##VIDEO ID:hmzZH16IgdU## is absent uh shaneon Leon present Jennifer pavin present Robert Schwarz present the mayor is absent superintendent present present and also present from the school are Mark HW joce West and Dr okay all to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right next on the agenda is the open time for the general public is there anyone who would like to be heard seeing none we'll move on um for recognitions by the superintendent there are are none tonight so we'll move forward to the consent agenda which um has the approval of the minutes from our June 10th meeting the grants funds approval of over what 2.2 million and then all of the warrants that have been added through the summer is there a motion to accept the consent agenda move to adopt the consent agenda is there a second second um any discussion on the motion hearing none we'll put it to a vote all those in favor say I I I opposed the eyes have it moving on to the subcommittee reports faciliity subcommittee um Mr Schwarz facility subc commit committee met on September 4th um we were presented with multi- pages of work schedule for the summer from the maintenance department of projects that are completed and or or in process um some things to note is the uh at the high school 50 plus year public address system were were was replaced along with the battery operated clocks so now there are clocks that are r that are all run and M and kept running with a Master Clock electrical services throughout this High School have been upgraded and there's one major part of power switchboard that'll be installed in the summer of 2025 the kitchen uh new acoustical tile was uh was replaced as well as new lighting and there were five drop cords power cords that were installed to remove any plugs that were on the floor of the kitchen which really are not acceptable anymore because there might be a flood of water in the kitchen and the circuits could get shorted out a new dishwasher in the kitchen exhaust hood is scheduled for the December break Landry Auditorium is still in process the HVAC upgrades are in process as well as a the theatrical upgrade SCH that those are scheduled for completion October 15 main office the floor tiles were removed and replaced with new VC tiles and a in a carpet nurse's office replaced the settle cast IR iron drain pipe that was in the hallway building the BMS upgrades I believe those are the security upgrades uh and the facilities explorer was still in process the around the grounds if you haven't noticed there were previous there areas that were previously dug up and I would say roughly repaired or paved over those have been repaved as well as the connecting Rogue with the high school and the middle school and in the within the area of the entrance to Watkin Fields that's all new pavment good job um Middle School front doors and hardware are scheduled to be repaired maybe with a completion date on or about October 18th generator repairs are scheduled yet to be determined if you remember last year until our last meeting there was a problem with the generator not working as well as the as the fuel system it was determined or thoughtfully determine that there was a contaminated fuel in a tank so those are scheduled to be uh to be put on schedule for a completion miscellaneous roof repairs for hiring a contractor determine the extent of the repair required there should be or will be hopefully soon uh submit a request to the msba for an emergency or accelerated repair program many rooms and offices as well as the common areas at the middle School were painted kitchen dishwasher like the high school one scheduled for the December break Elm Street School first floor the installation of security camera is scheduled to be determined a replace is in discussion the replacement of the auditorium and the gym doors to provide added security to keep to the first floor with more security that's still in discussion Elementary School were in the closeout period with the msba we were issued a certif certificate of occupancy on 62624 for the district the gch security and access system upgrades card reader replacement is schedule it's yet to be determined that's all I have Madam chair all right thank you Mr Schwarz is there any questions comments concerns all right hearing none we'll move on to the finance subcommittee report um the finance subcommittee met on Wednesday September 4th um we went over the expense report there were questions asked and anwers about various line items it's obviously the beginning of the new fiscal year um so there's not much movement yet um I inquired about some deficits in some of the salary lines and it was noted that with the position people moving within positions within the um District that the budget from when the budget was created that now that has to be adjusted um oh and we also talked about some other things like the Zoom licenses and other things that we needed to address and that was all is there any questions comments concerns all right moving on to the policy subcommittee Mrs Hurst uh we have a meeting on June 5th and uh there's quite a few uh policies in the packet for you to look at we have um 11 for first read so um and then we're meeting again this week and this will be the first meeting of the year so all right any oh are you all set any questions comments concerns all right and the student Advisory Board we don't have a student yet assigned um we'll hopefully have one next month uh moving on to the discussion items new business item number 3632 the first reading of the policies Miss SE okay so we like I said we have 11 for first read we have AC non-discrimination policy bhe use of electronic messaging by school committee members ehaa District security relating to technology uh ehb data and records retention GBE personal use of Technology IG NB acceptable use of Technology JJ o A- e field trip approval i j n DD policy on staff use of social media K dcv District website and social media kdd news media relationships and news releases as you can see there's one three four five six of them that we are uh going to adopt these are ones policies that masc has um put out for us to you know look at review and adopt all right thank you Mrs hurse moving on to item number oh I'm sorry is there any questions or comments moving on to item number 3633 the second reading of the policies Mrs Hurst um we have uh JJ OA field trips ji