to make it today because of a prior commitment to work um so I am going to get us going so wait it's a 301 all right good and I'm trying to figure out my kids aren't home so hopefully that will remain the case uh thank you everyone this is the um May 15 2024 subcommittee of the um Beaver health and special education sub committee meeting for 3:00 um this meeting is being held via Zoom only it will be recorded and um is being uh broadcast onto Zoom as we speak and I do hear that I'm not alone anymore um the YouTube um link is in the meeting notice it is https col backback MPS 02155 g. zoom. USU a d d n a w m capital l g capital Y I think they thought that was better than the old way I don't know if I agree anyways um if you have any questions or comments you want to send during the meeting rather than speaking up um you can send those to me directly at P Rau at medford.ma us please include your first and last name your meford street address your question or comment the agenda for today as approved by the committee on April 29th 2024 item item 202 24-22 be resolved that the special education behavioral health subcommittee will meet to discuss whether the Curtis tough school should be collocated with the Medford High School campus to improve educational outcomes for Curtis STS Curtis TS students say that three times fast uh be further resolved the subcommittee will invite current and former students and staff to provide comments be it also resolved that the committee will report back to the school committee on whether the Curtis tus program should be collocated no later than June 3rd 20124 because this information is critical to the progress of the meder Comprehensive High School building committee as it completes the district's educational profile that's a mouthful I am going to take the role member in tapa um is absent member olapa present and member Russo is present to presid we have a quorum um we have lots of people popping on this is lovely we usually have zero people on subcommittees other than those of us that have to be here so that's nice um so you know I was trying to figure out how to run this meeting um and um I will admit it's an unusual subcommittee meeting because there's not like some policy we're updating or um but I thought maybe we could go around and introduce ourselves those of us that are here so that um you can say like why you're here um just for my notes but also so we can have a sense of how to how to move the meeting along and I'll start at the top for me which is of course different for everyone um and that would be Suzanne hi um good afternoon suzan gusi assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction um I'm here just to be an a participant um in the decision-making process and very curious about the the roll out of the Curtis tffs and possible participation um with Medford High School thank you um member olap want to say who you are in case everybody doesn't already know uh yeah hi everyone my name is Aron I'm on the school committee with member Russo um I'm just excited to be here to kind of discuss this idea and um hopefully move things forward so thank you thank you um Dr edw Vincent Yes good afternoon everyone my name is is uh Maurice Edward Vincent superintendent of schools and I'm uh happy to be here tonight to be part of this conversation as well um and listen to the proposals regarding the Curtis tough school thank you thank you um Miss Bowen good afternoon everyone I'm Joan Bowen I'm director of student services here at Meer Public Schools um I'm here also to provide some historical background as well as informational background about the Curtis tffs as well as is the staff here um we've been in discussions about what where we see the Curtis tffs in the future so I think this is a very important meeting to get feedback from um the stakeholders and um then make our decisions going forward thank you thank you Dr Cushing hello my name is Peter Cushing assistant superintendent of schools for enrichment Innovation and operations and uh I'm here as someone who has worked closely in the pass with the Curtis tffs and I'm very excited as we move through the msba process to see about this collocation opportunity for the benefit of students thank you and I there's a little fly running around so I'm not losing it I just like can't get it um the um next up I have uh Jess Hurley Gilly excuse me and if you don't want to introduce yourself or anything that's perfectly fine too and actually hi sorry I'm just here to see the update of what we're going to be doing with the Curtis tffs and um just to observe thank you Jess um and I have Lori but I believe there's more than one person there so hello I'm Lori hod and I'm the current School director here at Curtis tffs this is my second year and I'm here with two colleagues who are teachers um at the Curtis TS um I'm Kate Willard I'm the we're all special ed teachers but I'm teaching math at the Curtis STS this is my first year here but I was at the Andrews middle school for nine years before that until never I said hi I will she's at driver's ed right now oh good hi I'm Tom Morris I started at Curtis tups this year I'm a special educator and my focus right now is on science wonderful um it's good to know who's in the room a little easier when we're actually in person but then we all can make it so um so at the school committee meeting where we had this uh motion made um we had really wasn't the point of the topic or the conversation going on but there was um I forget the person's name who is not actually able to make it here um is the um director of the program over at Somerville and I believe in Somerville they used to have a program separated very much like we have and then when they rebuilt Somerville high are they actually done it it's been the longest project in history it seems but um when they rebuilt somville high they added I don't know if it's a wing we haven't actually taken a tour yet um for their Alternative High School um students and apparently it has been beyond wonderful um he described uh dramatic increases in participation of those students in extracurriculars um you know sporting and Club presidents and things that are very difficult when you're not located with the rest of the student body um and obviously