welcome to the Holy Oak Public School committee's regular meeting it is June 10th Monday and we are opening up the meeting at 6:10 p.m. roll call please mayor Garcia here miss fave present Mr Romero Miss tensley Williams present Dr Rivera cologne here Dr cavayero Roa Mr wellan here Mr Kore here Miss Wilson here and we have our student rep from uh the Holio High School Dean campus um if there's no objection we're not going to move into the the Pledge of Allegiance as we just did it um 10 minutes ago uh with our public budget so um I'm just going to go ahead and move on to the same appeal that we say every week every every meeting so on March 29th 2023 Governor Healey signed into law and act relative to extending certain state of emergency accommodations which among other things extends the expiration of the provisions pertaining to the open meeting law to March 31st 2025 specifically this extension allows public bodies to continue holding meetings remotely without a quorum of the public body physically present at a meeting location and to to provide adequate alternative access to remote meetings the ACT does not make any new changes to the open meeting law other than extending the expiration date of the temporary Provisions regarding remote meetings from March 31st 2023 to March 31st 2025 so notice is hereby given in accordance with chapter 28 of the acts of 2009 section 17- 20 of the Massachusetts general laws at a regular meeting of the Holo school committee will be held on June 10th I wasn't supposed to read that one I don't even know why I did that I really like the whole page pursuant to Mass General laws chapter 38 section 20 I hereby this is the one that I'm I needed to say I'm hereby informing all attendees that a video and audio recording is being made of the city of the meeting and the meeting is being live streamed and run live on the city's Community TV channel so with that said we're going to go ahead and move into our student showcase which is none other than McMahon school good evening everyone my name is Karen mcdermit I am the principal principal at McMahon school and tonight I am very excited and proud to share some of our art from McMahon school and just to give you a little background information um Emma Pascarella is our art teacher at McMahon and she was a first grade teacher at Sullivan school and when she asked to become an art teacher this year we brainstormed ways to bring different content areas into art because she has such a vast knowledge so she brings in ela math music everything into her art classes they are amazing um there's music playing all of the time there's books being read all the time and there's art happening all the time so it's really awesome so I wanted to take a minute to have her share some of the work with some of our students thank you for inviting us um like Karen said I'm Emma Pas I've been part of Holy Oak Public Schools since 2020 right at the pandemic and so um I've been a teacher since 2005 in elementary schools across the Northeast um and my background is an art I studied um almost was a major in art at Smith college but then found education my senior year and really just found a way to put everything together and so when the opportunity came to become an art teacher I was super excited so um we focused on the elements of art the basics of art this year and looking at different artists through history through a variety of cultures around the world to make make sure that everybody could see what art can bring to the world and my primary focus was making sure that children had a voice and a choice in how they wanted to present their art I taught them how to use materials I taught them how to apply different elements and they created what they wanted to within the materials that I taught so we began the year with self-portraits and we concluded the year with self-portraits so I have some of these end of year self-portraits did you want to start Cor I know they're a little nervous I didn't realize we were going to be on TV you want me to hold it okay so this is cor's self-portrait and tell us what you concluded in the background Hello Kitty yeah you love Hello Kitty right what do you remember what materials you used for um I used Sharpie you used Sharpie which is very exciting and then how did you get the I used temper paint temp P did you like making the selfportrait yes thank you for sharing cor here's some other selfportrait [Applause] easy so cor's in first Kaden and you were inspired by an artist can I hold your beautiful piece so this is Kaden's beautiful artwork and do you remember the name of the artist who inspired you um who inspired me was Yayo Yayo kusama right in her dot so tell us what you used what's your what's your favorite material my favorite material that I use is um paint and what what is it about this that is very y like that she loved to use circles and to me I love to use circles too so I used it like her okay so this is Michaela's self-portrait and Michaela you used a lot of materials in this do you remember some of the materials you used I use I used paint yeah and then what oil pastels even use finger paints in this too yeah so use mixed media for this right lots of different pieces so why did you choose these elements to to show in yourself for because there's stuff that makes me happy yeah and you're a happy girl look at this amazing thank you Michaela you did it and the fifth grade pres um presenter we have I twisted her um she's my daughter these are the self-portraits these are the self-portraits so we're starting with self-portraits so this is Winnie's self-portrait here you want to you're tall yeah you're tall um so do you want to tell us yeah about how you created yours what did you start with uh I started with painting like my skin and my hair and then I ripped up a magazine and it it's collage CU there's things that I feel like describes to me like I love these animals and I like lots of colors so I um throughout the year we looked at the different um elements of art and created projects based on them and so when we studied texture here what did we what did we do to study texture can I hold your beautiful weaving here you want to sit down because you're tall too all my rest of my friends are tall so what did you make I made a weaving and is it just in blanket or what did you create so so like for the back I used oil pastel trying to go for like where those nighttime paintings at the back then um at the front I started the weaving I got help for the for this like the we created a loom right mhm and I got help for this part and then the rest I did by my I I did by myself and I chose these colors because I think they just really suit me Bravo Natalia worked asked to keep this when she didn't have art and worked on it and finished it even when wer art that week right um when we studied form we used clay and Charles the fifth grader aren't as excited to to talk but and this we had a we had a a tragedy happen it did break in a couple of pieces but we'll fix it but um you chose not to create a form of something do you remember what type of art that is I used um abstract art to make this cuz I didn't I wasn't really thinking of anything when I made it yeah I just put a bunch of clay pieces together and put a lot of different colors on it yeah it fun yeah it was really fun to make you know trying to create a situation where even if you aren't you know a self-proclaimed artist you can still find ways toess that's uh our showcas we might have oh we have a on come over that is um a picture of me in um a city and it's night time and um I picked the nighttime and there's um buildings and I made a street to look pretty and um those are my glasses and um and my pretty dress beautiful dress and Grace you were one of the first first graders to fill the space right why did you choose to fill the space so it looked like it was actually um a city thank you so much for sharing thank you [Applause] that was awesome is there any comments questions mayor Garcia just simply to Emma thank you good work thank you for the time and work you're putting into these kids and all our kids um and for