students rights and responsibilities g i CFA hazing um Pro yeah prohibiting appeasing jicf a-e hazing jic Alcohol Tobacco and drug use by students prohib uh prohibited and jie Pregnant students um I did not mention the imga because that's for adoption and should be done separately so so is there a motion to accept um the policies referenced by Mrs hearse I'll make a motion motion made by Mrs Hurst seconded by Mrs Ward Leon um is there any discussion on the motion hearing none we'll put it to a vote all those in favor say I I all those opposed the eyes have it and then if you want to do is there a motion for adoption of imga so Move Motion made by Mrs Ward Leighton seconded by Mrs hearse um is there any discussion on the motion hearing none we'll put it to a vote um to accept the imga policy all those in favor say I I all those opposed the eyes have it um and then I think there's one more for removal is um IGN and DC internet publication and um this is up for Renewal um it's been found by masc to be redundant and unnecessary so um I make a motion to remove I J N DC um motion made by Mrs Hurst seconded by Mrs Ward Lon is there any discussion on the motion hearing none all those in favor say I I those opposed the eyes have it moving on to item number 3634 to ratify the [Music] contract between the gardener school committee and the gardener Education Association um we'll vote on that one first that's Unit A is there a motion to ratify the contract so move um motion made by Mr Schwarz seconded by Mrs Hurst is there any discussion on the motion hearing none we'll put the matter to a vote all those in favor say I I all those opposed the eyes have it um The Unit B contract is the gardener school committee the con agreement between the gardener school committee and the gardener educational Association an affiliate of the Massachusetts Teachers Association for educational support Personnel is there a motion to ratify that contract motion made by Mrs Hurst seconded by Mrs Ward Leon um is there any discussion on the motion hearing none we'll put it to a vote all those in favor say I I I opposed the eyes have it moving on to item number 3635 the masc delegate is there anyone who would like to nominate a delegate for us is there anyone who would like to do that Bob are you still willing to do that already submitted Pap well I guess will I will motion for Bob to be the delegate how's that is there a second second motion made by Mrs Hurst seconded by Mrs Cormier to M um appoint Mr Schwarz as the masc delegate is there any discussion on the motion hearing none we'll put it to a vote all those in favor say I I opposed the eyes have it moving on to item number 3636 the superintendent goals so hi folks um I'm going to be somewhat brief in in my goals only because what you're going to find is in the district Improvement plan which Dr Goen will present in a little bit um you'll find that my goals really align with the district Improvement plan which is really the way it should be um so as my first goal um we did a lot of work this summer creating a Fidelity check um which is which means um to check to make sure that things are happening in the way they're supposed to in our common planning times um the um the district uh negotiated um just a few years ago to make sure we have enough common planning time in the different buildings and we want to make sure it's being used um uh with the most effect in the most effective way so one of the things that we have is when that common planning time happens we want to make sure that they're holding Fidelity to the curriculum that they have and that they're sticking to the standards they're working together they're they're listening to their te their teacher leader who's that those stiped positions that we pay for to lead this to lead this work and discuss how how they're going to design plans to not only have to lay out what the lesson plans are for the week um but ALS Al to make sure that we're responding to data and we're making sure that we're supporting all of our students specifically our students with special needs um and so that's really um my first my first goal we do have an instructional priority in the district which we worked with desie um on doing and it's K through through seven teachers and by the way I put K through s specifically here because the high school Believe It or Not doesn't have on um the what they consider high quality instructional materials they don't have high school curriculum so we're focused right now on the high quality instruction materials that we purchased you all purchased um for the district we want to make sure that we're implementing them with Fidelity and appropriately um so it's k37 teachers we Implement high quality instructional materials with Fidelity and integrity to ensure students with disabilities have access to grade level instruction and collaborative engagement with their peers the collaborative engagement part by the way is really important to us because we believe that's one of the strongest levers strongest um supports for students with disabilities and English language Learners so we want to see that in every classroom um the second piece is we created a Fidelity check for instructional practices so we created um uh a list of things that we want to see in the classroom that come from the common planning time that they design so the whole point is we want to see it designed in the lesson in the common planning time and then implemented in the classes and so we're looking this year for 70% fidelity in common planning times throughout the districts and 70% um core academic classroom time instruction all right and just so you know the high school and Gardner Academy are also working on this same goal this is just the instructional priority we worked on with Desi specifically um and for student learning it's the focus is to reduce the academic Equity gaps which we'll be measuring with a with a new um Universal screener that happens three times a year in math and Ela um as well as our Dibbles we're going to be looking at the differences for um students who are multilingual or have special needs and we want to see the difference between those two and we want to reduce that difference from the first um iteration of that Universal screener to the last we want to see a 10% reduction in that Equity Gap um and students in grades K through four excuse me will be reading on