we'll want to take a peek at that if we do make this recommendation so we can have that information for the um our msba project for a reimagined high school um but that was sort of um it was nice that he came because it was very surprising I really had no strong sense of this issue um other than the facilities of the Curtis tffs um are challenging you I wrote four things three things down U opportunities for students which I just spoke to facilities which you know facilities at Curtis tus versus Medford High um is one thing but the facilities of the Curtis tus at a perhaps glossy beautiful new Medford High would be a different jux toos um this little fly is going to make me crazy um so anyways um and you know you know we we had talked I had talked I can't remember with who about you know if we did bring the school over bring them together you know we could have a SE maybe we could have a separate entrance separate start and end times some kind of partitioning if that actually is appropriate and okay and works um but you know that there were ways to retain what I what I have heard is that the students in in the CEST tffs and at other alternative high schools like the key for them is they're not with the rest of the student body maybe even some of the staff like that they are in fact not there that's the point um so I think I'm done talking and I would like to hear what anybody else said oh um Miss bow would you like to give us a little history lesson sure so the the Curtis TS was created back in 1982 so it's been longstanding um part of Med for public schools it is what we call our our public day therapeutic program um so it's a small um School setting for students who are on individualized education plans um a lot of the students have social emotional uh disabilities and the big setting of the high school is too much for them um we offer smaller classes smaller teacher to student ratio um there is Individual Counseling group counseling um the the it's a more of a community within the Curtis tffs um the staff and students eat lunch together um there's a lot there's a community time um breaks for them to to build relationships and have those staff members that they trust um while they are working on their academics to receive their high school diploma so every student from Curtis tffs earns the same amount of credits that um Medford High School or Medford Vocational Technical High School student does um and we also have opportunities in which the students choose to participate in extracurricular activities here at Medford High School um they can also be involved in sports and we also have students who when they're ready they may want to transition to Medford High School for an academic class and we provide those opportunities for them so it's very indiv individualized for the students needs um we have four academic teachers we have two counselors one is a uh School adjustment counselor and the other is a school counselor SLG guidance counselor as well as the uh the principal um Dr lari hodgden um it's been a great program that has provided a lot of services for students over the years um and I'm interested in hearing what the staff have to say about the possibility of being at the high school because I do think it will provide our students even more opportunities um like the the gentleman from Full Circle um or full scale had had communicated with us there are pros and cons but the pros definitely outweigh the cons um so that's what I'm I'm interested in hearing but I'm also um I'd like to see the Curtis tffs um be able to experience a newer School building and facilities and just you know let the students know that they are important to us and we value them as much as we do any other student in Medford thank you that was helpful um I was not on the school committee 1982 I was 11 um but um so that's wonderful history um I would just ask do you have any data on um the size of the student population served during that time and I realized it varies dramatically even within a single year but did it used to be much bigger or was it just two or three students when it started no the the Curtis TS um previously had an enrollment up to 40 students so there were times that it was fully enrolled and we also had opportunities um to have students from other districts tuition into the Curtis tffs because a lot erett Malden River uh Chelsea did not have their own public day programs at that time and they also um needed the the type of services that the Curtis TS offers so we were able to tuition in students and we have done that in the past around currently our enrollment varies from 15 to 20 students St but there is that opportunity um to increase enrollment as well thank you very much um that's great I mean mostly I know about the ctis TS when I we used to go for the U delightful Thanksgiving dinners which I no pressure but I would love it if those started again it's really very nice um so I'd like to hear from um the staff I think is really an important folks to who are there every daylo sure hi I'm Tom um I guess I can go first and break the ice be the brave one I'm new right so I'm new to the district and I'm new to the team here um 16 years in education working with atrisk youth always as a special educator um my experience in both settings has been different and there are benefits in my personal opinion to both um and in a program such as the one that we work in with Dr Lori we have an unbelievable ability to make immediate realtime shifts and the way that we address student need and the locations that we're addressing those needs and providing opportunities for communitybased learning as well as space and separation when people need that time to process so what we do here we use the full space so the benefit of having this space is that we have the room to do what we need to do not only for safety but also for a student's growth trajectory so if a student needs to process for five minutes or think for five minutes before processing we have the time in the space to be able to do that with that said because we're at a separate location one of the downsides to having the separate location and the and and the other the cost of this space is that sometimes students can come in and say they feel like they've been