##VIDEO ID:t0xp8d2ii-A## only an hour and half to my place so I'll be two to four seven of us go for he just laugh my cousin's it's my cousin's big birthday the [Music] house call the meeting to order of allegiance alance to the flag United States of America to the repic it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all s forette we could have a roll call please M here m b Court Mr Shay hereo yeah Dr Marlon here Mr Tumi yeah Mr ala here this is to notify you that a regular meeting of the greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School District committee will be held tonight Tuesday August 13th 2024 at 11:21 Ashley Boulevard New Bedford Massachusetts at 6 p.m. in the student Forum Mrs fet do we have any public comment for this evening no public comments there is no public comment uh we'll have uh acceptance of the minutes from the June 11th 2024 meeting we have a motion with a second discussion call for vote all in favor anyone oppose we have approval of bills uh for warrant 25-1 in the amount of $976,000 18 for your approval so have a motion with a second question on that call for the vote all in favor anyone opposed okay so voted um Mr Watson for the superintendent shout out thank you Mr chairman um you know this this month I kind of every year I I do the same thing but I'd be remiss if I didn't thank the full year staff our custodial and maintenance departments it professionals who have really done exemplary work and getting the building ready uh for the 24 25 school year just a quick look around there's been a lot of changes there been a lot of infrastructure development so really proud of their efforts all of them uh who have contributed pretty much every single day uh since the last school year ended and so um you know as we welcome the staff and new students back uh very thankful for the effort of our full year team to help get us ready to move forward this year they did a great job I came here in July and I came in August and I was like yeah every year say we don't we're not going to make it they said that for years yeah I know that job yeah I want to say too I was here a couple of weeks ago for a tour and um I think I say this every year but it's amazing the amount of work that goes on here over the summertime and it's just there's so much being done you go down every Corridor there's there's work being done painting cleaning um the other day we were trying to step over the nicely waxed floors so we could find the appropriate entrance and exit so it's just it really is amazing and they do a wonderful job and um you know yeah we definitely want to give them credit for that so thank you to the staff uh next we have the um superintendent's weekly update uh so the only update didn't is from June 10th it was the last update of last year I will make sure next month that Mrs fet includes the welcome back letter to the staff which all was disseminated last Friday uh and the welcome back letter to families which is if not going out yet tonight it'll go out tomorrow uh but it's on its way out to the community in the next 24 hours or so if it hasn't already been said so we'll include that in the weekly correspondence in your next packets right the student Representatives report I imagine we will pass over um student representative Caroline Pera I assume we'll be with us next month under new business uh vote to authorize the treasurer to borrow from time to time in anticipation of Revenue V okay we have a motion in a second any questions hearing none we'll call for the vote all in favor I anyone opposed pleas so voted next we have the first reading for adoption of policies including the packet material as copies of the policies for your approval and I'll just run down them quickly use of electronic messaging by the school committee members Universal free school lunch School nutrition program charge policy District security relating to technology data and records retention Personnel use of Technology access to digital resources and Technology resources student use of technology in schools Community use of digital resources and the district website and social media we could have a motion to adopt or yes question on the motion I'll make a motion to have a question I mean um motion to adopt but this is on the first one of electronic school committee sorry M rera if you could repeat your question under the use of electronic messaging by the school committee on the very first line says as elected public officials we not elected that should say as public officials um so if that can be corrected in in that um that was the only one that I found okay thank you yes Mr Shay yeah just to Min thing but this was very knowledgeable but the free School meals Universal free schools meals talks about the district will provide Universal free meals to all students in the district is that at one time it was funded was it correct is it still funded or now schools are taking it over no uh go ahead Pam you can talk about that so the school used to be under Community eligibility provision because we were over the 40% of directly certified students now the governor has uh provided all schools Universal free meals so we are funded that percentage for all of the meals that are provided to our students for breakfast and lunch thank you okay I appreciate that thank any other discussion from the committee Mrs Rivero made a uh a motion to accept the first reading of the policies you have a second second okay you have a second there's no further discussion we'll call for the vote all those in favor anyone opposed make the correction for the next monal approval the correction okay good uh next we'll have a superintendent Watson to uh go over the superintendent smarty goals yes my operation to the okay good