grade level so we're looking for at least 75% of our students in grades K through 4 will meet or exceed grade level reading standards as measured by divis which again we do three times a year and as it's typical we still have our wonderful relationship with Lynch Leadership Academy and that one that uh leadership pipeline grants um so I'll continue to do work um with the Lynch Leadership Academy and by the way they're embedded in just about everything we do they're going to be working very closely with the middle school and a turnaround Grant they're going to be um working throughout the district supporting um our administrators um and coaches in terms of supporting learning in the in the classrooms they're using our Fidelity checks as well so those are my goals all right thank you Dr pelino is there any questions or comments Mrs Ward Leon just a question you mentioned for the um student learning goal number one that there was an additional Universal screening or is it just dibles it's a new one um okay in the in goal one yeah instructional packages for the discri was vote of course planning student learning one oh the student Lear Lear one yeah no worries student Lear all right um what's your question again then what the new Universal screener is in addition to oh it's STAR testing we have um math and Ela okay um we have that going all the way through grade seven and that's the three that's also the three times a year in math La gotcha so it's that and dibles three times a year exactly dibles for grades K through four specifically that's where they're learning to read um we really think that this is a a huge step for for us we've been using linkit for years it just has not served our purposes um in terms of responding to data we get the data too late they have too much control of the data we don't have control with STAR testing the tests are only 20 minutes which is a huge shift from linkit which was sometimes hours for those tests so we're really excited to see how this works awesome and it's star is that an acronym or it's just the word star it's the word star gotcha okay yeah yeah if you look it up it actually hits all the the the criteria for um Des um standards all right any other questions I don't have a question but I did have a comment I was at a um IEP meeting in a different district for one of my students and um they were talking about gardener and uh yeah the good things that are happening here oh that's good that aren't happening there yet yet yet so but um you know it's it's really nice to hear people out outside of you know Garder talk about how you know the pluses of the district and and those kinds of things and they didn't know I was from Gardner either so it's always a plus it's good to hear thank you all right moving on to item number 3637 the district Improvement plan M uh Dr Goen thank you for my speech is even shorter now but I did want to start I don't think we have this up on the screen but I did just want to start by saying the district Improvement plan you're going to be seeing is brand new it's updated when I say brand new I mean is just updated for the next 3 years the last one was from 21 to 24 and um so you'll be looking at this for the first time however it's very similar to the old one um that we just had and we just updated it for where we finished with the last one so I just kind of want to update you quickly on where we ended up with our last one and so we had a couple of goals or actions that we're going to be taking this past school year from 23 to 24 and um I wanted to let you know where we stand with those and that we are picking up with this District Improvement plan right where we left off so by the end of June there's only a couple of things that we that we were aiming for um tier 2 academic systems practices supports fully implemented um we ended up spending a lot more time on the tier one process so we haven't really started tier 2 yet uh so when you look at what he's got up on the board what Dr pelo has up on the board right now that's what we're planning to do now so you can see that we're a little bit behind where we were hoping to be but now that we know the reality of how long it takes to really do this work I think this is um the the one that we we have up here on the screen is much more realistic in a time frame so we are planning to have an implementation of tier one practices beginning this fall and that's why the goals that Dr pelo has is really about maintaining and monitoring the Fidelity of the practice of planning instruction and then implementing instruction so that we can move that work faster and really start to hone in on tiers two and three the other thing we were talking about doing for June of 2024 was um tier 3 seal systems practices supports being developed and implemented and that is in different stages of implementation some schools are further along than other and that's our um social emotional learning work that's being done and they are starting to work on tier three practices but it's at like I said it's at varying levels at each of the schools another thing that we were hoping to have complete by June was implementation and action plan for sustainability and Fidelity of co- teing practices um for inclusive practices in the classroom and we did have approximately four years of training at our elementary school and we began some of that training at the middle and high school and we did do that action planning at all schools um by the end of June and so we're not fully implemented but we have partial to full implementation depending on which school that is and the last thing that we wanted to do by the end of June was um assessing academic and seal achievement and growth by grade level and by subgroups at least five times a year we're not quite there yet we're at three times a year but our goal is to start monitoring that five times a year so we are able to um switch gears and and make changes is as needed sooner rather than later so like I said we we started right where we left off if Mark if you wouldn't mind going to the very beginning of this presentation um scroll down till we did add one section under the theory of action we did not change the theory of action of at all we still believe that if we have a culture of dignity and inclusion for all students we hold students to high expect all people to high expectations we collect analyze and respond to data