I'll be honest I'm just going to use student language when they're angry feel like I've been thrown away and so that is that can be a challenge right that is not the truth that is the experience and the words that that they sometimes not in every case used to describe that situation that's not specific to here that's a 16-year trajectory seeing these things happen um when the programs are housed in the high school I was I founded a program um in the Webster Public school system which is in southern Worcester County um heavily uh DCF dys involved um a lot of generational poverty Multicultural very diverse with a lot of intense needs um which by the way congratulations to the superintendent um they were also in enough abuse campaign District um and that work was amazing so I just want to give a shout out there um but with that said what I saw in the building when the program was how in the building uh benefits were that when a student had earned opportunities and shown good self-regulation engagement Community skills they did have opportunities to return for a period of day um easier than it would have otherwise been to get a van to transport the kid back and forth the student back and forth so that was one advantage a disadvantage was that a couple of times students showed up to the door looking for drama with students who were trying to separate themselves they have said I want to go go to this alternative mindset and not stay in the mainstream mindset that I had of engaging in drama and sometimes when in the same building the drama found the student who had already made the decision to try to walk away and so when that drama follows them um it was sometimes hard for them to continue to maintain that separation between the decisions they' made yesterday and the ones they want to make today so I believe that there was a benefit like I said with the cont continuity between um students in the broader Community um that said the challenge was it wasn't always easy to separate from what that student was really truly trying to separate from so they could move forward and re-engage when they were ready it didn't allow the full buffer that um a separate location had otherwise offered in other years of my experience that's pretty much all I have to really say right now I don't want to get wordy I just wanted to share the I've worked in both so I just wanted to give you my sense of some and and challenges that we fac in both are there any questions for me please I have questions um does it anybody member Ola anybody else have questions before I go um so um the buffer wasn't good enough um really that that's a key element of this conversation frankly um can you describe what it was like there that I mean was it just everybody came through the same main entrance of the schools or how how was it laid out and I'm I'm not asking for an architectural drawing or anything but what help me understand this is a great question and I'm very glad you asked it we um and I can also repeat that this situation existed not just in Webster but also in hail because I founded that Al um that program as well and in both cases I demanded access to an alternative entrance because I wanted students to be able to arrive five minutes after the buses or 10 minutes before the buses and not have to engage if they weren't feeling ready because that student should have the right to say I'm not ready to engage in big Community right now and I need to work on my own self because that student is able to then Advocate because that opportunity exists and without it they couldn't ask for that so that buffer was important when it's in the building to be able to have a separate entrance to be able to have a student who needs to leave and be able to leave through a separate entrance as well um sometimes they might leave with some colorful language and it might be a bit poetic there might be some stomping and a door slamming and there's no need for there to be secondary trauma for others um so that allowed us to give the student the space they needed to get to have their needs met and a safe way so that separate entrance was key the second thing we did was we were super intentional about where we chose to put the programs and we always chose based on access to the nurse because no matter in a building students are going to need to access the nurse so we tried to make the nursing um our wing connected based on where the nurse was so the nurse's office and hail ex I'm sorry and Webster existed here and then the wing started beyond that so it worked perfectly and hail we had to make it in a separate Wing that was near the nurse's office so that was what we were doing there so that was a super intentional thing we had to be mind mindful of based on entrances a second reason for this is a lot of the students who end up in these therapeutic day school programs come with significant trauma histories as well as significant current anxiety and depression and when a student is not feeling like they are good enough for themselves they don't want a large audience and we call a student with that profile an internalizers so that student who's internalizing walks through the front door and sees two kids arguing just might happen in any school in the country and they immediately shut down for the rest of the day because their comfortable people weren't around their safe Zone wasn't immediately available they had to navigate a hallway to get to it and they had panic so they had to live with a panic attack without their supports nearby and so that that's a challenge so when we had that separate entrance we had kids that were school I'm going to use the word school avoidant because I don't choose to love the word school refuser um so we had school avoidant kids who that was the the change for them that I can come to school again because I can go through a separate entrance so if it's in the building that was my take that that separate entrance was key hail was more complicated we actually had to get special permission for security to allow parents to drop off at us around the back of the building where other parents are not allowed to drive during drop off we had to have security aware of what their cars were what they looked like so they wouldn't stop them and let them