evening everybody uh so in your packet I'll just take a couple of minutes um are the superintendent smarty goals for your approval for this year I want to just take a couple of minutes to kind of walk through the overarching themes that are in the document which tie directly to the Strategic plan and the next item on the agenda so the student learning goal you will see seven items that are identified inside of by uh superintendent uh smarty go for student learning which include our continued work on analyzing common formative assessments to improve student growth percentiles and mcast performance uh and for our Educators to collaborate during their professional learning communities in our CTE programs we will utilize the skills plus platform for educators to upload to their rosters all skills competencies attained by students in their shop program and focus on increasing student mastery around industry recognized credentials specifically uh in strand two by 10% which demonstrate relevant skills for future employment and that's try to challenge our folks uh to move beyond the OSHA regulations which are part of the which was part of the industry recognized credentials that many of our folks focused on last year um to push towards more industry relevant and Industry relevant skills we're going to expand professional development on datadriven differentiated and cultural responsive teaching designed to close not only the achievement gaps but to provide Equitable access to high quality education we're going to implement Advanced data analytics and early warning systems for timely interventions through our student support team we're going to integrate mental health programs to support student well-being and improve student attendance reducing chronic absenteeism rates by 5% and will continue to build upon the success of the past few years in introducing and implementing culturally relevant lesson plans in all classes focusing on high quality uh work that identifies all students within our classroom those are the focal points around the student learning goals that we're looking at um as you may remember in the past I've laid out very clear goals around student growth and achievement levels on incast um at the request of many staff members who I think did a fantastic job articulating the position last year um we've stepped back from specific goals provided that the district goals met around Improvement in student growth um to give Educators more flexibility in crafting their own student learning goals designed to meet the overarching standards of the district I think that these seven areas encapsulate um opportunities for staff to kind of develop their own student learning goals in a way that meets the spirit and work of the district for professional practice School our overarching theme is to advance district and operational efficiencies and educational practices through the attending of conferences seminars and training to improve District Operations modernize curriculum ensure Equitable access and to build an enhance effective communication with all senior staff at the end of this year I will provide to the team during my formative evaluation evidence of at least three operational efficiencies aligned to the district goal that strive to approve the efficiency of our operation secondly we're going to introduce an Implement an advanced system to Monitor and improve student attendance leverage technology resources available to us and again strive to reduce chronic apps of Team individuals by 5% we will utilize new project management software to empower District administrative staff to manage projects workflow and task track effectively streamlining communication and increasing overall team Effectiveness in my June 2025 formative assessment binder binder I will provide evidence of the expansion of this initiative during this school year and set the stage of future implementation in the second year we are going to introduce Magic School initiatives this this school year through the technology folks to enhance digital learning and we are going to in uh push Educators to integrate at least two Magic School tools into all lesson plans to innovate our teaching practices by June of 2025 finally the request of Educators on a strategic team which I'll be speaking of momentarily we're going to develop this year the protocol to conduct teacher learning walks with an in departmental collaboration on effective teaching practices and Foster a Collaborative Learning environment amongst educated with full scale implementation in the 2526 school year there are two District smarty goals that are included in your packet both of which align directly to the overall strategic plan I'll be speaking about momentarily first to support student successes and engagement during the 24 25 school year the district will develop mtss multi-tier system of supports for students principles with our instructional support teams begin to provide tiered interventions with measurable outcomes to improve the Student Success a great a new bford B Tech we will deploy accommodation matrices and provide professional development to simulate the marginalized student experiences for all staff which hopefully will Foster empathy and understanding in a way of Designing and constructing highquality learning environments for all students we're going to continue to expand our CTE Partnerships with regional employers by 10% and increase student participation in Cooperative education and placement sites by 5% and I will again implement the the conduction of three trimester reviews with all department leaders and the Executive Administrative team to review student performance lesson planning data with teachers and administrators to identify Trends and