sticking with us in the school district uh you know I obviously we talk a lot about it how important art is we don't really like these are the things that the public doesn't get to see in what happens in our school district and you just kind gave us a little bit of a taste of what does go on in our school district and um obviously I just want you to know how much I appreciate you doing what it is you're doing and for sticking with us sticking with our kids here in the city of Holio and to the parents of these kids thank you as well um uh very much again like it's it's a a lot of work here a lot of us at this side of the table we are fighting hard to really you know try to understand what make what how we can make our district the best that it can be um and we hear a lot of rhetoric out there in our community about our school district but there's so much good that's happening that people don't get to hear about and um you know obviously we have teachers like Emma and the parents that are out in our audience that are a testament uh to um what we have to offer here at Holio public school so thank you it's such an important piece of learning and just creates you know we talk so much about hearing student voice and student agency and it really is just such a natural opportunity for students to express themselves and to dive deep into the learning that interests them so it's a it's an absolute pleasure to take on this role good job kids Mr Kennedy first of all good job to all the students who came up here and talked I have been in this position for three years and I still get anxious talking um so good job also I was I went to McMahon school for nine years k through eight and my favorite class was Art so I'm kind of I'm glad to see that it was continuing and that students still enjoy it just as much as I did when I was there I know I saw some hands Mr cmore yes first of all thank you very very much for coming here this evening and bringing these wonderful children here to show off their art and we really appreciate it very much I know over the years our budget thought very carefully about cutting this cutting this cutting this but here in know city of oor we had the diligence to work things out and keep these things in the budget and it's so important not just not just for the students here but our whole Community to know that these things are going on in the city of oil and I'm really proud like to thank Mr stto and our director for coming up with an excellent budget and uh I'm very proud of all of you is there any other comment uh Miss tensley Williams and then Miss Wilson you guys sparked my interest I'm an arts and crafts person so maybe I'll come over to the school and show the kids a few things thank you for coming oh we love you all so much okay Miss Wilson so I think it's interesting how not just the beautiful artwork but how they could speak to the artwork talks about how you're incorporating not just just the creation but the education around the art which is an essential part knowing its mixed media knowing what type of uh painting you used you know why did you fill the space up things of that sort and I I really want to acknowledge the fact that you were teaching the entire student around art and using such a wide variety of methods and I think it's wonderful that you're incorporating content as well so thank you thank you all anyone else yeah we can go ahead and clap thank you so much and Coraline somebody was really happy to see you this evening thank you again for coming out and great job everyone was there any public comment uh submitted electronically I see no one has signed up no anybody here for public comment on anything on the agenda nope okay so we're going to go ahead and move on to communication and reports student reports I don't see a representative from the north campus so we're going to go ahead and move in with the dean campus so Mr Kennedy all right first things first campaign and continues for student government for school year 24 through 25 elections for the 10th 11th and 12th grade student government will be held this Friday um on June 14th through a Google form that the government advisers will only have access to and their leadership will start the first day of school next school year the ninth grade student government however will be elected in the fall and the winners will be announced June 20th uh my my campaign stickers on my laptop um our 11th grade argument and rhetoric students took a class trip to Salem Massachusetts last Friday with our teachers Kate sand mki Matt Begley Brian Cannon and English coach kayy Burger uh we went yes we went as a part of our unit on The Crucible to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials the trip was a massive success and we hope we can do that for future classes as well the equity team has raised a flag for pride month all week they held um Infinity circles for the students during lunch and other fun activities final exams are this week with halfday Wednesday Thursday and Friday as well as next Monday which is June 17th and last but not least on June 12th at 5:30 CTE will be having its endof Year celebration with the Pac and gak to discuss success successes and feedback for the future of Career and Technical education anybody have any questions from Mr Kennedy no all right so we're going to go ahead and move on I don't have any reports so we'll move on to uh the superintendent receiver reports assessment platform change yeah and I want to invite Rebecca up Rebecca Thompson up if that's okay with the uh school committee to that is that all right or a motion I'm here reading the um so do we have a a motion to or to suspend the rules and allow make the motion to suspend the rules second second okay motion to suspend uh hearing no objection go right ahead yeah so I I just wanted to provide an update with um uh some new new developments that have come up for next year um you know one of the things that we wanted to do or one of the things that we are going to do is we're getting rid of the AET platform as an assessment tool and um and that's based on you know we've had it for a couple years now and we've been getting a lot of feedback on on on the use of it and um you know reflecting on that feedback led to a process that that uh Rebecca Thompson led to make sure that we're you know we're we're using the right platform and that it's it's one that's going to help really support teaching be responsive to to students and and what they can do and she can you know it's in your packet the the process that we went through the platform that we're going to and I'll just let Rebecca back uh speak to that there we go um so the letter is in your packet the memo that shares all the information so I really am here to answer any questions that you may have we um anet served us well for a couple of years but we could certainly use closer alignment um for our students and for our teachers it doesn't feel good to sit with an assessment where you maybe haven't been taught those standards yet or as a teacher feeling like these scores aren't where I I want to see them be and that's because I haven't taught it yet but my students had to take this assessment so the DNA platform within Renaissance it offers a few things for us one it offers us alignment with star so all of our student data like Star offers our screening our progress monitoring and we'll be able to build a comprehensive system using the DNA platform within the same thing so it's ease of use for our students to be able to more easily access and for our teachers to be able to see all of the data in one place and utilize that star um Renaissance and DNA the DNA piece they're custom building our assessment so we've given them our scope and sequence documents rather than trying to adjust our curriculum and how we teach to fit an assessment that's being given they are custom building based on um our schedule of assess you know standards that we're we're teaching in addition to that um this offers for our teachers a streamlined piece there's Banks of thousands and thousands of questions so if they want at any time to um create a quick