say one thing. Full disclosure, I was not aware necessarily that this entire document was going to be shared with the edits. So when I put- I'm sorry. That's okay. But when I put in here suggestion to cover, I meant discuss. 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. 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 I've been listening to it. I do like in where the superintendent was headed in this discussion, because I do think it is covered a little bit above. And I think if we put a similar disclaimer that member Graham was talking about, that would probably cover it in my eyes. And when I wrote this, it had, 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 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. But the offerings and when they're at the library it's kind of primarily. with the sole purpose of like signing out books. 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. It would also bring in on a more consistent basis for grades three through five. 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. So, as Mr. Murphy just explained, I'm this right now. And if you notice I put the date for today's date. enrollment for general education classrooms, K to four. I received this information from our data analysis analyst, Kim Miles. 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 The Brooks School currently has three MEAP programs, the McGlynn has one, the Misituck has one, and the Roberts has two. So that adds to the total enrollment of the building. Also absent from these numbers are the newcomer numbers for the classrooms and the special education programming numbers. This is just the general education classroom numbers. 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. Dr. Cushing, if you could advance, thank you. 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. So currently right now, the second grade and the third grade at the McGlynn have really low enrollment numbers. They have four strands per grade level. So right now in second grade, there's only about 14 or 13 students in a class. And in the current third grade right now at the McGlynn there's only about 12 to 13 students in a class. So if we were going to consolidate those strands, so that would be the rising third grade, and the rising fourth grade. 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. So that especially in students, that's like the older part of elementary school. So we're talking about rising third graders and rising fourth graders. We still have with 17 or 19 per classroom, some wiggle room for students to move in. And we do feel at this moment that That's kind of a safe bet for consolidation. 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. 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. And so it would allow a little bit of room to be able to have the space for that. 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. At the Missituk, currently right now, they have three sections in grades one through four. 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. 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. That does not give us a lot of wiggle room in terms of growth over the summer. 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. 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. 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. But in these four that I've highlighted here, there has been a little decline, but not much. I will be honest that we did start on the low end. But if you recall, when we started the school year, we were still in full COVID protocols. We were still doing distancing. And we had a lot of those safety protocols in place that we just felt it was prudent to kind of 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. 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. What I wanted people to know is that it does not reflect total enrollment. So it was absent the newcomer classrooms, special education programming and MEEP classrooms. 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. 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. I'm not quite sure if I have been, oh, I do. Okay, so moving on and staying in the elementary land. 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. As you know, I've reported several times about our commitment to the ECRI program and our very beneficial partnership with Hill for Literacy. 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. 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. 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. and there's implementation. 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. And we're also going to loop in our tier two staff. That has started a little bit here at the end of the year, but for our, Title I reading interventionists and EL staff, they're going to be brought into the loop of the professional development. 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. So much so that the Department of Education is also in the middle of creating an mtel. To make sure that college candidates and anyone entering the education field at the elementary level. is going to be versed in this methodology for teaching reading. So Hill for Literacy provides a science of reading course. It's a 10 month course. They have two strands of it for K to two staff, and then one for grades three to five staff. This will be an offering for all of our elementary staff, including administrators. 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. 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. This is also best practice for DESE in terms of the best manner in which to select our next English language arts curriculum. It's not through a traditional pilot process, it's using this Hill for Literacy in a consultancy manner to complete a core review process. 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. 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. Were there any questions on this before I move to the next slide?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. As a matter of fact, they're gonna be finishing up this month with a three-part series at the district level about leadership and language. 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 the ongoing professional development and support for our staff and our teachers. 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. And they would also create and provide district-wide 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. Right now, currently, there are some lead teacher roles at the secondary level. We really don't have many lead teacher roles at the elementary level. 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. 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. 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. 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. And so DIBLS has both the phonological piece as well as a comprehension piece. This is training that we are utilizing Hill for Literacy. to conduct with teachers tier two so that they have a similar profile to what the teachers are using. 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. So this year, teachers are aware that it's no longer utilized. This is the year we've shifted to map and we're trying to build in so that there are multiple measures. 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. 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. And so those are phasing out, which is why we're bringing the DIBLs in.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure. So there's so previously classroom teachers for grades K through three were given the developmental reading assessment. That is a tool, as member McLaughlin just said, that people that teachers utilized to assess a student's reading ability. Grades four through five, as well as tier two reading staff, utilize the Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment system. 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 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. And so, both the Fountas and Pennell, and the DRA no longer meet the requirements of getting to the explicit 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. 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? Yes, well, the two highest student enrollment schools are the Brooks and the Roberts. They both are around 520 to 540. The McGlynn would be next in line. They are, I believe, at about 480, but I would have to double check that number. And the Missituk is a little closer to 425. 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? Thank you, member Ruseau. 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. Because if there's a violation, at least at the elementary level, You know, students, for the most part, are contained to the same classroom. So I think that it's not always as cut and dry. And then I think we'd really have to have a conversation about how's the communication. First and foremost, we don't want students to be embarrassed or have their education disrupted. But if there is a violation, trying to get them in a transition period from one class to the other, 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. 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. 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. I'm sorry. Okay.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I can't, sorry. We're sharing the same audio. We're all in the same room.
[Suzanne Galusi]: That's the one for me. It's not, I appreciate the conversation with the caregivers that I have no problem with that. I'm just curious as to like in real time and taking into account the varying levels.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I personally would appreciate that. I know I had two meetings prior to this. So this is the first time I'm seeing the language. 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. Okay, we can give her a minute. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: That's correct. 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. So pre-COVID, there were letters that were created, I believe, with attorney Howard Greenspan. They were at increments of 5, 10, and 15. So those were the levels in which the letters went home to inform families. So that piece is correct. During COVID, there were, of course, different circumstances for why students were absent, and there were quarantining needs. So I do know that those letters, or at least to my knowledge, those letters were not going home during the pandemic. But in terms of, and I know the DESE has, I believe it was this past February, has put new updates on their website. 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. 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. So that first letter is that first one at five unexcused absences is literally just a notification. or it recommends that the family can reach out to have a conversation, but it's not really actionable. 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. Thank you very much. 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. 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. So we're going to start off with Summer Fun as well as a new opportunity. So Summer Fun is an annual tradition here in Medford Public Schools. It's part of the community schools. It's back. We are going to, it was very successful at the Missituk last year in its combination partnership use with the Tufts Pool. So we're going to have Summer Fun back at the Missituk this year with the adjoining Columbus Park. in the air-conditioned facility, it makes for a really nice place for summer fun. 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. The flyer went out last week. The director, Mr. Anthony Petrellis, fifth-grade teacher at the McGlynn Elementary School, is back, and so he sent out all of that information. We do have it here hyperlinked for you, but it did go out to families. It will begin on July 5th and end on August 12th. 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. 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. 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 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. More information will be shared with families in terms of enrollment if they so wish to participate in this opportunity.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. And the STARBASE, which is a STEM related camp for students in grades six and seven will be able to participate in this program from June 27th to July 1st. 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. It is a free camp, but students are able to engage in STEM related activities. It's a wonderful, wonderful opportunity. And then the following are English language learners enrichment and or assistance for over the summer. 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. He does, he is very clear that the EL enrichment programs are dependent upon the hiring of certified ESL teachers. And on the next one too. 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. So this way, Our teachers and our students will have July to enjoy and rest and recuperate. 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. 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 and have some skill-based instruction in reading and in math. 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. So this year we've kind of called it Camp Mustang 2.0 just because we're trying to keep current with the needs and the demands of our students. So the format of Camp Mustang 2.0 during the February and April vacation seems to be quite successful. We have a lot of enrollment right now for the April vacation as well. 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. 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. 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. And the opportunities that are run through the school side, Metro Public Schools, are free of charge. 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. 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. Thank you. Do I have to turn. I think it's twofold. So I think one is that the teachers are actually seeing the effects of the sustained training. So I think the format of it was sustained mentoring throughout the entire year. So every month, one of the consultants from Hill for Literacy came and worked with every kindergarten, first grade and second grade staff member. 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. And then other months were virtual trainings where they spent 90 minutes a month with that consultant per grade level. So the kindergarten team met for 90 minutes, the first grade team for 90 minutes, the second grade team for 90 minutes. 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. How can I walk back the skill when I've done this and the students aren't getting it. So they have really been able to get that sustained like coaching model throughout the entire year. And I'm happy to say they'll be back next year. 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. And I think at the beginning, there was a lot of apprehension, but they have really seen firsthand. the positive effects that students are having and that they're seeing in their reading development. So it's been very meaningful for them. That help?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening. 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. 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. 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. 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. Students were provided with several different choice activities, which Ms. Bowen will explain and discuss on an upcoming slide, that were prepared by Medford Public Schools employees. The offerings, as we previously said, focused on both academically rich enrichment opportunities, as well as movement and physical opportunities. 