through then when the student went through we had to have a system whereby they could be let in and have it be marked at the office so we would always stop at the principal clerk's office and they would Tim stamp the arrival so that it was official and on the books for safety and liability um and then if the student left through that separate entrance they would have to leave through that same assistant principal's office so we found a makeshift way to have a kind of like a main office for this subpar program because of where we made it approximate to so we made it approximate to another Administrative Office that could that clerk could do the intake outtake paperwork and make it official for attendance and liability and safety it also helped with fire drills and Alice and any kind of evacuation drills because we were so close to our exits and our kids practiced them that we had points that were not in the main lineup for a fire drill we were like we went far beyond that we went like another 200 yards past where everyone else lined up so our kids didn't have to be in the chaos while they were trying to recover from the loud noises so that's pretty much the long version of it but you asked a question so I hope that was Insight it was I mean honestly like the number of things to consider like the fire drill location for for these students like it it honestly it would never have occurred to me not that I'm asked to but um that clearly there are a million in one little things that have to be considered if this decision is is is to collocate um it's not just a matter of a set of classrooms um so we had a student who wouldn't leave the leave the building um one day because they didn't want to go in the mass audience and so then we immediately changed that so we learn as we go and I anticipate that everyone who if this happens that it's cohabitating I think everyone's going to have to keep an open really open flexible mind for that first year while The Kinks get worked out because there's going to be stuff that happens that can never be predicted and so what we should do I think is predict that things that are unexpected are going to happen and we need to just be prepared to not take it personal and just have honest open communication and hard conversations that not everyone's going to agree on but we're going to come to consensus so those are some of the challenges that we faced as teams in those two buildings where we had it inhouse thank you that was a remarkably helpful uh set of information I think that you know when we're reimagining Medford High School whether we rebuild or renovate um obviously nobody's surprised to know that I want to re build a new building but um you know the the like a separate entrance that was like my thing but there are really um a long list by the way if we make this decision I think it might be helpful for current Curtis tough staff to just open a Google doc and start writing all the things you can think of which may be important inputs to a design of a structure um that you know those of us that are not there wouldn't consider because while we're not at the phase now where we're we're not doing the feasibility study right now on what the building might look like um or where it would be or any of that stuff um that's all going to come and it's going to happen it's it's it's going to just it's once we get through this first phase of um of um eligibility which is proving that we can do this work um it feels like that's going to happen just like all at once and um so any Head Start you can get on a list of things that you think are important considerations in the design of a space if that is inside or cooc um we don't know the rules you know we don't know if the state would you know physically a separate building right on the same property like I I don't think any of us know the answer to what they think is acceptable um I think about things like Food Services you brought up nursing there are other services for which um having that you know whether it's a separate Wing or whether there's a little Bridge we talked a lot about bridges in one of our meetings and everybody wants a bridge to their own program now um which why not right um but yeah if you can I'm guessing that like most of us you will think of something you wish you had said later um so write those things down you can send them to me or open a Google doc for your staff because I think that would be great I actually um sorry go ahead go ahead nope I'm I'm done so I actually did did um put together a Google doc because I like spreadsheets um so that aside from the design of it um I have a list of benefits that we would we would love to see Happ happen that would be available if we're collocating um as well as concerns and I also have some I was talking to a few students today who have been here for three plus years um who you know I presented the idea and what do you think of this um so do you mind if I just go through thank so what we so benefits we see to this happening is access to vocational programs um access to student Support Services like reading speech Etc now if a student does need that um we do have speech pathologists come down and um provide that service but it's really not ideal because they're you know based in another school and scheduling is very difficult um access to a nurse within the building would be helpful um so there's that um feeling more included within the high school Community because again they they do you know a lot of students who are newly placed here really struggle with the idea that they have been punished in some way that they've been thrown out by come in here I personally love it here and I chose to work here and this has been the best school year I've had so um I speak very highly of the community and you know we we want to keep it growing so um we try and keep them you know make them feel welcome and usually when they come here they're like oh actually this is kind of great um anyway um access to Athletics drama music programs all of that which again they do have access to but transportation is the issue um so one of the students today was like yeah I could still do that but it's like too much hassle so I just didn't do that um also like communication with events that are ongoing