regarding all of the work that we're doing we provide teachers and staff members with the time and the training and the support needed to do this work and we work together in collaboration with with community members and families that we will have students that can achieve success so that hasn't changed our our district priority has narrowed in focus and Dr pelo already um read the district priority so I won't read it again but as you can see there is a clear through line to what we're trying to do and to the and to the superintendent goals and to the dist so the district Improvement plan then feeds into the school Improvement plans which are also being updated now and so they'll start to present their updated Improvement plans as well so for the next three years our action steps are really going to focus a heavier f focus on the academic we spent the first um the first three years focusing onal and we're still focusing onal but we're now starting to take a much more active role in the implementation of the academic piece so if you scroll down to the outcomes that we'd be looking for we have three main outcomes that we're or four that we're looking for um and we broke them down into academics we want to have tiers one two and three developed and tiers one and two will be implemented as fully as possible so that we're ready to implement tier three um in year four which isn't on this plan we also want to make sure that we have 80% of our classrooms at least 80% of our classrooms meeting um meeting the classroom support system practices um engaged and on task and so that's been going on for Joyce is it two years now this is year three of the CSS monitoring it's actually been probably closer to four okay so and currently we have teams of folks going in and monitoring these classroom support systems and then asking and then looking at that data determining who would need tier 2 services so not only our students get tiered services but also our staff do and we provide the supports where they're needed in in the time that they're needed again um Dr pel's goals we're talking about closing Equity gaps we are very focused on that specifically with our students with disabilities um and so we're looking at those mcast scores very closely and monitoring we are seeing some reduction of those gaps but not as quickly as we'd like so there are some very specific goals around that and then improving School climate and Partnerships with families and community members um really focusing on surveys we are getting not as much participation in our surveys as we'd like so we really want to focus uh on getting more participation so we really are interested in hearing the feedback from our families and our community members so that we can make this a more positive experience for for the children in our district um and then the last two pages are focused on the activities that we plan to do so we have some things happening this fall that we're that we're working on establishing clear expectations for tier one academic system structures and practices we've already hit the ground running on that and we're we're well on our way um the elementary school has been our pilot school so they're a little bit further than the other schools but we have spent two days in August with our admins and our teacher leaders on the third day to to practice and to and to talk about what these expectations are what does that look like in each School and how does it how does it get implemented throughout this school year so that's well on its way um structured common planning time we have a very structured common planning time this year along with those Fidelity checks um the system for observing and monitoring those meetings the common planing time meetings is our Fidelity check system and we're in the process of getting that up and running now the District staff members will um go and do the First Fidelity checks and uh calibrate so that we are all speaking the same language and sending the same message at each of the schools as we support them um and then we purchased open Architects which is a data dashboard that takes all of the data we have whether it's attendance data or behavioral data um absenteeism graduation rates whatever you can think of and our academic data and it creates separate separate and combined dashboards that we can look at and disaggregate by um many different factors we can we can do it by subgroup and we can do it by um grades and clusters of of age groups and so forth so we can really dive in and see where the need is and how we're and how we're making progress or not making progress so we can action plan so those are the things we're doing this fall and um there's there's more things if you keep scrolling down it seems like the fall is very ambitious but we started this work in May to get ready for the fall of this year so we are ready to do these things a lot of these things are in place and and now we're just starting to implement them communication strategies uh like I said we're trying to get more voice and more participation on those surveys creating a metric for parent attendance we're trying to figure out how do we measure when um families attend events that we have so that we can increase attendance and and find activities and events that that folks would like to join and then we have um things that we want to have accomplished by June of 25 and 26 and we we have um we have forecasted out three years but we think that we know how long it takes to make this work happen and to do it well so we know that some of these things that we said are going to happen in June 25 and 26 are really going to blend into to 26 and 27 questions on that this is a first read so there'll be a second read and a vote next month any questions for Dr Goan all right thank you Dr Goen thank you um moving on to item number 3638 the curriculum coordinator update that is in your packet is there any questions comments moving on to item number 3639 the grants administrator update um that is just information in your packet there's not a presentation for that tonight that was a typo on the agenda um is there any questions comments regarding the grants administrators update all right moving on to item number 3640 the special education update that was also included in your packet for information is there anyone who has any questions comments all right moving on to item number 3641 the CPAC