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. The morning session was dedicated to our elementary students in grades kindergarten through grade five, And the afternoon was dedicated to the secondary students in grades six through 12. All of these offerings took place at Medford High School. 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. As you can see for the first day for the elementary morning session, we were expecting 187 students, but 148 showed. And for the PM session for the secondary, we were expecting 56 and 47 students participated. 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. And in the PM session, we were expecting 56 secondary students and 42 showed up for the camp.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So as Ms. 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. So we have already planned to bring it back for the April vacation, as you can see here for the same two days. So it would be the Tuesday and the Wednesday following a similar format, culminating both of these activities for the vacation weeks. We're going to follow up with some surveys so that we can gather some input in terms of like plans moving forward. But we're going to keep the same format for this right as for right now. Many of the same opportunities are going to be offered again to families. We are just finalizing that registration form now. We do have a few staff that were unable to offer something in February. 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. So that is something we're definitely looking into for the summer. we want to gauge some information from the surveys. 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. So this was our second opportunity to do a data dive, excuse me, with staff. 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. This focused on the professional development day on the other resources that are available to educators on the platform, because there are several reports. So as you can see here, the four bullet points, educators were grouped by discipline and grade level. So they were grouped by their department and or the grade in which they work for the training sessions. They reviewed the current data in both the math and their reading scores. Time was provided for teachers to access their class data. 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. 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. 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. So in the participation, Dr. Cushing and I were a part of these trainings as well. We stuck with one 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. There's several reasons for that in relation to the other content areas, but some of them are highlighted here. So lost math instruction really cannot be duplicated. So when students are absent for various reasons throughout this pandemic, mostly quarantining, the direct instruction that they received from the teacher cannot be replicated. So students really, many students struggle. 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. that that instruction is key. 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. And I think oftentimes parents Not all, but I think some feel more comfortable maybe working with their students on reading and at home. And so I think sometimes the math piece can be a little difficult for families to help their students while they're at home. 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. 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. So that includes our math data. So for this year, we've had two rounds now of data that teachers have to be able to work with. We do have MCAS data for students that are currently in grades four and five. We can't include grade three yet because they didn't take it last year. 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. So in terms of like the validity of data we're really looking at like the math 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. 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. Then letters and emails will be sent to families telling them that their child would probably benefit and inviting them to this opportunity. 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. Knowing that dismissal is at about 2.35, we would have a brief little transitional period with a snack and have a solid 60 to 70 minutes of math instruction. 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. 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. or some of the other locations. So I'm working with Megan Fidlecari and David Murphy on the late bus transportation piece. This is an opportunity. 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. And we would like to keep the groupings somewhere between 12 to 16 students. we are going to be using ESSER funds to pay for the stipends and the late busing and any associated materials. 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. And three math pilots that have three separate scope and sequences. 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. at each grade level for each school, which is what Carmen Williams and I have been working on, which I greatly appreciate her help. 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. And that is gonna help us develop the lessons. 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. 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. Right. 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. then moving to fractions, let's say, like fourth grade's very heavy. They're supposed to come to fourth grade with that solid number sense of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. But for some of those students, they lost that in third grade. 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, some did. And so we're trying to create a space for them to catch up. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, that's right.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that's going to be the piece of the panel review. So we're going to wait and see where the data leads us. And if I'm able to staff it, then absolutely we can increase it. But I have to wait for the review piece of that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, no, no, no. That's why I'm facilitating this. So it's going to be the same 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. 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, 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. 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. There is a stipend attached, but there are different staff that are participating within each of the buildings. But this is an opportunity to help students that have missed instruction due to quarantining and the pandemic. So this is open for students that are on IEPs, newcomer, EL. We have to look at the data and to decide the eligibility for the program. But it varies a little bit, Jessica. 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. Additionally, have title one reading teachers, so that piece is correct. Thank you for that clarification just in case there are people at home that didn't understand that difference. 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. 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. And so, 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. I just want you to be also mindful that when situations like this do occur, 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. Bowen, Director of Approval Services, and myself had a meeting very similar at a school about this. So it's definitely a conversation and things are definitely addressed between myself and the principal or the team. Documentation is reviewed. 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 to across the schools. So it's very infrequent because other supports are in place at the schools. And so conversations are happening around the need for a suspension if that comes up. And a lot of them are really not the suspensions necessarily the way that you may be thinking. Some of them are more therapeutic in nature. And so I think the situations are very sensitive and 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. So some of those possible activities will have students engaged in like yoga, mindfulness, cooperative games, team sports and activities. As Ms. Bowen said, we have the teachers finalizing those offerings. The dates on the next slide. So right now we're looking at two days during the February vacation and two days during the April vacation. We wanted to be mindful of everyone's, you know, vacation times, but also keep students connected to school. 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. As Ms. 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. 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. The registration information. So after, as Ms. Bowen said, we met with staff today. We have to say we are so grateful and excited about this. We have about 24 to 28 staff that have come up with some fabulous activities. 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. 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. 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. It will be translated and accessible for all of our families to sign up with the students. 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. So families will just be able to have their children sign up and attend. 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. Hopefully, maybe they'll pick mind and a movement activity but we will note that in the registration information. 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. I'm so glad you asked that. So it's probably going to be two ways. So we did receive a grant. We got a reimbursement grant for our Camp Mustang offering last summer because it was an SEL offering of $42,000. So part of that reimbursement will be clearly put towards this. 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. I think I have to just echo what was said about this just being a really challenging time. And I think information that's coming in can be overwhelming. And so I know my level is pre-K to five, but I'm the mother of two high school students. So I mean, I know what both of my email inboxes look like. And when email is sent and information is sent to families, I think it can be overwhelming. 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. You know, they wanted those conversations in their homerooms or in their advisory blocks. This is like what Stacey was speaking to, to like have it woven through the year and have it like varied modalities. I don't know if there are things that we can have on, um, even like through the city side. 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. Right. A way to put like a ticker or something on it. Um, and I know. 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. And I think that that will also be helpful. Because I know during the pandemic, Stacey had created her own kind of resourced website, which is linked to our website. But I think sometimes coming up with other
[Suzanne Galusi]: Facebook.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening. I'm just going to touch a little bit on the elementary portion. This slide just, I know I've spoken to you about the responsive classroom implementation and initiative over these past two years. 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. But what I want to do on this next slide is just remind everyone. So at the elementary level and response, to this proactive approach is the responsive classroom program, which is woven through everything we do at the elementary level. Responsive classroom is a set of practices that build academic and social-emotional competencies. It's a belief that children learn best when they feel safe. Classroom expectations, routines, those are all discussed with students. They are modeled with students, so students know what it looks like and sounds like. within their learning environments. The language that's used throughout this, and this is the piece that we're focusing on this year. Last year when we brought responsive classroom in, at all the buildings, it was that like foundational level. 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. What does that look like? And it was all of those foundational pieces. This year, that is still there, and it is still reviewed, but we're adding in the next layer, which is the language. Because the language that we use as professionals with one another as colleagues, as well as with students, really can set the tone. 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. 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. 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. And so we added this fifth special into our schedule. 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. We created this together as the fifth special so that students once a week have this 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. Okay, thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: It's something that we're clearly actively working on. We have been all year long. I will say that the first job fair that we hosted, yielded 22 new quarries. So HR has been in the process of onboarding all of those 22 people. Some were interested in daily substitute positions. 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. But we were pretty pleased with 22. And part of the ongoing conversation is, doing another one come January. 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. It's continuously posted on our website and we're looking to host another job fair. But I do know that the 22, some of them have been actively working already.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. So when we've presented on this before, you've seen this graphic in some of our other presentations. I think the important piece here, Dr. Christian, if you could just, yes, thank you. 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. 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. 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. So the first slide, tier one. So everyone here has spoken about this piece, but here for tier one, that's all students. That's everyone in the classroom, all students together, learning during literacy. At the elementary level, there are two literacy blocks every day. One is for tier two and tier three intervention purposes. The other is whole group learning. During that whole group learning, that's when we're doing ECRI. So every single student is getting ECRI regardless of what their individual support system may be. What are we using for tier one? In addition to ECRI, we're also using the journeys materials, Lexia, Noozella, some of the supplemental materials we're pulling in as well. It happens in the classroom. Moving on to tier two, tier two can look different depending on the student. Tier two can be a small group that the teacher pulls aside and the students are staying within their room. Tier two could be for remediation as well as enrichment. Tier two can also be students that may receive EL services as well as remedial reading services. And so they just need a little, the next layer of support. 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. 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. 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. And those are utilized in the classroom, as well as smaller classrooms outside of this. 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. Which I'm going to toss back to Katie.