um would be helpful like um one student was saying today that she didn't even know when the junior prom was until she saw on social media that you know her peers were at the junior prom so I think that's something that needs to be uh better handled right away um to make sure that we're getting proper communication so that they can be included um so yeah it's you know benefits would be access to resources access to electives with their PE right now we have electives teacher coming um so again coming from other schools which you know everyone who comes here is awesome and you know is great with the kids but again it's not ideal it's disruptive for them the kids don't really know them because they're only here once a week um so you know having more consistent elective opportunities would be good um so one student said um she would feel less left out if they were you know whether it's the same building or like much closer than we are now um she said it would be easier to join clubs and sports which is too much of a hassle now um and it would be nice to have the option to see more peers in the cafeteria for lunch that sort of thing um you know as much just they like having lunch with us um and then concerns um I put together are you know the PO potential for peer drama conflict distractions from the larger Community which a lot of them are happy to no longer be a part of um unstructured time within the larger settings is going to be very difficult um flexibility within the curriculum so making sure that um we could so we're trying to do more Project based learning and so making sure we would still have flexibility to you know really individualize what these students need so a lot of them have social emotional behavior issues but they also have um you know learning disabilities as well so um and then I know this isn't on the table right now but um one of my concerns is that if we're within the same complex um I wouldn't want to lose a director of this program because even though our numbers aren't huge I understand that it's you know having taught in TLP before um and understanding the other sub separate um special education programs this is really unique and really different in in the in the sense of community and how it's run and so I think that would be really detrimental if um we lost a a director lead for that um and then student concerns um one student said I needed to come to C the Curtis because it was hard for me to be around so many people um she wanted to make sure there's an option for a quieter space for lunch and break time so I think the idea of having the flexibility there so having the option but some students either you know wouldn't choose it or it wouldn't be in their best interest um and then one student said the high school would need to be way better organized in order to have the Curtis stuffs there to um to support us well that's yeah um got to love the student feedback they were very forthcoming they were like oh let me tell you what what we think um so I shared this document with you um and if I think of other things I'll add to it but you know I think there are a lot of benefits um you know again I think the separate entrance and exit would would definitely be important having you know having the space that is separated enough but not excluding you know having them missing out on these other resources which brings me to my point of onboarding so when a student Transitions and it's an internally placed housed program if the students need is such that they may not be appropriate for the large format cafeteria because of their special needs that is a more restrictive environment so we call that least restrictive LR right so there's more there in my opinion my experience has been that we need to have a a really specific conversation around L when we're in the same building because the only way I found success there can be many others the only one that I truly found that worked across a couple of settings was to have some type of a system of access whereby a student wants it two they show that they're ready for it through by meeting criteria that's measurable and then three they have it once they get it as long as they're able to continue to maintain that but this is a Continuum so at some point they can cave back in and sometimes they'll see that caving back in as a punishment because they want that cafeteria they want that drama and they want all 20 of those lunch tables staring at them when they confront this person about whatever issues so we do have the potential for sticky situations and having intentional conversations up front about the LR um can certainly alleviate some kind of litigiousness on the back end when people start to get into the Draconian language of that and what does it mean um so proper expectations just need to be super clear in my opinion up front on that transition into the therapeutic day school program if it's housed in the same building like no kid here can complain that they can't access the cafeteria because we're across town they're not going to get on a city bus and take it across town just to eat lunch um but when it's a 100 yards down the hall they can sometimes dig their heels in and complain a bit um so that being said I just wanted to make sure that that wasn't we didn't fail to mention that so access is great we'll also need to manage the conversations around how when and and for how long is appropriate and and so forth great thank you that's uh a lot to digest we live so it's like we're really passionate about this community and these students um so they're you know they are overcoming so much all the time and you know we we want them to be as successful as as possible absolutely um Lori did you want to speak on anything well do I have the best staff in the city um I mean I don't have much to say other than I get to lead them and manage and make it easier for them to do what they're doing which is really good work but also to be Innovative and support students in a way that personalizes their learning right so you know I see I don't I like to to call it you know opportunities for improvement for our all of our students so if you are reimagining the high school what does that look like I think um for someone who's been a principal of a small Rural