adjust instructional strategies as needed in all academic and CT areas and finally as you know one of the most important pieces that I learned from my entry report have included in multiple venues during my smarty goal to enhanced District communication and engagement throughout the community this year beginning tomor tomorrow will Embark in a conversation with thought exchange to gather feedback and Foster engagement including a broad diverse group of students staff parents and community members our goal is to conduct at least four thought exchange engagements this year to start midy year and end of year with one focused specific topic to measure participation rates and gather qualitative feedback this is a platform designed to improve survey deliveries uh to be able to aggregate data that comes through artificial artificial intelligence means it allows people to uh you know not only comment but to to respond and give feedback to the comments it's a pretty impressive system that we've learned about over the last six months that we've Pilot We Will pilot this year feedback and training will be provided to all School administrators by October 30th 2024 we will ensure that resources are allocated to promote and and facilitate these inclusive conversations the feedback that we learned during this school year will be used to inform policies and to address Community concerns and uring accessibility for all stakeholders translations and accommodations for Disabilities and actively underrepresented groups in our school Community those are the superintendent goals for 2425 do the committee have any questions for superintendent Watson no questions I think he's covered a lot of areas that he's talked about over the last half year or so so all seem to be coming together which makes it simple all right we entertain a motion to approve the uh superintendent SMY have a motion second okay if there's no further discussion we'll call for the vote all those in favor anyone opposed so voted uh next is the um approval of the 202 I'm sorry uh 2024 28 strategic plan thank you Mr watching so I I including in your packet is a uh obviously rather extensive narrative uh around where we've been uh where we are and where I want to see the district move over the next four years um so I want to start by acknowledging the team of folks uh who are involved in this there were more than 25 Educators in the district involved in the last 6 months in creating this strategic plan from administrators District administrators School administrators teachers teaching assist assists all had a very active role in six full day professional development sessions as well as a few sessions in June and early July to round out this document um I wanted it to be something that kind of highlighted where we were where we are and where we're going um and so I didn't want to read you a 10-page document or flip through the entire strategic plan so I took a few minutes just to put the main themes together uh on a p PowerPoint that I'd like to walk through with you that so we're titling it building on our successes for better tomorrow I just took a few minutes to kind of acknowledge the work of so many folks uh who were involved in this process and and I I couldn't thank them enough I am going to bring them up on the first day of school during my you know half an hour or so remarks uh to the full staff just to acknowledge them in front of their peers for their contributions because their work is very much uh embodied here and it was a it was very comforting to see so many Educators uh involved in that process so our mission focus is pretty simple our strategic initiatives prioritize students success and ensure that every decision that we make must benefit students directly this involves an adaptation to change for so many of us to not only embrace the new technologies and instructional practices but for the district to commit to ongoing professional development to support those folks through that change I know that all of us here are focused on uh building an inclusive more inclusive environment that we have a school culture that promotes continuous learning and adaptation for all that starts with a proactive mindset we need to always be thinking forward about how we assess and how we Implement improvements that not only enhance the Safety and Security of our school but encourage us to build Innovative practices that adapt to new challenges and ensure that our learning environment is dynamic supportive safe inclusive where all students feel valued supported and empowered to explore their potential and that we embrace the tools and Technology available to allow us to be the educator to all kids in the classroom that's one of the most overwhelming things that's in schools today when you talk to teachers not only here but across the common wealth across the country how can I be all things to all kids uh that's a challenge I understand what teachers are saying when they when they make that statement the key for us is to give them the tools that allow us to be able to do that without asking them to work 50 60 70 80 hours a week to be able to accomplish that goal so I wanted to take a minute to talk about the progress that we've made together since 2021 we have restructured the school's leadership we've implemented a one principal model supported by an academic and CTE director we've enhanced School operations and leadership efficiency we have focused on instructional outcomes and improvements by introducing common form of Assessments in all academic classes and the skills plus competency tracking software to Monitor and support all students in their learning and attainment of cdte chapter 74 learning standards we have focused on building a diverse learning