[Suzanne Galusi]: So I just want to thank you. And I just want to thank this wonderful team. We meet frequently to have these thoughtful discussions. 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. And so part of the letter spoke about the report card conferences, but I also spoke about map growth because it's newly adopted. I did provide some resources links in that communication to families so that they could see ahead of time. Some of those links walk the parents through what the screener looks like and can answer some of the questions for them. 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, The Mississauga was the only school that was using that as their pilot. 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. from that growth. 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. So we're kind of in flux right now. As we get this data, as Dr. Keyes was talking about, as this data becomes 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. 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, we have in place our student support team and that's where we start because we wanna see those tier one interventions first. 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. And then if there are further concerns, 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. So NWEA, I think we heard about this at a previous meeting. The map growth piece goes all the way, as Dr. Chiesa said, to grade 10. So students are going to be continuously progress monitored and assessed for these skills. The only difference is on NWEA map, there are two tests for the K-2 level. The one we're using is the K-2 growth because it has the screener piece that checks that box from DESE that that is the screener that meets the dyslexia guidelines rules. The other test doesn't have the nitty gritty components that we presented to you on this evening, if that makes it clear. 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. Next slide. Oh, there you go. 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. 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. 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. But the data that we're looking at first and foremost is the map growth assessment. So at the K to two level, that's the early literacy screener. So it is K to two. I'm not quite sure in that instance, mayor, I can look into it, but if there was, If your child or some other children received the wrong test, I can look into that. The section that I was just about to speak to is that MAP growth, there's the accessibility and accommodation aspect to the test. 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. Many of the accommodations and accessibility features are embedded, just like they are on MCAS, and so some of them are universal. 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. 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. So if students are require having a test read to them by a human reader, or for math by the actual test that is going to happen during this assessment period as well. The teachers accommodation features onto the platform, so they are there for the student and ready during the testing session. I do think. 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. I do not certainly like to hear that students went home sad and upset over an assessment. I can absolutely look into that. I was not aware that that happened, 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 be answered in just a minute. Does that make sense? Or should we just answer?
[Suzanne Galusi]: OK, so I think there are these slides here. And I know you have a copy of this that you can see some of the other examples of the accommodation features. And then I think just one last slide just shows an example of what the test looks like. You can see that there are icons at the top for students that receive any sort of accommodation. And when students take this test, it does lock the computer. 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. 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. The teachers and students at then Columbus were using Map Growth, and the other three schools were using Lexia Rapid. Part of the shift to jump fully on board for MAP, there were a couple things at play. 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. and then a literacy screener from Lexia Rapid. 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. So I think they themselves as a company are making the shift out of the screening game and more into the the content game. So that also was a reason for this shift. So the families and the staff and the students at the then Columbus, now Mississippi are going to be very familiar with math. It's what they've known for the past two years. It's just now it's a big shift for the other three schools. So as Dr. Cushing said, it's math and ELA from K all the way to grade 10. science will start in grade three. And I believe science will start in grade three mid-year. So we're doing these assessments three times a year, October, February, and June. The official October date for the opening of assessment is today. It will close November 5th. There were many teachers that were eager to start the process early, especially those with the MISATCH, because they're familiar with this. 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. So there are some staff and some students that have already begun this process. All elementary staff were trained and all secondary staff are getting trained on the platform and the assessment tool Wednesday. 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. 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. 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 initiatives, and we'll start with.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. So for elementary, we have two year long professional development opportunities happening this year. One is our continued partnership with Hill for Literacy and the ECRI program, and the other is responsive classroom. 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. It is researched by the National Center on Intensive Intervention and becomes highly recommended. 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. A typical ECRI lesson takes about 20 minutes from beginning to end. 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. 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. So what does that look like? If you don't mind, Dr. Cushing, going on the next slide. This is just a graphic to kind of like illustrate what the training looks like this year. So there will be two models. There will be the training model in which teachers are working with trainers and getting that explicit push to their content knowledge and pedagogy. 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. which benefits students, of course, in the outcome. This is done through in-person sessions. If you could please go to the next slide. So we have two coaches through the Hill for Literacy this year. We have Eleni Stedman, who's been with us from the beginning. And this year we also have welcomed Katie Leonard, Dr. Katie Leonard. So Lenny Steadman is working with the McGlynn and the Roberts, and Katie Leonard is working with the Missittuc and the Brooks. So the training is monthly, and it is a balance so some months, it is the training session, and it's 90 minute blocks. 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. This happened in first grade, and it also happened in second grade. 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. And those trainers are visiting every classroom. 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. and watched the teacher teach in every lesson. 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. And they were able to get that debrief at the end so that they knew what the next steps were going to be. Could you just go back to the next slide? 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. You can watch it in full a little later, but we can just show a few minutes if the audio works. It's a first grade classroom.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sorry. 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. The second initiative for professional development this year is responsive classroom. So I wanted to start, I know that last December, Stacey Shulman and I presented to you about our responsive classroom initiatives. And at the time, this was our final slide, which was titled Next Steps. 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. So last year our next steps were to continue responsive classroom for this year which we are doing. 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. We talked about training and having coaching sessions for staff, which we did over the summer. 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. The train the trainer model for that responsive classroom support team at each school was held in July. 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. and expansion of training to include power of our words component. So this is our goal for this year. 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. So, sorry, thank you. So we are going to shift. Now that teachers have somewhat of a solid understanding of morning meeting in the first six weeks, we're now going to focus on the power that our language has when we're dealing with students and even our colleagues. So we're going to take a look at our leadership and our language. And so just here is just some of the language that responsive classroom will dive into. So that there's reinforcing language to show students the positive effects that they can have academically and behaviorally. There's reminding language when students have to be, you know, reminded of expectations, redirecting language, and then envisioning language. 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. 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. 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. The first one was focused on early readers. 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. So the pictures that you see here are just snapshots of some of the activities that happened throughout the week. So these accelerated camps were a week long and it was all day. So it was like a typical school day, 8.30 to 2 p.m. It did involve a period of physical education and lunch and recess. At this camp, it was dedicated to early reading skills. So we have, as I've previously mentioned at a school committee meeting, we are partnered with a program called hill for literacy. 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. And so we utilized the staff from Hill for Literacy to provide professional development to the licensed Medford educators that worked this camp. 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. In going around to the schools, it was just wonderful to see how engaged the students were and how wonderful the teachers were. Each kindergarten, first grade, and second grade at each school held a program from a licensed Medford Public Schools teacher. Some classrooms, if needed, a paraprofessional was there for support. The second wonderful opportunity, if you don't mind Dr. Cushing advancing two slides. 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. For this, we offered the teachers training from a company called Better Lessons, but specifically targeted on differentiation techniques in the area of mathematics. So the day and the schedule was set up the same way. It was a full day of school. 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, We wanted to get the core curriculum in, but also make it feel like it's summer camp, which increases engagement. So here you can see pictures. 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. I believe it was called tiny house, but I believe this is a scaled school bus. 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. 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. priority. 