High School a large urb a Suburban High School a charter school director I really after Co and Joan knows this was ready to like work with kids who were the most marginalized and Mo and the kids who are at promise and so for me I've been able to realize that here but within that I'm thinking more systems and all students and the work that we're doing here needs to happen for every kid um and so wouldn't it be cool to have a pilot of people doing project-based learning that can push on other Professionals in a larger high school scenario so I'm thinking they're thinking the dayto day I'm thinking big picture um and also what it means for kids to know I I agree it needs to be a separate entrance you know we may have to have a small cafeteria there needs to be a director um all of those things but I also think part of that is kind of thinking about how can we push on best practices in the high school that are evidence-based right so that not while we're working on those kids who need more support in the Curtis tus environment right they're coming out of a high school that's very large that needs to be pushed in different ways and I think that kind of mutual renewal if Curtis tus was colocalized I like that word to the high school would be supportive with all of our students um across the city that go to a very large High School um so for me it's about like what's good high school practice um what's good practice for all students and also how do you lead folks so that CU special ed is just really good individualized instruction with really good goals we should be doing something like this for every single kid right so I think I would love for it to be just professionally we've talked about kids wouldn't it be really cool to be an Exemplar for other districts to see the work that we're doing with our kiddos right so um and I want I there are students and they don't I'll I'll tell you they don't always feel like it's hour they often feel from my perspective like they have been cast aside even though intellectually we know that but that's how they're feeling because a either they've come out of a situation that wasn't okay and there's a need for them to be here or B it's just they need a smaller learning environment and they're asking themselves why couldn't that happen in the high school so there's a lot of things that I'm kind of ruminating around like I think there needs to be a lot of research done um so I've never been a principal having a subpar program um when I was a gen ad principal and principal of the whole I think I think there's going to be a lot that needs to be worked out but in terms of access and Universal Design and Equity our kids deserve to be in the new reimagined um high school so that's just me just you know I Echo what everyone said there are pros and there are cons to everything but I think there needs to be a lot of research as we build a new high school around learning spaces and what you know I'll be excited to go and um you know see what other schools are doing because you know this is your building that you're going to have for the next 30 to 50 years right and so it also has to be Future Ready right for kids so those are just some things I'm thinking about um happy to answer any questions also to get other folks thoughts but I think you have a team that's ready and willing and we just want to do the work and we'll continue to do the good work we're doing here at Curtis tffs now and you know continue to accept feedback from folks and do what's right for our students so um we I know appreciate and Tom and Natt and Leslie and Lance and Drew would have been here um but you know we were here representing so we appreciate the opportunity to be able and we're happy to answer any questions so thank you very much all that um Aaron um it's a quick comment and something that I think um many of you kind of spoke about I think it's also a culture thing I think that some students had mentioned that it felt like a punishment and not only this the physical separation but also the way in which I think the the the communication about what the program is actually intended for and I think that that's a thing that takes a long time uh but that that's a that's a top bottom kind of process I think we really need to be informing our staff and ourselves about how these types of programs operate the therapeutic benefits of them right and what they're actually intended to accomplish over the year or years that students might be participating in them so that it doesn't feel like it's a negative it just feels like school right and they they just learn differently they just have different needs and we want to accommodate them to the best of our ability and that comes from us understanding why each student's actually in the program how we can be better fit to work with them so they don't feel as though they're they're being I think yeah penalized um for having a different set of needs um to learn effectively um and it's not just the way that they're retaining content right there's all a variety of other things that I think are individual to each of them and I think you know I'm I'm Pro um I think having the the space be moved closer and closer to the high school as much as possible um I do really I'm really interested on hearing more I think from students and and faculty about how spaces are really important on smaller cafeteria smaller spaces that are still in the building for example how we can offer um just less people for even example right how does that actually look are those spaces going to always be just for the curs tough students can those be spaces be used by other classrooms or faculty when they're not being used how do we allow for all spaces to be used by multiple groups if need be so that it doesn't feel like it's separated um I think that that was something that I wonder about the Su program that we didn't get to really kind of elaborate on is how does their school how does it integrate into the rest of the building and is it just for the curent for for their program or do other groups use them throughout the school day um and how does that affect I think the students perception about their stake in the school if that makes sense just something that I'm as we're continuing talking about I