two question assessment for our students that will be easily scored and graded right in the system they can do that um to like di dipstick a standard um there's also ability to take an assessment from for example uh illustrative math and upload it right into so it could be a unit test that goes right into the DNA platform and students can take it there having enhanced features such as drag and drop like they'll see on mcast more exposure to those pieces where typically we don't have that ability and and our students don't get a lot of exposure to that throughout the school year so it allows for customization it allows um it's also and I don't know but fiscally responsible for us as well so um our anet contract was quite High to build our custom assessments with DNA it's still an initial upfront cost it's still but is less expensive the differen is after they're built next year they go right into a bank and become ours so if we want to make any adjustments to them modifications because teachers have reflected and think well I I actually would like to teach this in this particular order they'll be able to make those adjustments and we don't have to we own them we don't have to um pay for further customization or anything like that so there'll be a bank of resources is it's all in one place it streamlines another key feature is that U our interventionists will use use this often to progress monitor so a classroom teacher will be able to see when they go in for both their the the initial star piece where we're progress monitoring doing our screening um and the DNA piece with standards they'll get a comprehensive View and be able to see what an interventionist um has progress monitored in the results there so it really is making for more comprehensive streamlined ease of use piece it's not adding any additional testing I sat here earlier this year and presented um the district based assessments make up less than 1% of time on learning for students that's not changing it's the same amount it's three times a year that our students will take U the interm Assessments in the DNA platform that are common across the district and then their teachers can use it as I said for all of these other purposes that help inform instruction within the classroom I know we have a question from Miss Wilson yes so I'm wondering how um first of all I I appreciate the fact that interventionists can use it for Progress monitoring um does that also apply to special education teachers could do some progress monitoring as well it does and um our pupil services department is bringing in new curriculum for all of our special Educators where we haven't had it in the past so there are progress monitoring pieces built in but they can absolutely utilize Star as well okay and then secondarily um you know while the the time for a student to take it has not changed I'm just wondering is it um how do I want to say this more userfriendly for educators to dive uh quickly into the data rather than spending much time with little benefit from and I'm going to say that that's from my personal experience using anet um it wasn't very userfriendly on the educator end so this is a lot more user friendly and I think we we could have waited and taken our time to transition like over the course of another year used anet for one more year and because of the ease of use because it's in a platform our teachers already know how to navigate we know this won't be a really heavy lift and in real time you can start to see the distractors are right there it's it's very easy to access those pieces great thank you so much Miss tensley Williams now the district assessment you said three times a year um four times would be quarterly so do you know which month the uh yes we have a full assessment calendar built out additionally um we've always put out an assessment calendar that has here's the the range of dates that you have to give this assessment within um we are building out a full assessment plan a comprehensive one that says here's the assessment here's why we take it here's how we utilize the data so that we can be able to see those we have the the date bands already identified for those interim assessments and we get a copy of it yeah it's it should be on the district website but I can I can share that certainly Dr Rivera colog first of all thank you for listening to the feedback AET was not popular with almost any person I ever talked to in the Holy Public Schools so I'm excited about that but I'm sure that there was a reason why we picked it in the first place I'm not say that that's the case but that wasn't the case but definitely I'm excited to see it move to something I one thing that I want to highlight is that in it was a lot like we are the golden standard these are the things that you should do to allow your students to get to where they need to be and Renaissance and this is just by scanning both of the websites and everything right um taking time and kind of like looking through because I'm a nerd and that's what I do um the Renaissance DNA felt like they trust the teachers more in what they should be assessing and they're just providing the tools to get you to do that faster we'll see what the teachers think afterwards but at least from I can see how making this move Mak sense um and also my question that is always the question that I asked Mr SoDo what is the plan to assess is this the right move did it really work yeah I think we're sitting here today because it's a a commitment to respond to that like we could have very well said like let's give it another year and you know in fact I was very much like what when I first heard this and you know Rebecca was open and honest and said Anthony and good conscious like like why wait another year like we have to do this it makes sense for our teachers it makes sense for our students and I immediately supported that and said like we have to make sure that we bring this to the school committee so like I just like that scenario I you know as long as I'm in this role I'm not going to do something that that doesn't make sense and we're always going to listen to feedback and we're always going to include the school committee in uh along the way and we're always going to collect feedback from teachers and sometimes that just means uh uh you know what what I like about this platform is it really adapts to to what our needs are versus like anet was anet and it was there and and that was what it was um you know like Rebecca just named it if it didn't align to our scope and sequence if it you know there was sometimes kids were getting assessed on standards that haven't been taught yet um we actually have the ability to customize it and there's a heavy implementation at first that that involves like giving them what our curriculum is so that then they can build out the assessments that are aligned to that to that curriculum which I really appreciate and actually it was stuff that came up in this committee right like you know you know how come we're not using assessments that are right from our curriculum like I I remember that comment specifically so um you know we're you know I I would say that we are going to uh take this this really seriously we're going to monitor it closely and and um my goal is to just make it better every year and if it's not the right tool then you know we have to we have to evaluate that and listen to our teachers and listen to what people are saying and and and make decisions that you know that that sometimes are difficult you know I say that because this is going to be a huge lift on Rebecca and Rebecca's team and there's a whole implementation plan there's a lot of professional development the good thing is is our teachers are comfortable with the platform already ready but Rebecca uh is acknowledged like I wouldn't be coming to you and telling you if this wasn't the right thing because it's actually a ton of work for me and a ton of work for our team but it's the right thing to do for our teachers and for our students thank you and thank you so much Rebecca any other questions comments oh Mr Kennedy he has a different light to um supero I