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. We had that at every level. So in the elementary, there were three days of Camp Mustang. at the middle school two and at the high school one. 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. 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, We wanted the students that may not have been in school for 18 months. We wanted the students that were a little anxious of what school would look like because last year was so atypical. 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. not a district-wide program. We wanted the students immersed in their buildings. 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. 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. There was a snack time as well as a recess time so students were able to work with their peers throughout that morning activity. The next slide shows some pictures.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. So as many of you are aware, our instrumental programs and our band programs start in the elementary schools at grade four and grade five. And so there has definitely been, because of COVID, a decline in enrollment and participation in instrumental and band opportunities. And so Dr. Riccadeli, really worked hard on this as a way to build up participation in our programs throughout the summer. And it was a big success. We have some pictures here that she supplied for us. 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. The district supplied violins and various percussion instruments free of charge, so that was not a burden on families. If students were interested, they were able to join and were provided the instruments. 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. It was largely successful. The students were very happy to be there. 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. And so at the elementary level, what does that look like? We have responsive classroom, which we were able to implement last year during the pandemic and continue this year. 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. It was very intensive, but it was very rewarding. 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. 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. collectively. 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. So we are going to be continuing that training throughout the year with the use of that staff. We also made sure that we trained staff during the induction week. So some of those trainers went to the new teacher training and provided responsive classroom training for the elementary teachers. 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. And we know the need for targeted social-emotional assistance, as well as executive functioning skills that were lost during the pandemic time. 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. It is a strictly social emotional focus so the curriculum that we're using when students come once a week. is a Michigan model, which is our health curriculum as the district. And we only focus on the social emotional lessons of the Michigan model. So instead of the classroom teachers doing those lessons, the nexus teachers will now do those lessons. 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. And that program adapts itself to the appropriateness of the grade level. 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. important skills for students to have. 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. We're going to weave in a executive functioning skill that is appropriate for the grade level. So that was, those are also pieces that were lost a little last year. So 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. To note, some of the increases are at the elementary level. So we have increased one kindergarten section at three out of the four schools. So the Brooks and the Roberts have five kindergarten classes this year, and the Missittuck has four. 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. And at the Brooks Elementary School, there's also an additional language-based classroom. All of these increases were based clearly on student need and population. 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. Um, with camp Mustang, as we will with our other summer camps. And so it is in collaboration with Joan Bowen and the, and the training that she offers the summer fun. 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. Thank you. And may I, Mayor?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, no problem. Camp Mustang was born out of the need that we know some students are going to need a transitional period back to school. So for some of our students, they missed 15 months of school working remotely from home. And so we know that that transition back, just the transition back into a building is going to be a lot for students. So the whole point of Camp Mustang is a social emotional camp where students can get re-acclimated to their surroundings and working alongside their peers. 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. We'll be eating in the cafeteria. We'll be doing scavenger hunts throughout the building. We'll be doing team building, collaborative. It will start at the elementary level with a morning meeting, which is how we start the day every day. 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. 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. That's, that's the whole purpose of the camp is for students and families that feel students would benefit from this experience. 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. 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. So. We'll just wait and see what the enrollment looks like. 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. 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. This is very bittersweet because we're so very happy for Tony, but very sad for us. So this is a little retirement bag of treats for the summer with some cards from elementary students. Oh, how sweet.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much, Dr. Cushing. So you can just advance to the next slide in the interest of time. Thank you. 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. This is just a small sample of what would be included in our glossary of terms. There are other educational terms that we will be adding to this. 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. We have here the term and then the definition. So for example, you can see listed what a 504 plan entails and how you qualify for one. terms in terms of positions, you have the BCBA, BTA, the difference between the two. And one other example is the credit for life. So that is something that happens at the high school level with the junior class for financial literacy. So just so that the greater community has an understanding of all of the terms listed in the strategic plan. From here, I'm going to kick it off starting the, we're gonna dive into, thank you, the ACEs. So the first bucket, the A, is achievement. 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. So today, myself and Dr. Riccadeli are going to present the achievement bucket. So the first one in achievement, there are four initiatives and I will speak to two and Dr. Riccadeli will speak to two. This first one, you'll see it's their listed initiative A1. So this is establish an ongoing curriculum review cycle. 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. Assessing curriculum for bias and professional development to support curriculum. Now those are the the broad anticipated outcomes underneath the anticipated outcomes will be action items. So just as a brief example. For the action items that align to these anticipated outcomes would be right now. Currently, we are in the process. Many departments are in the process of updating their curriculum to the Massachusetts frameworks which have recently been updated so departments such as humanities and fine arts. health, world language. They're in the process of that now, and the action item would speak to that. 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. 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. 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. I'm going to now pass it to Dr. Cadell to speak about A2.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. And thank you. Now moving to a three. So we have the curriculum piece, and we have the instructional piece assessment. And so an achievement, a three initiative is to implement common assessments to inform instruction and make modifications to our current curriculum. So this is the piece that's going to drive a lot of the decision-making in the district. And our anticipated outcomes would be how we are utilizing this student data to inform our decisions. So that's kind of like the big umbrella piece to this particular initiative. So below that is data to better identify student need. That is if students that need remediation as well as enrichment. Determining the growth. and achievement of each individual student. And then streamlining and updating our district-wide assessment schedule. So what this looks like is we currently have some district-wide assessment pieces that we look at per grade level, per content. But we also want to try and work on coming up with a more streamlined district-wide assessment tool. that would be common from, let's say, grade three through high school, grade 10 or grade 12. That would be common, so we would have a common platform as well as common language amongst educators and administrators. 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. And then the other piece is enhancing and building upon the data teams that we currently have at each of our schools. So that especially next year, that's gonna be very important to bridge the gap to this break in instruction that COVID has caused. So those are two action items in relation to the anticipated outcomes for assessment. And there's one more initiative in achievement, Dr. Riccadeli.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. Now it's back to Dr. Cushing and Mr. Tucci.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Well, I see the superintendent's hand. 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 more of the key point in working with the staff. 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. And right now, if you have the coaching to work with the teachers on part of the math curriculum, 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. 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 effective to remove students from the class for intervention. They need to be there for the lesson, the activities that follow, the review. 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. 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. Does, do I, I don't know if I'm. Yeah, I understand.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much. Good evening, everyone. 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. Thank you. So I'll just discuss the high level priorities that are at the elementary level. In speaking with Dr. Chiesa, we've worked together collaboratively on all of this. One of the things that we've been speaking about is making sure that 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. 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. As you are well aware, we've been piloting both the Lexia and the map growth. She'll discuss a little bit of that, but that needs to continue as well for next year. We've really worked a lot in terms of professional development in the uh, science of reading and in literacy, and we brought in and have partnered with Hill for literacy. We're continuing with that this year. 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. But that is a need that will continue. Um, as well as the program resources that we've utilized this year. Many that were pre-COVID, but a lot that we brought in this year that we want to see continue. And you'll get a little bit more detail on that. Should we go to Dr. Chiesa for the speaking with humanities? Excuse me, Dr. Cushing?