environment which includes culturally responsive culturally competent lessons in all classes by investing in modern infrastructure including AI driven technology tools and improved facilities designed to give kids the best chance at the most high quality education that they can receive we've integrated diverse perspectives across all subject areas enriching student understanding and promoting inclusivity we've upgraded our digital infrastructure we've modernized with AI driven technology tools and campus wide Wi-Fi to support the modern learning needs for all kids we've invested in state-of-the-art CTE learning spaces Health Centers outdoor facilities all the designed to improve the overall learning environment at greater newed fol Tech we've expanded our school adjustment counseling staff by 250% to address students mental health needs effectively in contract with outside agencies we built a brand new Health Center providing essential physical and mental health services to all kids we've doubled student participation in vocational job placements and partnered with more industry Partners to enhance real world job experiences we've established comprehensive systems to ensure student centered communication is documented and tailored to students their primary language we've utilized tools like lionsbridge and Lexi key for translating phone calls and pocket talk for documents and videos to ensure that our Outreach efforts meet students in their home language fostering more inclusivity in our communication structures and we strengthened Partnerships with families through clear communication fostering student support and involvement with regular Communications in our web page and direct communication with families through pars we've ensured that all students have access to digital tools and resources that are necessary for modern learning environments we've integrated Aid driven platforms for personalized instruction and data informed decision- making to all teachers and we focus and equi students with skills for jobs and evolving Fields emphasizing the relationship between humans and technology in that collaboration that's a lot of work that we've done over the last three years and I'm proud of the work that our teachers our teaching assistants our staff our administrators and our students have done where do we go from here so our strategic plan which is included focuses in five key areas emphasizing a multi-tiered system of supports for students understanding and Design for Learning CTE equity professional development and school safety are our core priorities we've aligned our initiatives to enhance student engagement growth and Innovation and education all with a goal to provide high quality relevant learning experiences that prepare students to be productive Global Citizens multi- system of supports for those of you that have experienced in this this is a large project process this is going to take multiple years years for us to fully Implement will require us to shift resources and to rethink how the administration is able to effectively manage this and our first goal our first goal is to begin to develop those principles this year that is the sole purpose of year one develop those principles will look like for an mtss system talk about ways that we need to improve our Outreach and support for teachers and administrators to be able to get this work done and how will we provide both the academic CTE behavioral interventions that every individual student needs this is likely to involve a scheduled redesign at some point over the next four years where specific times for intervention consistent support without disruption to classroom learning is integrated we will use stakeholder feedback I mentioned the thought exchange platform not by accident because we will need to be able to get real-time feedback from all stakeholders families students teachers through each part of this process we to use that feedback and data to refine those mtss process processes practices in order to enhance student outcomes secondly but equally important we need to focus around a Universal Design for Learning this is an inclusive framework again this is no easy fee but we must develop flexible learning environments that accommodate the diverse learning styles and needs of every individual student this will involve extensive Prof professional development for educators and udl principles so they learn not only how to create accessible and engaging curriculum for all students but to share those best practices with one another and to support the great team that we have here in being able to meet the needs for all kids the three main focuses the three main principles for the Universal Design for Learning are engagement presentation and action and expression to ensure that there's comprehensive student learning across all platforms third equity in the exploratory process for Career and Technical education this likely will involve a redesigned exploratory model that ensures Equitable access for all students to explore CTE programs and to make informed career choices we will need to provide support systems that implement and remove barriers and obstacles for diverse student participation to ensure that all inclusive practices are present in all CTE programs none of this will be possible without an extensive commitment to professional development which will include professional development for the most senior members of our administrative team our school leaders our department chairs our teachers and our instructional staff we will focus on inclusive strategies that hit all parts of our work we'll emphasize trainings in mtss and udl principles that not only equi our administrators but also our Educators with the tools that