know you've been get this is like the second meeting in a row that I don't have criticism and I'm uh I know it's it's it's a new change it's a change um but thank you very much for this uh Miss Thompson for um for for your work on this I have been I think openly against aets um and the testing that goes on in this District since my time has started on this commit um so I appreciate that you are responding to words from students from teachers um and I have not looked at it personally but Dr a cologne said that it puts a lot more um it's much more teacher focused which is a huge thing because another thing I've said is that often the teachers don't feel like they have a whole lot of power in what they're teaching so if that really is changing then thank you very much um and and I appreciate all the work that is being done yeah thank you car no other questions comments thank you again um for coming up and oh wait superintendent soda I just wanted to respond to Evan Evan please don't ever feel like look your your voice is important on this body and you know regardless how people feel about whatever you're saying like don't ever filter yourself um I never take it you know like there's going to be things that we don't agree on like you know I there's definitely going to be things that I don't agree with all members of the school committee but it doesn't it it doesn't uh doesn't mean that you can't express yourself and and say those things so don't ever feel like you know you have to provide praise to me or that if you are providing criticism that I'm going to take it personally like I you know I have some really good people were around me making what I believe to be the right decisions and and they're putting in a lot of work and some people may not agree with it and some people may have different opinions but you know at the end of the day the one thing that I can say and and it's it's grounded in in everything that I do is that students are at the center of every decision that we make and this is based on that yes it it is another assessment it's not like we're eliminating testing and I know you and I will will probably never agree on that right like I I do think you know I I have a a son myself he's 12 years old he's in middle school and I see the amount of stress that he he is um on when he he has an assessment or when he has but I appreciate that I love the fact that he cares deeply enough that it affects him and that he wants to do good and and as a parent I have to be there for him and talk to him about those feelings and tell him why it's important um to to to uh you know to have that like to that competitiveness in him that he wants to do good um so I like I do appreciate you know what this does and and you know I don't school is not about in in my opinion and this might not be popular but it's not about making just making things easier like life I tell this to all of our graduates the most important thing that we have to do is teach you how to deal with hard because life is hard it never gets easy and it might not be what you're learning in ela it might not be what you're learning in math but what I like about those things is that it gives you problems you have to think about how to solve those problems and when you're done with that you're getting better at solving hard things and life is going to continue to throw those things at you and I think like like I said it's one of the most important things that we teach students how to push through persevere through hard thank you well thank you again um we're GNA go ahead and move thank you we're gonna move to new business um 5A summer programming for HPS it was an FYI just so you guys were aware what are the different programs that are available by when families um should sign up as especially to ensure that Transportation my Mr wallan thank you yeah um this is a topic that I was kind of bringing up during the co years whether you know even the summer school should have been mandated I wish it could have been I think I asked that question that said no so um you know I think it's important that um that we have these programs um do we provide trans ation last year or in the past for these programs um whenever so we provide transportation for for anything that's required as part of the extended year program in a students IEP so like whatever we're legally mandated to provide we do and then other transportation is provided based on availability of funding and we've been in we've been in a position uh due to the you know our Extended Learning grants that we have our 21st century grants uh that we we've been able to provide uh some Transportation yeah I mean just you know I like to make it easier as possible when the parents you know just uh promote this program okay thank you any other questions um are spots filling up pretty quickly that um yeah we're we're um you know we're monitoring the registration we do anticipate you know a a good enrollment this year um it's been positive we're you know we even have folks from other districts and Charters trying to join the those programs but we're obviously prioritizing and and making sure that anybody that is in Holo Public Schools is and and that is interested in applying that there they get that opportunity and you know staffing has been has also been um going well like we're in the process of going through the hiring process and all the reports that I've gotten both on um registrations and staffing has been positive um so even with the special education and um other services so speech therapy or whatever are we are we good with that um are we still foreseeing that there may be some lapse in Services because of Staffing um not not as part of the summer programming no okay and then my last question is are we doing the that summer meal the meals at the yes we're going to be doing the summer meal program across the city using our um the food service truck that we have okay Miss tensley Williams I'm gonna make this quick um there was something that Mrs SoDo said excuse me in the May 28th meeting that we had budget proposed budget and uh some of the things he said stuck in my mind and I just want to say it it says students number one it says students are at the center of everything we do every child can and will learn student our school is a joyful Place Discovery support and belonging students and staff hold high expectations for themselves and each other trusting relationships lead to successful Partnerships our equ commitments are enacted in our daily work that stuck out in my mind and I really needed to repeat that thank you for listening thank you so hearing no more we're going to go ahead and move into uh 5B school committee policies uh we I'm going to pass this over to uh the super superintendent stto yeah I I asked to add these to agenda simply to have the discussion in sub committ committee around these two policies we we have and there's uh sub bullets underneath that so there's a policy around student fees and fines that I found um in our school committee policies and there's a policy around vandalism and the reason I bring that up is because we have a problem like you know the reality is is that um you know we're we're making significant Investments almost $2 million in our Chromebooks um to make sure that all students in grades C five have brand new CH Chromebooks next year and I think that we've been we've had the luxury of and I don't even want it a a luxury but we have uh been blessed with the Esser Federal funding and have been in a place where I feel like we've gotten way too far away with holding students um making sure we're using this as an opportunity to teach students responsibility and taking care of of of their own property and taking care of SPO school property so we've had a lot of discussion about um making sure that we we we actually start really applying these policies in practice both with two things one of them being the Yonder bags which um you know the the old model for Yonder bags was that we had one fee for the contract and it didn't matter how many bags got broke broken or lost or stolen or whatever the case may be we would just