[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just gonna say, is it okay if I jump in. 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 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. 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. And I do wanna say that And I'm not minimizing at all the Italian program, but it also did not service every student in the building. And this fifth additional special will service every student in the building, especially at this moment in time. 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. It's embedded in part of the responsive classroom and the content that the teachers focus on in morning meeting. 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. 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. That was a wonderful segue, Mr. Murphy. Thank you very much. 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. If he could just unmute for a minute just to address the school committee. Once that happens, I will move on to the elementary school priorities.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you, Mr. Johnson. So a result of that collaborative process are the key priorities that we have displayed here. So I'm just going to explain each one of them. And if there are any questions, just please let me know. So the first key priority at the elementary level is grade level paraprofessionals to ensure more inclusive programming. That is just to ensure the needs of students and to support them next year, no matter the setting. So these are grade level paraprofessionals that could be supporting students in special education, but also supporting students in general education. 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. The next piece is the reading intervention specialist. So what we know will be needed next year is a little bit more support in terms of intervention. Having additional reading interventionists, especially to target those foundational years that were interrupted two years in a row. 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. Building-based professional development, that's something that I'm really excited to see part of the budget this year. 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. This will allow principals to be able to use some funding 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. Increased adjustment Councilor services. 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. 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. instituting additional specials programming responsive to COVID-19. 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. 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. And that way students were able to get what they need and the schedule in the buildings were able to proceed. Next year in response to everything that is happening, I am also working with Stacey Shulman as well as some principals. And we are going to be working on a fifth special that will target specifically the COVID related needs of students. That means we are looking to make sure that we are supporting students' social emotional needs, health needs, and executive functioning needs. 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. I also surveyed staff in regards to the fifth special and where they feel the needs are. 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. Also with a little focus on executive functioning skills that may have been lost this year. 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. 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. 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. And that covers the elementary priorities. If you have any questions.
[Suzanne Galusi]: You're doing such a great job there, Mr. Murphy. 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. One of the curriculums that we have at the elementary level is also zones of regulation. 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. And so we know, I mean, I'm a mother myself, I have two very different students. And one fits very nicely inside the box and has done well. 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. And so I think we know that when students come back to school, they're all going to be at different places. 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. but also weave in some of the executive functioning skills that were missed and lost during children being at home. And part of those executive functioning skills are also social skills. It's not just the executive functioning skills that relate to academics. Some of those are the social skills that will also be worked and enhanced. The other piece that I do wanna say where there is somewhat of an unknown for next year, 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. It's an opportunity to have another mask break. 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 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. 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. If there are students that are transitioning or transgender, the students are choosing the, puberty video that they want to participate in and that they relate with. So I just wanted to make that clear. 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. 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. We are always guided by what is best for students, even though sometimes some people may feel that. 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. So we want the conversation to be held at the principal level, not in a simple black and white survey. This way conversations can happen so that the principals can assure that parents are not feeling bullied or pressured into making the decision. There is not a petition that's being given to the principal. It is a one-on-one conversation. 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. We do not want to disrupt that rapport. In my meeting today with the principals, as of right now, we're able to absorb it. It is really in just an extreme situation that the superintendent just has to put that. But at this point, we're hopefully able to absorb that. But I just wanted to say that this is part of why we're making sure that principals are having the conversations. 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. But I just really wanted to reiterate that. I'm not quite sure if Mr. Murphy wants to add, since Ms. Graham mentioned the financial piece to that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I was just going to respond just at the elementary level. 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. And that program, that language that teachers and 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. This year we also made sure that responsive classroom was a part of every school. 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. We're going to make sure that that continues next year. We're also upping the training for some train the trainers models over the summer. 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 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. 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. Thank you. I couldn't unmute. No, that's I think in this COVID time, you're exactly right. It was something that the principals were working on in collaboration with Jan Hollenbeck, who's the director of Oh, she has a very long title, but she works, she also works with the OTs, so the occupational therapists. So part of that work was done in collaboration with her. And yes, you are correct. It would include a K to four focus with the printing, as well as the cursive writing. It was definitely put on hold due to COVID and the fact that a lot of it did involve consumables. 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. 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. In terms of the ECRI, just so people are clear, because I was part of that training as well. 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. Yes, you use the Journeys Reading Program, but the materials are also supplied to the teachers. They have exactly what they need in order to make sure that the program is being utilized. 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. He reflected the new dates. The elementary principals had already set their MCAS schedules for April and I believe had communicated those with families so we're now back to the drawing board for May and once those dates are finalized we'll be reporting that out. Dr. Cushing also mentioned that if there are families since as of right now there is no remote option to take the MCAS at least at the elementary level, with those first dates being the ones shared. 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. I hope that's helpful.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Hello. Hi, Suzanne Galussi, newly assistant superintendent of elementary education and likewise very collaborative by nature. 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. Oh my goodness. Okay. 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. in March with some listening sessions because we are beginning the process to plan for next year. And I just want you to know that, you know, I'm a parent too. I have two high schoolers and one's doing quite well. She could learn in a paper bag. And my other student is, it's been a very, very difficult year. So she's struggling a great deal. So I bring that piece to this too. And I know that the planning has to start now. I know it has to be purposeful. And so the SEL piece is something that is very forefront for all of us. As a matter of fact, part of that is the planning that we've been doing in collaboration with Stacy. 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. help the transition to be as smooth as possible to get them back in the building next year. We know that we're not going to be able to like snap our fingers. 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. So we're starting the listening sessions in March because we want to hear from staff. We want to hear from families. We want to hear from students. 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. 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. But I know at the elementary level, it's that first week in March. That's just the first part of the work we have to do in planning the reopening for next year. And then we'll move into the nitty gritty plans. 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. It's really crucial that we have to plan for everything that's going on right now.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. 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. to listen to the feedback and to people's personal experiences. So at the elementary level, we have the listening sessions from March 4th. At each level, we're gonna begin with students. 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. And then parents and caregivers. 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. 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. 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. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think that that's absolutely something that we can plan for, I think. 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. So I do know that we have cohort A students in both learning models. 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. So if they're in person, then I would, it would be the hybrid model. We do have cohort A students that are fully remote as well. 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. and to make note of. 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. 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. 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. 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. They are not offering a remote option. I do probably feel that when parents know this, that number will probably likely creep up. 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 in-person testing for the remote students or for the students that are in the remote learning model this year. 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. As I had stated, we just got that information through a phone call Friday afternoon. So I think they're giving a lot of flexibility to that we can test each cohorts on separate days and separately. So cohort B and C do not have to be together. you know, to take the test. But those are the logistics in terms of, as member Rousseau just mentioned, the proctors that are involved and the people that are involved. Those are the pieces that we now have to figure out.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, good evening. As Dr. Cushing earlier said, my name is Suzanne Galusi. I'm the assistant superintendent of elementary education. So I'm just going to provide a few little updates that we've been working on this summer. 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. which means social-emotional learning, and starting the year so that we are creating supportive, engaged, and collaborative learning environments for our students. 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. But responsive classroom, we are going to focus on this. In part of that program, there's something that's called the first six weeks. In Medford, we're kind of doing it as the first three weeks. 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. So it is a time to build the classroom community, build positive, safe, relationships within that classroom and work on expectations. 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. So what does it look like? What does it sound like? 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. 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. When we lay the foundation like this at the beginning of the year, There's less disruption to the learning and there's more engagement on the students part. It also builds trust and empathy, which are skills that we want not only for learners, but for humans in life. This summer, we Well, at the end of the year, we created at every building a responsive classroom support team. 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. Those teachers engaged in a week-long responsive classroom training this summer. 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. They will also be providing district training throughout the year. 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. So that means there will be five offerings for students as a special activity. So there's art, and there's music, there's technology, there's physical education, and now there's Nexus. Nexus is a class that is going to target age-appropriate skills for students in social-emotional learning and executive functioning. 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. We've partnered with Hill for Literacy. 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. 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. I'll be sending out more detailed information about that to families as we begin. 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. And they've put in lots of hours, but I wanted to let you know that when It comes to school-based routines. So how is it going to be at arrival or dismissal, lunch, the schedule of the building? All of that will be shared by principals prior to the first day of school. But I do want families to know that at the elementary level, there will be two separate locations for lunchtime. That way we can split up each lunch period and ensure that we are socially distancing students during lunchtime. Um, please email me if yo or give me a call. 