just thought it was really interesting I can I just talk a little bit about culture for a minute um so for just for me like I think sometimes it's kids reactions to moving to the Curtis TS and um I know that I can do a much better job of promoting Curtis TS and supporting other folks I think think Jan said it best it's a program that started in 1982 that's been almost an institution that has supported all of our kids but it has changed over time right and so Marzano who's an educational the theorist talks about the rule of 30 it takes 30 years to lose a reputation so if there's a perception that all the bad kids went here and it's not I'm not constantly educating people about or uh stakeholders about the fact that it's really designed for therapeutic learning so that you get what you need both emotionally socially and academically um then that kind of sticks but I think we're doing a really good job um as kids on board there's a reaction of course because it's changed no teenager likes to change anything let's talk about the dayto day the 24 hours the hour by hour but I do think that perception is changing as and for me it was it's been all about who I'm hiring for staff and how they work with our students so I feel like I have an incredible team supported by Jones Stacy Schulman um Maurice the two assistant superintendant I I feel like we're allowed to be creative now I've been in two high schools that have gone through building projects and you talk a little bit Aaron about what does the design look like the school that I helped build in Vermont looked very different than the school the ma Mas anomet right so they built smaller learning communities because they were focusing on freshmen coming from a regional kind of three towns coming to a smaller because first year students struggle in high school and they wanted to teach kind of academics Etc so they were housed in a different area from 10 through 12 and they really focused on teaming I think design of the whole high school will be really important and that's why I'm saying I think and I haven't done any research about what the School of the Future looks like with all of the technology I think that's going to be really important stuff and I think it will support a culture um and Community thank you um yeah the that rule of 30 um yeah that's uh I I I mean it would be interesting to I mean Aaron was a student not so long ago but um you know my guess is that is that 30 years is long gone but I I suspect that reputation is still there um so can I just add one thing Marzano also says that the rule of nine is you have to see it hear it to believe it for three years so so having it in the same location would actually make a big impact on this different so I agree with the Somerville for having someone who's never done this it makes sense to me what this the Somerville principal or director said that in itself can change a perception right physical movement to a new building I think even you know definitely among students and families but Staffing too like we are so removed from all the other schools that nobody really knows what goes on they hear rumors that you know we we have a a counselor who's retiring he's been here for 27 years or something like that and he said oh you know I I always think it's funny when I hear about things that have happened here and you know I think I must have been out that day I don't know um but I think one way that having electives teachers come from other schools has kind of shed some light on that where they're like oh this is not what I thought that it's not chaotic it's not it's I firmly believe there are no bad kids um and I I feel very very strongly about that um so I think I think that used to be one heart by the way it wasn't Zoom just changed it that was a flutter it was awesome yeah yeah um I feel very strongly about that and so I think having people from other buildings um be with these kids and some of them you know cuz they're coming from Middle Schools they're coming from elementary schools there are some staff that knew them from previous schools um so they have some idea of who's over here but um I think their sense of of what it is what the program is um is different than the rumors um so I tell my former colleagues all the time that you know I I love it so and I loved working at the Andrew um but you know they were many of my former colleagues were like what are you doing um and I'm I'm very happy with the choice that I made so well I'm I'm happy you've made that choice because I think choosing something is different yeah one thing I want to try to clarify because we've all said it and I just want to make sure that we don't leave a a misunderstood component so the the profile of a student who's not thriving in the broader in the in the least restricted environment in the gened setting there there's a lot of learn helplessness that can happen in that there's generational poverty that some may be facing and the excuse mindset or blaming mindset can sometimes be intrinsic and inherent in that person regardless of what's happened um at school and and what the system has done to support them or or not so I want to be clear that students that maybe had the most love and care and attention and dedication to their transition simply are unable to see that and by default will automatically say I've been tossed out even when there has been so much love and attention because I've been part of a transition here and I got to be honest I'm very pleased with how that transition went um Lor's done a great job of telling me what to expect Lori set up a meeting for me to meet with the student um I I knew what was going to happen before it happened I felt confident in that transition um but that said no matter how much love and attention and intention is put into it we cannot control the words that come out of the mouths and the mindset the survival skills that have been developed over time so sometimes those ruts in the road Run Deep and no matter what we do there will always be kids saying I feel like I've been tossed out whether it's in the building or not so I just want to be clear that no one leaves here thinking that there's been any part of this conversation where anyone here is feeling like things aren't done right it's