send it in they'd send the replacement and the new model is actually causing the district a lot of money so when when uh you know we actually have to pay for each individual Yonder bag so I see this you know we we're having a lot of conversation at the district level about uh accountability amongst ourselves and about making sure we're following through on the things that we're saying we're going to do um you know I hear from members of the community and from some of you you know when it comes to um I I hate to use the the word accountability but you know making sure that we're we're we're we're um upholding our responsibility to teach kids right from wrong and and teach kids responsibility in addition to everything else that we have to do I had the opportunity to meet with our student cabinet as well um I brought our Middle School cabinet and I brought our high school cabinet together here in the dean campus and uh we were able to break bread in The Culinary uh department they The Culinary students cooked the meal for for us and this was the one agenda topic that we talked about you know next year we want to make sure that hey we're we're being we're we're holding ourselves a little bit accountable to like both the student devices and the Yonder bags what do you feel about that and the overwhelming uh majority of students just felt like yeah that's the right thing to do but if we're going to do that like you know it's not fair you know that the device that I get is not the one that I'm using every day like 10 different students use it so how are you going to hold me accountable as a student to that device so we have to come up with a process where like each student gets a device um and you know at the beginning of the day and it's the same device that they're getting every day and around yanders there was some um discussion about like sometimes they're cheap and they break by themselves in no way is this ever intended for like if you accidentally break a Chromebook or accident break uh you know a Yonder bag like you're in trouble it's really about teaching students responsibility and these two policies allow us to to go back to that um and I want to make sure we have some rich discussion in our um policy subcommittee about making sure that we have the support of the school committee to move forward with that I think it's the right thing to do I keep hearing from teachers it's the right thing to do I've heard from students that it's the right thing to do and um you know uh this is one of those things I'd like to move forward with but also uh along with all of you I I was just trying to tell you that I was trying to click on that restitution draft summary and it kept giving me that error so it's just that we I couldn't can't pull it oh I can I have it so you were able I'm able to get into it yes okay so the Miss Wilson so you know one thing when I was looking through this I'm going to be a stickler and say it uses the term policy under Holio Public Schools grade uh 6 through 12 Chromebook it's um so just again want to clarify that uh the school committee is the only one can develop policies the district itself is creating procedures guidelines things of that sort um my first question is what changed with Yonder um where we were going um you know with the fact that uh we had Replacements all the time and now it's limited and now we're being charged for every one what what happened their pricing structure that that's on them like when we when we went to renew the contract they they basically let us know that their price structure was changing so um you know we we want to extend the pilot to next year but after next year we really got to make a decision as to whether or not that's you know that yonder bags is something that we want to continue I still you know there's still uh you know no cell phone use allowed in school in classrooms and stuff like that it doesn't have to be Yonder Yonder is just a tool that helps us cor enforce that so there are other models out there right now we want to continue with the pilot again for for next year um there was a lot of lessons learned in in the current year um and uh this this this being one of them like personal accountability on and and you know making sure that that students are taking care of of their property what's the cost per Yonder bag replacement uh is it 20 bucks okay yeah and then um you know when reading through the um the procedure as to check in and check out it seems like it's going to be a time consuming process um for someone to review every single device on a daily basis to make sure uh that there has been no damage so who is going to be do the doing the inspection and will be will it be in front of students so they cannot say well so that they have to own their accountability let's put it that way those are details we haven't worked out so like we have to have a checkin checkout process we haven't we haven't designed what that looks like but we got to work with our deans of management and Ops and our school leaders to come up with a plan but ideally you know a student would come in in the morning either to a community space or to their home room and they'd they'd take their device and they'd have it with them throughout the entire day so they'll be able to as opposed to like what we do have right now now is there is a Chromebook cart in every classroom and students can access it and you know sometimes they'll go access it and some of them are broken we don't know who broke it any of that so like with this I think what students appreciated most is like this is my device it's going to be the same device every day but those hard the the hard part about this is how do you navigate that when kids aren't taking it home it's different in a community where like families sign either an insurance policy or they you know they sign a contract with the district and they get a Chromebook at the beginning of the year they take it home and do all that like we're not we're not there yet um eventually that that would be a place where we could go but we have to we have to start somewhere um and and I think this is a good place to start like kids get a Chromebook they keep it during the day and they turn it in somewhere um but especially with middle schoolers it's going to be challenging because and and anywhere we're departmentalized so I would say anything third fourth fifth grade and above um you may start the day in your home room class but you might finish in gym class right like how how is that process going to look like when do you turn in your Chromebook do you end a class five minutes early to go do that do do we have a community space for that to happen so those are some details and Logistics that we have to work out so I just want to reminder we're we're just getting a followup on the cost oh brand new $30 for a replacement cost for a Yonder bag so these items were put on um for a vote to refer to policies and governance so is there a motion to refer to policy and governance so I have um I have a motion by Mr colore seconded by tensley Miss tensley Williams any discussion Miss tensley Williams the question that I have for you Mr SoDo um don't you have something like it may not work for the lower grades but ass signing in or sign out sheet whoever took the um property they need to sign for it and when they turn it back in like somebody inspected they turned it back in it's in good shape turn it back in because if you don't have a sign in and sign out you won't know who who broke it or whatever who had it last I mean that's simple I think that'll be addressed when when there's only one student that has the device right it's not right now um Evan can go from one class to the next and he might know depending on how many periods are in the day and whether or not there's devices being used he'll get like four different devices in one day and then tomorrow tomorrow they might be completely different devices the next time he goes in so like what we're trying to do is move towards you know at the beginning of the you have an assigned device and you check it in and check it out and some of the details that you're