they need we will focus on wellness and collaboration to promotee faculty staff well-being and collaboration and we will integrate expertise from special Educators el el support systems and Dei Specialists to enhance teaching practices that meet the needs of all Learners and finally we'll focus on School Safety and Security Advanced security measures that are already in place will be enhanced to implement state-of-the-art Technologies surveillance systems Access Control Systems all of which designed to promote and enhance safety in our school we will conduct regular continuous evaluations and reviews and drills to assess and improved safety protocols and emergency response plans just this summer we began to look at a new packet to roll out for emergency response protocols that we expect in the next 12 to 24 months will be able to implement and finally we will engage in a parental advisory committee and increased student participation both on the superintendent advisory committee uh and in the school as a whole and safety planning and decision making to conclude this is a very ambitious plan focused on making sure that in 2028 we look back back feeling really good and really strong about the work we've done as a school Community it's focused on developing our strategy to prioritize multi-tier system supports for all kids a Universal Design for Learning equity in all of our shop programs and Shop placements professional development for our team and the safety to ensure the very best of educational outcomes we are dedicated to continuous Improvement stakeholder collaboration to ensure Student Success and adaptability and we believe that by fostering Innovation and inclusivity we will prepare students to become skilled productive Global Citizens ready for future challenges thank you does the committee have any questions for superintendent Watson regarding the Strategic plan I don't have any questions but it's it's a big undertaking I just want to commend this staff this is incredible it's a lot to take on and um I can't wait to see what happens in 2028 thanks you know I want to I want to thank this the team right um it's it's not just the folks that worked on this all year long you know I always get a a laugh in the morning when I'm getting rid of to come and people say you guys aren off in the summer no we're not off in the summer uh we're thinking about uh how how we can make this better and how we can improve uh and how we're going to build up the support to be able to do that because none of this is possible without the folks who do the work in the classroom every day uh and so we need to be very careful and deliberate about how we support them through this process and I just want those Folks at home to know that that's very much Forefront in my mind it's Forefront in our team's mind um and every time we're at a conference or we're away somewhere um those are questions we're asked of present how do we get staff to understand the importance of this or that because without them we won't be able Mr Tumi yes I first of all I just like to compliment Mr Watson and a team you put together to put this to put this program together uh question you say that under 25 26 year you're going to assess a new exploratory model for Career and Technical education that incorporates all students and to explore all seat te programs yeah can you just tell me which one you want Mr Tumi and I'll jump there and the objective number one 1.1 revamp exploratory model for yeah so in 20125 our goal is to design an exploratory model for CTE education that's that's the first step process and so uh you know we're going to talk more about this over the next 40 to 60 or so days as we look at the admissions policy at the school um and things of the like but one of the big pieces here is around getting ahead of this conversation Statewide on exploratory right so uh the department has raised questions about the exploratory models in vocational schools across the board not uh but has asked questions about what those practices look like and sure being able to show Equitable and access for all kids and so um that's something that we think is worth a good look at our current practices to try and determine whether or not those barriers exist in our exploratory process this is separate from admissions so our task this year over the next 12 months is to basically look at ways that we could design an exploratory model um that may address any concerns that folks have around Equitable access um we'll be reporting out by the way I should have mentioned this twice um and mid year I'll give you folks an update on where we where we are in the Strategic plan and I will do that at the end of the year for each of the next four years uh bear in mind this is a plan um I we've done our best to put Target dates around this but we will We Will We Will continually update you twice a year in terms of the progress that we're making but that is the goal of that one good luck with that yeah you know it's it's so we've already kind of laid the groundwork on that a little bit as we've looked at the last two years um I think Mrs rebello showed you this a little bit during one of our D data dashboards um we already know the programs that are selected uh by students first second third fourth fifth and sixth we also know what kids are getting those picks we know we can break that down by race ethnicity IEPs elll uh individual specialized student demographic groups so we're able to look at that data we have two years worth of data already heading into this year obviously we'll be taking a hard look at the data that weed this year to try to identify whether there are Trend points that exist one year doesn't make a change but three years certainly paints a different