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. 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. 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. I will say that snack is always an option outside. 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. Lunch is a different situation for various reasons. One, it definitely is a coverage issue. That's when teachers eat their lunch. And when it's lunchtime, there are several classes eating at the same time. And we do have some students that also would not be able to have their lunch outside. And so for varying and at the same time, different classrooms are having recess. on those grounds when some classrooms have their lunchtime. 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. 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. during that meal time, that it's a little bit more feasible. 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. I think I would just echo what Ms. Bowen said. We've definitely been working all summer long, getting ready. We're very excited to see the students return. It was wonderful to have the summer camps, Dr. Cushing and I and Ms. Bowen, as we went for the acceleration camps and Camp Mustang. A lot of people very excited and very happy to welcome students back and transition them to a new school year. So we're very grateful for that. 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. and contact with a positive person within Medford public schools. 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 you know, are gonna be going to look at to help make their decisions. And so I'm a little concerned using the close contact information. 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. So I just needed to say that because the numbers won't be completely valid unless we're just reporting on close contacts that are in relationship to Metro Public Schools.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yep, just point of clarification. The surveys were to be out by tomorrow morning. They're due next Tuesday, December 15th.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I think so, yes.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much. 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. Tonight, Stacey Shulman and I are going to be presenting a report on the Responsive Classroom Program at the elementary school level. When the closure hit in March, I was the principal at the Brooks School at the time. And the biggest message that I gave to my staff was centered around social emotional well-being. I knew at that time that we needed to keep 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. And so around, since the Brooks School was and is a responsive classroom school, the staff was trained in the program and time was built into the schedule for morning meeting. 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. And around that time, Stacey Shulman and I connected over and planning for the social emotional wave that we just anticipated was coming our way as a result of COVID. And so we started talking about responsive classroom and the implementation of it at the elementary level district wide. And with that being said, I'm going to pass it off to Stacey just to frame it a little bit. 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. So there are some schools in the district, particularly the Columbus that is a PBS school positive behavior support. that works in conjunction with responsive classroom and even at the Brooks there were elements of PBIS woven into the responsive classroom approach. We also use zones of regulation within the Medford public schools and both programs work really nicely together. So responsive classroom is an approach where there is a belief that children learn best when we're developing their social-emotional skills as well as their academic skills. 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. 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. Next slide please. 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. So some of the components of responsive classroom is morning meeting. 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. This is a time for the class to gather together and work to build that positive culture. that is going to support learning. 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. That also part of the, real important piece of responsive classroom is the rules creation, which really should be done in collaboration with the students. 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. It also creates instant buy-in when they feel that they have a piece of creating the rules of the classroom. The interactive modeling is extremely important. I'm going to get into that a little bit in the next slide, not yet. 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 and the academic skills, what they look like, what they sound like within a classroom, you need to have modeling. Students need to see it. They need to hear it in order for them to truly understand what is being expected of them. Another component is a positive teacher language. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Next slide please. 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. The first six weeks is the foundation to a successful school year. It's like the building blocks. 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 for the social emotional skill development and the academic skill development. 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. This is the time where that modeling is so crucial. 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. The first six weeks is when you're modeling. What does it look like? What does it sound like when we have math class? What does it look like? What does it sound like when you're working with peers collaboratively? What does it look like? What does it sound like when we have to walk out to recess or to specials? What does it look like, sound like to during writing block. 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. 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. So morning meeting, as mentioned, is that predictable time for students. It's a time where you build on your community and a time where students can feel safe. There are four components to morning meeting. Most feel that it should keep this, which is why they're numbered 1, 2, 3, 4. It should keep that order. But there's definite flexibility to whatever works in the classroom. So the most morning meetings start with a greeting. And so there's several ways you can do this and lots of creative, fun ways. A lot of times in the first six weeks, teachers will maybe review all those different ways that you could greet one another. This year, I know as part of the training, those four fabulous trainers that Ms. Schulman mentioned also gave some adaptations for how things could be done now that we have to keep six feet of social distancing. So, you know, we can't do the hand shaking anymore. And some of the greetings that we typically have done in the past had to be a little bit more adapted this year to six feet. 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. Now, not only does this build bonds of a classroom, but it also teaches students how to be active and engaged participants, as well as those skills in presenting and listening to feedback from their classmates when they're asking questions. The group activity portion has lots of flexibility. So it can be seen in an academic activity. It could be seen in a game, which is a little bit more fun, the reciting of a poem. 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. It might be more than one day, but you'll see that the students in the in the classroom as well. 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. And they listen to it collectively as a class, but through audio recording of the story. And so this was happening during the group activity portion of morning meeting. And then finally is the morning message, which the teacher will write to the students. 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. In the bottom picture, this is a kindergarten at the Brooks. You'll see that off to the right a little bit is an easel. It does contain the morning message that the teacher will review right before the close of morning meeting. 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 Responsive classroom is not just for this COVID academic year. Responsive classroom will continue for next year at each elementary school. 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. Part of the schedule just for parents that are on this call that may not be aware is that the morning meeting time 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. We are looking to increase the number of trainers. So maybe if anyone's interested, they could email Stacey Shulman or myself. It's so much fun. 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 the adults are using when they're having conversations with other adults as well as with the students. And then there is more information here at the link for responsive classroom. 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. And Ms. Schulman, thank you very much. And Ms. Schulman and I are ready for any questions that you may have. 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. 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 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 used to seeing and expecting on Fridays, Wednesdays are the commercial day. 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. 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. So parents do have access to go in and edit. 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. 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. As of right now, it's done by the school based secretaries. Got it. And so
[Suzanne Galusi]: Right, so if a parent is not, exactly what Dr. Cushing said. 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. So if it's that they've changed their phone number, their email, there's a typo. I will say there have been instances in the past where families have maybe knowingly or unknowingly um, you know, marked school emails in like spam or something. And so they directly go there or they're directly removed from their emails. 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. Um, Melanie.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, very nice. Anyway, let's see, who else is here? So I do want to say that I just got off the phone with the superintendent who's stuck in traffic. 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 is having the opportunity to be a part of this training. That is the goal. But we do have to start with the pilot so that we can have those pieces built in that Joan was talking about. 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. Thank you very much. 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. So at the elementary, thank you, at the elementary level, we refer to the remote model as the remote academy. That is mostly because at the elementary level, every school building has a remote academy strand that runs within the school building. So for each of the four elementary schools, there is at least one classroom for grades K through five that has the remote academy students present in it. Each remote academy classroom is comprised of Medford Public Schools employees and teachers. That's a big piece where some school systems were unable to house a remote academy for the district using district staff. A lot of them have housed that out to online platforms. And I think it's very important that we've done that with our Medford Public Schools staff. We are continuing to follow the Medford Public Schools remote schedule as it was established on the first day of school. For children that are enrolled in the remote academy, They work with their teacher virtually. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday is a full day of virtual school. And so students log on from 8.30 to 2.30, following the schedule with their teacher. It is a mix of synchronous and asynchronous time. And Wednesday is a half day of virtual school. You can go to the next slide, Dr. Cushing, thank you. So as stated previously, the Elementary Remote Academy schedule began on the first day of school, which was September 15th. That schedule is how all elementary students in Medford Public Schools began the school year. As we all know, we started remotely for a few weeks. That schedule has really not changed. It's been the same schedule that students have been following all along. And even the hybrid, the current hybrid schedule is based off of the remote schedule. 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. Four of those days, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, are mostly synchronous instruction with the teacher. The Wednesday is a mixture of both. So the students start their morning synchronously with the teacher. for about two to three blocks and then finish the day with asynchronous lessons. The academic blocks are aligned by grade level and district wide. 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. That is the consistency through the schools and through the district. There have been two small changes to the remote element, to the remote academy. The first was we had to add three minutes of transition and transitional time between specialist blocks. So specialists meaning art, PE, physical education and technology. This allows both the students and the specialists a little bit of transitional time to go from class to class. 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. There may have been a change in the specialist teacher as the hybrid model came to completion. The staggered, excuse me, hybrid model came to completion at the elementary level. You may go to the next slide, please. And this talks a little bit of our enrollment for both learning models. So you can see it's coded by school. It has all the grade spans listed and it has the enrollment currently for the hybrid and the remote classrooms. You'll notice that some schools have one remote learning academy strand and some schools may have two. This was based on enrollment numbers, which have ebbed and flowed as we began with the first week of school. Requests as mentioned in the dynamic reopening plan that was a collaborative approach to planning, which we involved all stakeholders, teachers, administration, 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 two weeks prior to the end of each marking period. 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. 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. Final decisions for any switch in the models are based on staffing and space availability. As Dr. Edouard-Vincent mentioned in her opening statements, we have really wanted to make sure that we created models that provide families with, as much choice as possible for what is best for their family situation and their children. 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 for the current situation that they are in. 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. Regardless of the model that students are learning in, whether it's hybrid or remote, classrooms right now cannot exceed about 25 students. I will, I know that I believe this is my last slide, but I just want to, yep, thank you very much. 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, All decisions made have the best interest of students at heart. 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. I can alter that chart for you to reflect that.