asking about Miss tensley Williams we we have to work out Mr Kennedy um I was just gonna add to what superintendent stto said yeah like we can we have we take a different computer every time we go to a class and often when we do that like we don't have we don't have time we have to grab the computer we have to sign in and then we have to start a lesson it takes us like five to 10 minutes just to get into the computer um and to get to where we need to go so it's not really efficient to take a computer sign it out go in where we need to go and then before we end the class sign it back in um so I think that this this idea is feasible and uh definitely more helpful but as of right now there's no like sign in sign out process because that wait um it wouldn't it wouldn't be timely hearing no further discussion um all those in favor to refer both policies ecac vandalism and JQ student fees fines and charges along with subcategories restitution draft summary and draft copy Chromebook Yonder procedure two policies in governance all those in favor say I I any opposed any abstain motion passes unanimously we're going to go ahead and move on to ongoing business um if there's a motion to take I can make a motion to take as a group take as a package so approval of the meeting minutes um we have a motion by Miss Wilson seconded by by no she wasn't doing a second by Mr wahan to take uh 513 meeting minutes 528 school committee meeting minutes and 520 the school committee special meeting minutes um any discussion Dr Rivera cologne I wasn't here for the 513 so I'm gonna abstain for that one that's okay so if we could take that one separate do you want to take separate okay so is is there a Amendment to the motion yes like make amend to take them separately second so now we have an amendment to the motion so on on the amendment any dis 513 separate but the other two are still together the other two will be together that's the amendment so on the amendment is there a second we have a second by Mr Walland any discussion all those in favor on the amendment I I okay motion passes any any no I even just lost track okay now take a vote on the motion which is now is to take a vote on the 513 13 full committee meeting me now I'm mumbling now I need a motion on the 513 school committee meeting make a motion to approve the 513 2024 school committee minutes second we have a second by T Miss tensley Williams any discussion now all those in favor say I I I any oppose any abstain like to make a motion for to uh hold on one moment you wanted to abstain okay say it okay abstain okay so we have one exstension um now motion to motion to take 528 2024 and the 520 uh school committee special meeting minutes to approve is there a second by Mr wahan any discussion all those in favor say I I I any opposed any obain no M Mr colore did you want to say something on the meeting minutes okay so I'm just getting it clear in my mind people abstaining uh get me wrong but you cannot abstain unless you give a reason for abstaining she did mention it she wasn't here on 513 so she did that's why the the motion was separ the motion was amended to separate the 513 because she wasn't present okay so we had our motion second we had it seconded all those in favor say I I any opposed any abstain so motion on the 520 and the 528 passes unanimously we're moving on to ongoing business updates from subcommittees so I would like seas and governance sub committee sorry I started jumping in before you ackn acknowledge me I apologize um so if the committee is willing to I would like to have a meeting um soon uh so I'll be in touch with uh committee members um we have to follow up on items approve some minutes and we could begin discussion of uh the two policies that were referred so will you be reaching out to the I will be reaching out to the sub commmittee members um on a date and then notifying the entire Committee of the date and it would be held uh downtown um at the district office thank uh next is the finance operations subcommittee um Mr wahan thank you well we just had the budget here in tonight so that sort of that sort of wraps up the fiscal year right that's self-explanatory um got the minutes to approve tonight I'm going to have um the minutes available for the the committee approval from our prior meeting um that's it for now okay great and is there uh a motion to accept the subcommittee meeting minutes from 38 for the finance and operations we have a second by Mr colore any discussion all those in favor to accept the 38 fin and operation subcommittee meeting minutes say I I opposed any abstain motion passes unanimously moving on to the Joint City Council school committee um I am passing it over um the chair to um Mr cmore uh the meeting will be held though on June 13th at 6:30 in City Hall Thursday evening this Thursday Thursday 6:30 at City Hall 6:30 at City Hall and um all there's been back and forth on the agenda um but I think we finally got it packed down so that'll be going out to to the committee um is there anything else Mr cmore that you wanted to share nothing else okay we're going to go ahead and move on to diversity equity and inclusion subcommittee meeting Dr Rivera cologne nothing to discuss just our meeting is scheduled for June 12 2024 6:30 same thing thank you thank you um and now moving on to the local control subcommittee Dr Rivera cologne we had a great robust discussion today about collaboration and hiring and evaluating the superintendent we'll have um some work to do moving forward offline as well I would like to bring forward the for our last two meetings so 48 2024 and 423 2024 the last one the one for 423 was just um fixed for typos that were in there but the content continued to be the same so they're ready to be voted all right so is there a motion to accept the meeting minutes from the local subcontrol for 48 and 423 we have a motion by Miss Wilson seconded by Miss tensley Williams any discussion heing know discussion all those in favor say I I any opposed any abstain motion passes unanimously we're going to move on to vote to receive and accept the fiscal year 25 proposed budget that was presented to us on May 28th so this is just to vote to receive and accept is do I hear a motion I have a motion by Mr Colmore seconded by Mr wahan any discussion all those in favor say I I any opposed any abstain motion passes unanimously next is a lot of FYI information for you attendance chronic absenteeism referral discipline data Middle School building update um are there any questions on the above three no I do have one it's just on the absenteeism attendance and chronic absenteeism I it's really sad to say but opportunity Academy is really hitting us hard when it comes to that um is there any way that it could be like a separate separate identity in the sense so that it is really dinging us and this is like a second it's like a second opportunity a different alternative type of pathway I don't think that we take um the the attendance rate at um Lighthouse and that accounts into ours nor others or are other students in out of District placement but here in this specific one where this is where it's not it's not like I'm saying that they have to be there every day because that's why this was created it was to give some flexibility right but now like this is this is what they focus on in the state absent tendance and chronic absenteeism and here's our numbers right for 3 how do you expect this to come down if so there's one especially that it's like 96% Miss Wilson so I'm wondering if we can actually uh approach someone um at the state level to discuss this and how um it really is a very mixed message the state is sending our students in our district on one hand uh we should be engaging students who have left and uh find out different Pathways in order to get them back on track to receive their diploma and yet it really is um just like you know Vice chair um lefave said it really is hurting our numbers and you know the easy thing we could do is just stop having this opportunity but we would never do that because that is not the right thing we are here for our students primarily but I I