a different picture so we're going to be looking all of that as part of this design process which is why it's this is the go for the enire this came up at one of our um CTE advisories I think you and I both were here the there was a lot of talk about explor so it's nice to see you taking that off yeah yeah reing Mr Shay yeah just uh quickly because I know we're you know television for you at home and we have a few guests here tonight is that you know goals should be something that you may or may not obtain you know you don't make a goal that I'm going to go over 1% or I I have two more kids in these goals to me as as a former educator a very very high as Fred was just referring to know look at that but you know it's important that people understand that you rather have a high goal and not make the goal but but but work towards it then have a goal this big and and exceed it so we don't mark on EX so again I like the what you're doing I think it's going to be a battle I think it's going to be tough to hit all the court but as people out there watching this what you're doing with your staff now is putting a high bar and if you reach it beautiful but if you don't what have you done to get there so I just want to make sure that people understand that you know like you every game you play you want to win but you don't win every game but but but it's like that so I like what you're doing I think you you're off to a good start and uh Co friend good luck I appreciate the U so I appreciate the comment number one and so I agree um these are ambitious goals um but for me um you know I want to encourage our folks to push themselves every day because it matters for kids right they're not here tonight we're adults that are here right kids are not here they're not sitting here they're not going to challenge us necessarily do that so we have to challenge ourselves so I know these are tough goals I appreciate the support of the members um to recognize that I'm setting very ambitious goals I want our folks to know our teachers to know that I want them to set big goals and that it's okay if they don't get all the way to the goal right because if we set a high goal and only get 50% of the way that's a lot better than if we set an easy goal and hop over U this is literally all about moving forward um and so just to Echo Mr Shay's comments which I think are right on point I'm always going to set big goals because that's what motivates us every day and that's what we expect yeah go big home yeah yeah Point any other comments from the committee not we'll entertain a motion to approve the 2024 2028 strategic plan yeah we have a motion do we have a second second second there's no further discussion we vote all in fav favor I anyone oppose so voted and next we have the vote to approve the 20242 organizational chart that's included in your packet uh some title changes for some new positions but this is essentially the organizational chart for the next 12 months make a motion we approve a motion to approve second any discussion hearing none call for the vote all those in favor any opposed so voted uh we have U report on Personnel appointments retirements or resignations uh we have uh early notification of retirement Lenard Garin effective August 13 2025 motion receed placed on file second motion with a second to place on file uh all in favor opposed uh we have notic notification of resignations uh Grant Crowell effective immediately Margaret thide effective immediately and laen Burke effective August 2nd 2024 a motion re receive in place on file second we have a second second um all those in favor I oppose so voted on that uh under Communications informational we have um norus mlly Murray and pelicin LLC 2024 we need to review any of these specifically no you don't have to you can do what you wish uh strictly informational then uh second is notification of the award of skills Capital Grant we have the treasurers report for August 8th 2024 a donation from Sonos Incorporated and another donation from handup us LLC motion that we receive in place on file through five information motion to place items 1 to five as informational we have a second second second on that all in favor anyone oppos uh is there any committee discussion just just a brief thing on the um martial I think you're the one on the phone now you call in and it says if you need the numbers or whatever um just a suggestion under um if you speak Spanish dial 111 if you speak Portuguese dial 222 whatever those numbers are it would be better if you said it if it was in Spanish if you speak Spanish say it in Spanish and the numbers in Spanish and the English I mean and the Portuguese the same way because I heard it today and I said well if I spoke only Spanish I wouldn't understand what those numbers were or even what you were saying so I would just suggest that we change it to Spanish and portes on the on the Callin that would be very important we will do that thank you point anything else on the committee discussion if not we'll move on to any other business that may come before the Committee hearing nothing um we will be going into an executive session committee will be adjourning into executive session under Chapter 30 section 21 to meet for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the GMB EU Unit A and to meet for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the NB AU where discussion is an open session would have a detrimental effect on the ongoing bargaining position of the school committee members will not be returning an open session and we'll take a roll call vote M fento Ben Court yes Mr Shay yes Mrs rero yes Dr Marlin yes Mr Tumi yes Mr Al yes if I will entertain a motion to adjourn into executive session second second all in favor