[Suzanne Galusi]: To be honest, I believe it's a little bit of both. 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, 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. 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. It's just there may have been a shift for some of the remote academy students that they had shifted from their school-based specialists to district-wide Medford public school specialists. It was not a unilateral shift. 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 specialist education from teachers.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. Much agreed. 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. It was mentioned in the superintendent's Friday memo. teachers were well informed about that shift. So they were working with the students about two weeks prior to the transition. 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. 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. And that is not the reason why we had to make that shift. Part of the reason why we had to make that shift was for not only to make sure every student was able to have a specialist educator and not have asynchronous work, but also for 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. And in this scenario, they were unable to join a cohort B or C class for specialists. 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. 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. 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. And I'm sorry. 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 Capitalize on the audience. And I also really appreciate how Jennifer shared about the videos. 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 all of the registration pieces start. 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. I'm okay bumping it all up a little bit. makes sense to me.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, not at all. I think it's up as a link on our website all the time. 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. And there's always a follow-up. 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. And also, if any information is missing through the online registration process, then it's followed up through the employee at the Parent Information Center just so that it can be finalized. But it is a streamlined process, but we do offer both. So if families need some more assistance with the in-person registration, that's also available. OK.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Um, no, I think it's achievable. 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. 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. And the classes and specialists that they have in the cafeteria space and some of that. I mean the logistical nuts and bolts is really 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. 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. Last, during the closure, we had Jack Dempsey, who is a, retired Medford employee. He does a lot of our documentary and our film. And he was very helpful. He went to all four schools and helped us with that video. 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. Great.
[Suzanne Galusi]: No, that's a great idea. I do know that just because from being at the Brooks, that was something that was in the works. As Jenny is aware, we did have a point person through the PTO too, that were working on that. And we had created a frequently asked questions document for parents that was posted on the website, which is something that again, you know, 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. It's a great suggestion, thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I'll send it to her. All right.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good morning, Suzanne Galusi, assistant superintendent of schools for the elementary level.
[Suzanne Galusi]: All right. That's a great question, Bill. So I want to start by saying that The draft dynamic plan is being updated based on community input, educator and administrative input, as well as DESE input. So they've reached out to communities and districts to give us feedback on our plan as well. So we're in the middle of finalizing all of that so that we can submit it by the end of the week. The new deadline for DESE for finalization is this Friday. In that updated plan, which the community will see probably Friday, we have put in for some movement within plans. So, or excuse me, learning models. So we understand that it may not be a fit. for students if they started in hybrid or if they started in remote and wanted to move to a different learning model. We also know that situations may arise in families where you need to switch models. So we have put some language in the updated dynamic plan to reflect that. So basically, a family would put a request in. and we will look at the logistics of it. And the request needs to come in about, we're going to go by the semesters, the marking periods. So another piece is that DESE is requiring that all grading is in place and continues. So the typical grading systems and report cards will start day one. So that kind of lends itself to natural semesters. So that's how we're going to be switching and taking parent requests at that time. 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. So at the elementary level where there are three report cards and a winter break, their date for that first semester is Friday, December 11th, that they would have to put the request in. That gives administration and school buildings the time to work on the logistics so that it could go into effect coming back in January. At the secondary level, two weeks prior to the first semester close is Monday, November 2nd. And then that would go into effect when the new semester starts, which would begin Monday, November 16th. All of this is contingent upon capacity. So we have to look at numbers and we have to look at balance. We also want it to be noted that if a parent is putting in a request for a learning model change, 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. The phases right now go for every two weeks to bring in a new group. 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, will help keep us aligned with our staggered approach. 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. So students that are in the hybrid model, whether you're in elementary or secondary level, a schedule is created for you. If we are forced to close partway through at any time, we will stay in the hybrid model. so that the teachers are the same because the students have already started working with them and a rapport has been set. Depending on the length of the closure, the hybrid teachers will remain the same, but the schedule may shift so that 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. It would mirror a little bit the remote overall schedule. 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. So IEP needs in a remote situation 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. High needs, as Dr. Edouard-Vincent has said many times, includes five protected classes of students. If we're specifically talking about students on an IEP, the high needs are for students where about 75% of their IEP academic needs encompass the school day. 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. So what Joan Bowen is working on with her staff diligently is is coming up with groupings for students. And I would anticipate that you would be hearing something probably in September at some point. Right now, our official first day of school is Wednesday, September 16th. 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. 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. 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 The district is now going to utilize a system called Clever. It is detailed in our dynamic plan and we've even included a link. so that if you would like to find out a little bit more about the Clever platform, you can just click that link. It'll bring you. But what Clever is, is a single stream platform. So using this, every student is issued an email address. And when the students use their Metro Public Schools email address, they just log on to Clever once. And then all of the educational platforms that Metro Public Schools will be using at every level will be housed in Clever. And so all students will need to do is click on the icon that they need. 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. 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? Yeah.
[Suzanne Galusi]: I was rolling. So we want parents to select the learning plan that works for their family and for their children. So it is the intent that Medford public educators will teach either the hybrid learning model or the remote learning model. How those teachers will be selected is a decision that needs to be made in collaboration with the teachers association. And so we don't have those answers yet. in terms of 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. And those school-based teams were the second part of this planning phase. And so we had to wait until the school committee decision, which was just last Thursday. So this is the first week. that the school based teams are getting up and running. 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, as well as families that Dr. Cushing mentioned. But within those 10 days, we have earmarked three of them for orientation purposes at every level. So regardless if your family has chosen the hybrid learning model, 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. 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. 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. Do you want me to go back?