update that was also included within the um special education update does anyone have any questions comments concerns all right moving on to Communications um thank you attorne um so I'm just excited to start another school year this opening was very smooth um there were all there were always little hiccups always things that happen um but ultimately this was a really nice opening I was really pleased um by the way that first off we're starting off um with with a contract for our staff coming to that fair contract was really important and I think both sides you know it's just wonderful to be able to to kick this off with a Welcome Back event which was newly negotiated and teachers were thrilled to be there I walked through some of those events and saw a lot of smiling faces and I think it just starts things off right I think it you know relaxes folks because they're able to see this is going to be my child's teacher before the school year starts what's the what does it look like for for this year who am I going to be with all of those things I think are really important and I love the fact that we've U that we have that now as our as part of our kickoff so things I think it was a very smooth opening I'm very excited um and I just want to thank everyone for their hard work to make that happen because that doesn't happen um by accident and the work of my facility um folks was just unbelievable getting some of the work that they got done this year organizing those projects is huge the undertaking at the high school auditorium and the HVAC system is a huge deal and to get the electricity that we need so we can actually run the things that we want to run um is is um wonderful for us so I'm just really excited to start this school year um that's all I have to say thank you all right thank you Dr pelino um moving on to the final comments of the school committee U Mrs Ward Leon awesome well welcome welcome back everyone and um I I wanted to Echo what Dr pelino said about the welcome back events um I had two kiddos moving from elementary and middle into middle and high school and the anxiety was so real and they uh they were really happy that they had a chance to go into the school meet their teachers and they knew kind of where everything was going to lay before the first day of school and I know that um is this this is the first year we've ever done it before school yeah and um I know that there are other districts that do it the district I work in does it as well and it's it's just really helpful and it's also good for the teachers to kind of make that initial connection with the parents um it's very much a clean slate kind of feeling um it's like a like a like a soft opening for the school you know um so that was I think that's a great addition to our practices um and other than that just thank you to you know all the District staff and folks that put together the packet um even though she's not here thank you Courtney for the $2 million worth of grant information super almost 3 million actually um no it's 2 million um but just thank you for the detail and especially with the Improvement plan Dr Goen and Dr pelino it's so nice and detailed and the teacher brain in me was just very was loving it so um color coding huh I like your color you know what I'm I'm there for color coding um but other than that just really happy to see everybody and um get started for the year so thank you so much all right thank you Mrs hurse um welcome back everybody I hope everybody had a good summer and um I'm always proud to listen to the presentations and what's happening in the in the schools um you know when you're a parent and you have kids in school a lot of your focus is you know you're on that child and you don't see the bigger picture but it's it's great to see the bigger picture and to know that there's some really good work going on I did want to mention that September is National Su Suicide Prevention awareness month and tomorrow September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day um this um the uh theme for this year is I won't be silent uh it's is a national conversation on youth Suicide Prevention um so suicide is a national health problem and currently ranks as the second leading cause of death for ages 10 through 44 we lose an average of more than 125 young people each week um the uh yeah the Json Foundation which you can find online just Google it has come up with a new app app it's called um ask a friend it's a free app on your phone that provides information tools and resources so that a a student could help their friend or themselves um anybody who's struggling with thoughts of suicide um we can't not think that this doesn't happen here because it does um and then again the uh suicide Crisis Line you can just text 988 and they'll put you in touch with with with resources so that is all I have tonight all right thank you Mrs Harris Mr sh again welcome beginning of a new school year I think I'm going to throw out a hand grenade as we all know I hope we know wish the school committee is adopting their Union right resolution to drop mtest for a graduation requirement I'm just wondering if we should create a discussion on whether we want to do that as well I think and I'm not sure but I think it's going to be a question on the November ballot and not you I'll do some further research on that but I just want to throw something out there for us to think think about and possibly discuss a little the way down the road I see some drawbacks on removing that requirement I I would say that there would be many students I know they get frustrated and and go through a lot of angst and and passing or passing trying to pass the mcast but I think that if it's eliminated from the graduation requirement I don't think it'll be as stressful or they'll just not fluff it off but probably won't try as hard to pass that's only my thought I have no input information on that just my feeling that's all thank you all right thank you Mr Schwarz Mrs corm um just after what everybody else said it's nice to be back and I'm looking forward to another year just keep getting better all right thank thank you so much um we have no need for an executive session tonight we are um all we have is an adjournment is there a motion to a Jour so move is there a second second uh motion made by Mr Schwarz seconded by Mrs Ward Leon all those in favor say I I post we are adjourned