I would just the same as you I I would i' would like to see if there's anything we could approach um the state to discuss this anybody else Mr Mr colore I'll make a motion that we refer this to committee and come back with some what committee whatever committee decide well superintendent SoDo have you have have you ever had discussions about this with the commissioner the reality is is that opportunity acmy is like is part of holoai just like you know just like Dean is a part of holokai like we present the data we have the ability to present the data thankfully separately but um officially at the state when it comes to accountability opportunity Academy Lighthouse um and uh and and Dean and Holio are all one school so the only thing that I would say is like you kind of hit it on the head or and Ellie kind of uh really made the point that you know th this program is designed to Target students that are overage and under credited and historically when that happens um they they drop out and this is a pathway that gets them to not drop out and instead to um seek an alternative Pathway to graduation so if you know in in the scenario where hey why do we keep this program like we would definitely see our graduation rate dip and our dropout rate Spike um and that's this is one of the main contributors to to to having a stronger um uh a stronger Dropout and and graduation rate um so it it you know the challenge is really to to to make sure we're trying to get as many kids to engage um on a daily basis at the opportunity acmy but you guys you know you guys are right um when you look at that data they're you know the the majority of our students over there are chronically absent but they are on a path to to to graduating Mr wallan yeah thank you I mean I think the benefits of having the you know the program outweigh any negative data points that were that we showing the state okay so that's that's my first point know um chronic absenteeism that's Statewide we all know that you know through the data you know the uh Desy Representatives they they know that too right um I know the neighboring towns around us they're all uh they struggling with the same same thing Hadley campon amers um I saw where a Hammer School comme person said 10% that's no big deal and one of her colleague said that's 18 days 18 days is of absentees that's no big deal 18 days that's a month so your student is missing a month of school and it's no big deal I think the person should be held accountable for that that statement you know so um it's just you know as we as we say you know just um you know the co and the world has changed trying to get it back you know TR of flip it flip the switch again so um just hopefully that U we can just make the positive changes to get the numbers back up I think more parent engagement I know uh our our mayor is um involved with that just you know getting getting the parents involved just uh emphasize that you know having the children in class is to everyone's benefit thank you thank you guys just wanted to Oh Mr Kennedy um when we talk about like students like you said that this was like a path an alternative pathway for those who fell off the track to get their diploma so I think that if this hasn't been done already I'm sure at some at some level it has but I think that we really need to evaluate what we're doing to get them back on that track like if they're missing x amount of days in school I'm going to go back back to my sixth sixth grade ethnic studies class use the root to fruit tree but why right like why aren't they coming to school is there something that we could be doing to get them to come to school and get get them on the right path is there a path that you're pushing them towards that maybe isn't the right path for them um I'm sure it has been evaluated but I think it maybe could use a little more extensive evaluation to maybe like you know see how we can best benefit the students in that program yeah thank you I I think you know anyone that has gone to a graduation of opportunity acmy understands its uniqueness So like um Evan you're you're right like it's it is very unique in that every student at Opportunity acmy is is different and the reasons they're there is different it could be you know um I want to drop out to work it could be I'm a young parent and it doesn't work for me because I need to take care of my kid it could be a very wide range of reasons why they're seeking that alternative pathway and part of the opportunity Academy program is that it it has to be uh kids got to want to go there it's not like students are placed there um I think there's only been one scenario in the entire time of of oper uh opportunity Academy's existence where a kid was put there the rest of it is very detailed conversations with the students and the families as like this is an option that could work for me and could work for my kid and here's how we're going to tailor a pathway to get you to make up the credits and complete the credits and walk across the stage and often times that that means working at their own pace and coming up with you know between now and June I want to get this many credits what do I have to do and um that doesn't necessarily always involve like showing up Monday through Friday and doing XYZ it might involve something different that is accommodating to that students but you guys are all right that you know this this does look bad when you know but there's there's a reason for it right um it's it's taking students like that that need a different pathway and um sometimes need a different schedule um but we still have to you know to to Evan's point we have to figure out how could we make how could we make the program more engaging and and make kids want to come more so that um you know they they could be on a a much faster path to graduation right uh that's the that's the beauty of of the learning at Opportunity Academy is is the pace can be as quick as the students willing to put into work Mar Garcia the graduation for opportunity Academy is this Friday at 10:00 a.m. over at the war memorial and if if you are able definitely well I was going to announce it under announcements make sure you guys are there um and if you are able um it's a great opportunity to see exactly what Anthony is talking about that the program is it's it's it's doing Miracles it's it's a a segment of our popul we got to you know the reality in our district we're very compassionate City and and there are a level of quality of life challenges that are creating all sorts of social determinants of health issues uh in our community which forces us to constantly think creatively and how where navigating these issues and meeting the needs of our most vulnerable population and OA is is an example of that and you know like Soto said if if this program didn't exist um I think would' still be struggling with do have our um absentee problem and the district has this whole initiative and campaign to try to meet that we we we would be looking at a a higher dropout rate and and a very different path carved for um our kids that are um choosing to participate in the OA Academy um so it's it's just you know it's it's just one of those things happening in our community of many um that you know we have to continue to put our heads together and and bring resolve uh but also understand you know the community that we're living in and the level of compassion that we offer that that creates the environment that we're in this is the the business that we're in right now um and so we got to continue to try to you know be mindful um just like what build is is the vice chair here is bringing up a very valid point and and we shouldn't forget and need to continue to figure out um but also understand like you know at what cost sometimes so it's it's it's one of those tricky things um but I I I I give a lot of credit to everyone who's involved with OA um helping out um this segment of our population and trying to get them on a on on some sort of a path that would otherwise be very different if it didn't exist so and I guess I just have to clarify a little bit of what if this program was around