[Suzanne Galusi]: Okay. So just to briefly answer Megan's question, some of those decisions have somewhat been made for us through the Department of Education. So they released some standards regarding specialists or fine arts classes. So in particular, as of right now, music classes cannot occur indoors. 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. The physical education requirements. They have given a different set of requirements when you're outdoors. 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. And those could be opportunities for mask breaks for students. But if students are six feet or closer, of course, masks have to be worn even during a physical education class. 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. 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. And at the secondary level, it just means that they're trying to cluster them so that there's not too much movement. but we're also looking at having some of those classes be done virtually.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Galusi. Yes, thank you. In closing, I just want to echo what Dr. Edouard Vincent said that, you know, the continued partnership with you is essential moving forward. And so everyone on this call here today, Tom, Peter, Maurice, myself, we're all parents as well. 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. And I think it's just important for everyone to know that because we're with you. And so moving forward to continue that partnership, I think it's very important that you continue to reach out. 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. We're here to partner with you and to help you in any way we can. 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%. I think that's just important to note. So we're at 1.3, significantly below 5%. Right.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, sure. So I think the draft schedule that was in the plan was just like a broad overview of how things could possibly look. And you're right that Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday has more of a typical school day schedule. Wednesday right now has the half day. schedule. So the next phase of the work that we have to do will be to fine tune and come up with those specific details. 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. I don't have a specific answer at this time because we still need people to come back and do that fine detail work. 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 doing live synchronous learning. 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. 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. And so right now, as Dr. Cushing had mentioned, the survey is still going. So we have about 1,700 responses. We have to wait and see what those numbers look like in terms of how many families want the remote option fully. We also then have to look based on those families where the breakdown is per grade. So of course we do not want a remote class to be to have high numbers, but it may not have the numbers that a hybrid class would when they're in person. But what we would probably frame it on is what is a typical class size of about 20 students. 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? 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. 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. 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. And we would encourage you to still do so. 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. So our intent is to keep families together. which includes blended families as well. 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. 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 A vocational teacher was assigned to the hybrid group. I'm not quite sure what happened, but did not participate in the planning for the group. 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. And that's why the link was embedded in that dynamic plan for both the hybrid and the remote model.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, yes. 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. They will continue with the hybrid schedule and educators that they started with. Now, 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. I hope that answers their question. 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. Everyone right here answering these questions and on this StreamYard session, we're all parents. We all have more than one child. We all know how different they can be as learners and as little people and big people. I know I have two completely different students as children. 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. And for entering kindergarten, depending on what their 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. 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. But the work that's going to start with the teams next week to fine tune these plans, is going to have representation from each level. 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. So I do apologize that I don't have a more exact specific answer for you, it's coming. but it's definitely going to be a developmental approach.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Sure, I think that's very important. I think I'll start there, Tom. 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. no matter what plan. 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. 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. during those 10 days that the Department of Education has given each district, we're going to spend time. 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. And it's going to be around the hybrid model, as well as the remote model, as well as the safety precautions and protocols. So the hybrid, when the students are in the building, We're going to, as close as we can, have it mirror what it's like for them when they're in school. Now, granted, there are certain things that aren't going to be the same. So desks may not be in clusters. They may be separated so that we're keeping the social distancing that we need to keep at six feet. If they're science tables, they're going to have to be at each end if that is six feet. the school-based teams are going to handle what the schedules look like for transitions in hallways to keep it at a minimum. So there'll be a little bit less moving than the secondary students are used to. And that also includes like lunch routines and bathroom routines. So we know that each building is slightly different, and even due to enrollment numbers, a lunch schedule at the Columbus Elementary may look different than at the Roberts Elementary. 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. I can answer, like I know in elementary, lunch will probably take place in the classroom with than the students going outside for recess. It might look a little different though at the secondary level. 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. So thank you. 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. That was one of the biggest pieces. So consistency in the expectations for learning for their students at every level and at every department. and consistency with the scheduling. So that was what we wanted. We really wanted to make sure we covered both of those areas. 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. 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. We gave you a little sampling in the dynamic plan. We will have more of the details of that once we work through them collectively with the teachers.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, I like that. 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. Because we do know that some students are going to need a more individualized approach to help them navigate the remote pieces. 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. 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. So I would still encourage 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. Right. 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. Thank you, Dr. Cushing. That's one of the things that we are working to finalize right now. Part of the discussion would be that we are thinking of breaking up the decision into semesters. Similarly, not maybe exactly like the grading goes, but maybe just one or two semesters. We understand that things, this whole, as Dr. Cushing mentioned, this whole situation is fluid. And so we know that family decisions are also going to be fluid and that some plans may not work for all students. So we're going to be collecting data every four to six weeks for various things. But one of the points that we're going to target is how the plans are working for students and for families. So a final decision and more information for that will be made available soon.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes. That is something that we are also in the process of coordinating between all the schools and our data management person, Kim Miles, so we are going to ensure that families, we're giving families choice. 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. 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. 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. 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. So that is asynchronous lessons that teachers have prepared will be blocks of time that are either independent to work on assignments ongoing, 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. The opposite of that is synchronous, which means live lessons that the teacher does virtually in real time with his or her students. 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. If not, hopefully that's helpful. 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. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, and I'm just going to piggyback on that. 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. And I just felt that that was important to say. In terms of the remote model, 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. as close as possible mirror a typical school day. 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. So at every level, we have worked with our teams to create remote schedules that as close as we can align to a typical school day. 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. and finishing somewhere, depending on the level, about 2 p.m. Anybody wants to chime in, they can. Hopefully that answers your question.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, correct. 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. 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. 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 socially distant, safe outdoor opportunities for students to meet their teachers. That is something that is definitely on our radar. 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. That's something that we are speaking with the teachers association with. So nothing has been determined on that yet. 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. So 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. What that exactly will look like, we could not answer that right now. It would be dependent on the hybrid, so that when your child is in school during their hybrid days, We're looking into how we can keep the cohorts together so that we can offer after school to the families that are enrolled. 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. So we value that. 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. Once Kim generates, using her platform, the numbers, Dr. Cushing will just read them out loud. And then we will email them to you later.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Cue music. 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. 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. but maybe not doing the work consistently. So we're monitoring the academic piece, but the social emotional is definitely the first. 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. Thank you.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Yeah, you're welcome.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Good evening, that would be me, Suzanne Galussi, Principal of the Brooks. The E in our ACES core objectives stands for equity. Within education, the term equity means that every student will get what they need. 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. We have four initiatives to address this objective. Please remember that these initiatives are a work in progress. 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. To encompass a growth mindset, this initiative has expanded our focus beyond just RTI, which stands for response to intervention. So in other words, an MTSSE system is not just limited to interventions. It also focuses on meeting the social, emotional, and physical needs of our learners. The second initiative is to use data from ongoing assessments to support teaching and learning in order to close the achievement gap. This will be a comprehensive approach within school buildings and throughout the district. Promote and enhance the activities and resources that address the needs of the whole child. It should be noted that when addressing the needs of the whole child, we're looking at the complete picture of what that means. And that will encompass multiple intelligences, athletics, fine arts, et cetera. And to promote the health and wellness of students. When students are happy and healthy and their needs are met, they're ready to learn. 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? And so RTI fits underneath. So we're not dropping RTI, but RTI is more academic based, and it focuses on what students need academically. 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. So in addition to RTI.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. Thank you very much. I just want to take a minute to thank Mr. Belson, Madam Mayor, Ms. Caldwell, Ms. Nelson, and the members of the school committee for this wonderful opportunity to be the principal of the Brooks School. It is a very special night for me as a the student of the Brooks School myself. When I look back at my elementary years, I have very fond memories. And as Mr. Bellson stated, almost 20 years as an educator in the Medford public school system, I'm truly honored. And I guess you could say I've come full circle. These past four years at the Brooks, I've really learned firsthand what a wonderful community it is at that school. Parents, families, and staff. really come together and they embody the word community and they work together to collaborate and to educate, to support, to encourage. 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. I really appreciate it.
[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you.