more that that's just the students mindset and that's that's who we're meeting and that's where we have to meet them because we can't move forward if we don't meet them where they're at so that's just a reality and I just want to make sure that's been clear because that there's nothing negative in the statement it's just a statement of fact thank you um thank you just uh try to keep eye on the time um anybody else want to add anything this isn't like the only opportunity you'll ever have by the way um so you know I think that um what I'm hearing and frankly so far I've heard really nobody arguing against us recommending this um you know we you know the way this would work is that one of the two school committee members make a motion and second it and then presumably we would um vote for making that recommendation that would go to the full school committee the school committee would make the um the policy decision that that is the goal um it's not like you know this isn't happening in September or anything like that um and that from there that would become part of our educational profile for the new building um and then of course we're going to probably have to really spend we already spent a lot of time together the people in this uh Zoom with me but uh we're going to have to spend even more time together to really you know until we have like a site study and that stuff that happens in the next phase where we like well where could we put the building um you know could we renovate which whatever um you know those are the kinds of starting points it feels like um you know I like the bridges idea all over the place you metaphorically as well um but you know depending on where it is it maybe not be possible um so I feel like you know we're going to have to really dig in once we get to that point I don't know that for the eligibility phase for the educational profile I don't know how much detail we have to actually go into in that but we'll meet and discuss that assuming that it passes tonight and that the full committee supports it um I I took copious notes although there was so much more said I'm sure and I will uh try to write these up and just kind of highlight the um you know the the key points in the event that the full school committee wants to really get into a dialogue about it um and um if they if they don't and they just want to like I don't want to say rubber stamp because that's that's such a negative connotation but if they just want to like yes we agree and move on then we won't necessarily go through this whole presentation at the school committee meeting um but this this certainly will not be the last I feel like this would just is just the beginning frankly of this conversation and it's not not a six-month or a yearlong conversation um which I think is good because um I I really appreciate it I I I try to remember who said this um um might have been Lori forgive me I forget who said this but I I do strongly you know believe believe that every one of these kinds of opportunities whether it's a new high school whether it's bringing the Curtis tffs into the same campus um that there is no reason for us to not be an Exemplar to other communities and you know even you know why why limit ourselves to Massachusetts like you know we I was just looking at a video from a school in in Oklahoma now very different kind of a setting and they have a lot more land and all this other stuff but um you know there's no reason that when we're all done and we're all moved into a nice high school or new high school that you know communities around the state and Country aren't going look at this place we could do this um I mean it sometimes would be it would be difficult to put into a fun video when we're all done you know that makes a news story it's hard to put some of this stuff in particular into that I mean you know are we going to really is it you know is the news you know very very brief stories going to include stuff like we brought our alternative Joan correct me is it Alternative High School therapeutic the therapeutic thank you I I got to stop fix that I have a note to remember to start calling it that our therapeutic program you know into the the main uh campus that that stuff's not going to make it but that doesn't mean we can't like have a white paper when we're all done and say something so we can really help people because other we're we're reaching out to other school committees and other districts a lot how did it go what do you recommend like so they're going to be doing that to us and I think if we can really show that like we did this and we did it really well you really should consider it I I think that does a service Beyond just our students in Medford so and I I greatly appreciate it when other places do that for us and and they are very giving um sometimes surprisingly oh can we have five hours to roam your school with you yeah you have half their staff and they're like like don't you all have other things to do but um so if nobody has anything else they want to add um if member olap would like to make a motion to recommend that the Curtis toughs I'm writing it down uh um the Curtis TS the co localized I am in love with that by the way co-localized with the main Medford High School campus because it is part of Medford High still you know I just um that does that language sound okay to the folks that understand this stuff in detail good okay I saw thumbs up um so uh if member Ola party would like to make that motion I do I would like to make that motion that we wonderful discuss it with the rest of the committee yes um the uh typing it I want to have I'm Mr don't vote if we don't know what we're saying recommendation to colocalize Curtis tubs with the main Medford High School campus by member olapa seconded by member rouso uh member po yes M so yes doing the affirmative the motion is approved um and anybody have any final words or we're GNA get two whole minutes back all right I appreciate everybody's time today and uh this has been a fabulous meeting especially since I was completely convinced I have no idea what we're going to talk about um so thank you all Take Care thank you thank you have a good night I gotta adjourn member Al body motion to adjourn second okay it's not good remember