when I was a Teen Mom I wouldn't have dropped out I would have gone here right and then I would have actually had a diploma and had that opportunity but this wasn't around so I'm very grateful for this program because it's for students like what I was right um that unfortunately I had small children that I needed to take care of couldn't be coming here falling asleep right plus I had to work provide for them but then it became about I this program is giving them that flexibility to map up map out how they want to eventually get to that Gra uation to that being able to walk that that that stage but it's at their Pace that's why I was bringing it up is how can we then create a program like that that then doesn't become connected because at the end of the day although we're doing something that I would never want to to stop or end it does still affect us in the overall aspect of accountability right we've just been talking about accountability right that was why I had brought it up obviously I'm not saying to ever end this program I think that would be a disservice to every one of our students plus those who we've lost that we can potentially gain back right um so that that was it sorry never bring it up again gonna go ahead with the chronic we're going for 50% next month we'll have 100% next month because there won't be no schools so everybody's chronically absent no there will be summer programming extended year and students will be there Dr Rivera cologne mild I will say though that it would be amazing if there was a way to collect data about absenteeism that focus more on the learning rather than the body in the room because if you could actually have learning happening that's why we care so much about absenteeism because if you don't engage with the content then you're not able to learn what you need but for students who have a need a different path if there was a way where we could still ensure that learning whether you are in the classroom or not then that would be a way that you could still be present and Not absent because you're still gaining the knowledge even though you may not be physically in the building so that's something to think about like different creative ways for those students as well absolutely Miss Wilson so those creative ways were in effect during covid they're no longer on um those creative ways were students engaged um in learning um I and I think and I will say this I think our state did a disservice when they took away that opportunity for students to be able to learn at home home let's say even on a snow day uh when it's inclement weather um or let's just say a student is hospitalized and they're absent and we send home work with them and they're still being counted as absent even though they are engaged in learning when they're hos know through hospitalization that is part of their day I think our our country our city our state needs to look at things a little differently and I believe we're going to have to as a country look at education differently at least minimum in five years based upon the number of vacancies across our nation with Educators providers I think it's going to be shifting how we educate our students and let's be clear it's not just about how we're educating them it's ensuring that they have the knowledge to go forth so a student can be present in class and still not be educated that day because things going on social emotional needs various things going on but their body is there and their mind is not so we need to look at things a little differently I believe going forward thank you so um out of school out of state field trips we have the Kelly school Connecticut Science Center and Lauren school it's just FYI information for you guys to know there's no Student Activity approval needed uh announcements mayor you want to hand out the announcements I just have one okay was I supposed to have others want to go down the line well the only I the one that comes to mind obviously June 18 is our joint meeting with the city council to um elect uh replacement U for the at large the open at large uh seat so what I'll plan to do mild tell me if I'm wrong work so right now our Personnel department is um collecting all letters of interests Friday we'll distribute to everybody we calore will make sure we we get your hard copies um but just know that like you know folks can you can vote for the candidates that submit a letters interest you can say whatever name you want as long as they live in the city um the day of um but at least you know you'll get letters of interests ahead of time you can review candidates these candidates will encourage them to be present at this joint meeting so that um you can do interviews very similar to how we got the doctor on board um so um yes so June 18 City Hall council chambers at 6 p.m. so that we can put in our votes 6:30 630 they put here but the other thing is they can even come up into that day that's what I um so you might not get everybody's resumés and letters of interest because especially when it comes right to the end like let's even say the night before somebody submits something at 900 p.m. I'm probably knocked out okay so I might not even see it till the following day when I'm heading into the meeting so I may not have been able to pass that on forward it to you guys we all going to learn about them that day so anybody else have any questions Miss Wilson I you clarified it because I wanted to see if that had changed no so it's still open until we actually start the meeting so anyone can seek out that seat yep and there was thing that we learned that clarified in the process there is the person that gets in will will complete the seat until next election which so we had originally thought it's to finish the term so it'll be till the next election whoever gets elected will finish the term if that makes sense so what it is is the person who comes now they're going to be appointed in into that seat until December 31st 2025 whoever wants the remaining two years that will be left because it's a four-year seat will have to then run to be elected for the remaining two years it could be the person who gets appointed um and then next year the election that's going to be like a little special election because we can't confuse because now it'll be both at large going up so who's that the way that it's written has got to be written correctly even when they're picking up papers because that's a special seat um because that one will only hold for two years and then two years from that they'd run again for four years so that's how that would work Mr Kennedy um a question for the chairman or vice chair um either one of you might be able to answer this uh I am not an elected sworn in or member of this board and so I won't have a vote but will I be able to sit in and with you to uh observe and interview the candidates I mean I've it's never been brought up I don't remember if I I say yes but he's the mayor okay we we'll make it be known the day of and I'll let the counselors know ahead of time coun so no problem they might even do you know um oh anyways I can't remember the words now motion to suspend the rle R that's right okay so further announcements just the dpack meeting is Tuesday that's tomorrow 6 p.m. we also have the Middle School building committee that would be you Mr cmore on the 20th at 6 PM right because you were appointed to be chair for that okay and and then the last day of school for HPS is Friday June 21st with a 3our early release I'm sorry what Aon still chair of the school building committee oh Darren's a chair but Mr but Mr cmore now has a voting position now has a voting position yes okay so miss Brunell remains as the chair of the building Middle School building committee um appointed by the mayor but you will be the voting member for the school committee on that seat all right hearing no further announcement is there a motion to adjourn I have a motion by miss tensley Will tensley Williams seconded by Miss Wilson all those in favor say I I I any opposed I doubt it motion passes uh meeting adjourned at 7:33 have a great summer everyone we'll see you in uh August