##VIDEO ID:Htbf7rcxGUs## up against bias against um gender queer people or um in one of my books health insurance you know and this was um about 15 years ago before Obamacare one of my characters runs into trouble by being diagnosed with cancer and not having adequate health insurance now I didn't intend for that to be a theme but it you know I was reading the paper looking at the world around me and and and trying to write a realistic book so um you know that's again it happens to me in an unanticipated way uh because in fact if if I were and there are writers I think Barb Barbara King solver is a novelist who choose who who bites off big moral questions and that's you know how she begins a book I think you know she's I'm going to write about like with um uh demon copper there's you know I heard a great interview with her she really wanted to write a book about the the the opiate crisis in Appalachia that's a huge subject I could never dare to do that so she said she spent it was like a house that she was trying to get into and she spent two years circling that house figuring out how do I get into this house that I want to get into and it was through David Copperfield it was through dickens's novel so that's a very different way of writing you know my my themes and and any moral questions come in at me from the edges through through the lives of my characters the way you describe your writing it seems more like real life where uh you can try to plan stuff but you're not really sure what exactly is going to happen and you're surprised by real world events uh I know I just get that sense very strongly so Absolut way of describing your writing yeah yes I I think that that's an accurate description very cool thanks also uh as you were a painter I haven't read all your stuff Have you ever written about a painter or would you ever write about a painter um C characters who are artists are very much a part okay my of my work now uh in three Junes one of the the most important character is fenom McLoud who's a book seller you know who doesn't f what what reader doesn't fantasize about being a book seller so that's how I fulfilled that fantasy one of the other two main characters is a young woman who is you know in a in Europe on a fellowship to paint and that was very much based on my own experience but I think that the book where I really decided I was going to sort of not tackle that but where it came in was um a house among the trees which is my the right I the book that I wrote it was published in 2017 before vigil Harbor and it grew out of my reading an interesting article about the the the ill the children's book writer morce sendak's estate and what became of his estate which was a very gnarly and interesting story so he basically Maria how work fourth period biology our students just weren't getting how easily viruses spread so Miss Bella and I had them role play a zombie virus outbreak by the time they had all learned the lesson all the living were dead hey how's your job going that big sales mebe I planned next year I might get to go cool e e e I saw her when I was up thereo nice Mason just had a uh rowing race up there a couple of weeks ago yes yeah also yeah yeah early decision you can only do one because you are if they accept you you're going unless one at a time for early decision there is a second round usually mid December early January depending onol so you don't get into your first one then you can apply for another at a different schol also sometimes they don't bring in for early decision but they defer you regular decision which just means like we're not committing now but we are keeping really a meet 100% school right that was our role you can't do early decision unless it's a we will meet 100% IM because then like okay it's going to work out yeah yeah it's funkier some of the schools will do a pread too not all we didn't none of the ones weeni we did and the ones elor's doing do it either but um some will do a prean they'll say like if you were accepted this is roughly what they decision it's like a whole crazy it's a thousand times worse than when any of us went through this just for remember it's all like none of the decisions are personal that's what I always told mine that like it's not just about are you a good student do you have all the extracurriculars all those things matter sure and they're great but also like they're trying to build a balance class so you could be an amazing perfect fit for that school but it turns out they already have you know 57 Science Biology Majors coming in and 30 of them play tennis and they're like we really need some kids to do liberal arts and and run track so we're bringing this person in like it's some stuff happens behind closed doors that have nothing to do with how you are as a student or anything it's just they have to look at the whole picture can't account for that like it's just and all of the schools that you're applying to are going to be great and you have a lovely life at all the time yep un Hawaii y hey it's a great safety right I'd like to go there but no I decided to come to New Eng yep I always tell my kids there is no one there is no one door that's going to lead to the magical life all of these lives whichever door you wind up walking through is going to have tragedy and heartache and joy and beauty and mundaneness and they're all they're all gonna have that stuff behind every door it's just going to be slightly different versions of those things behind the oh they can they don't want that that I told him that I was not interest but oh we do all right you guys your all uh it looks like we've got a quorum hold on let me just make sure now I've got my paper yes okay and here we go in five four three two one good evening and welcome to the Thursday November 14th meeting of the long medow school committee School committees and other public bodies may continue to hold remote meetings through March 31st 2025 under legislation enacted on March 29th 2023 the statute chapter 2 of the acts of 2023 extends Quorum reductions for remote meetings all votes while there's remote participation must be made by roll call vote this meeting is being recorded and aired live by lctv we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance flag United States of America the stands indivisible liy and justice for all we will begin with correspondence would you like to take that one oh a memo from Mr Donald Jarvis director of occupation education at the lower Pioneer Valley Career and Technical education center regarding the Walter E uh Quigley Junior student of the month award for October 2024 long M student student honor this month is Nathaniel Vincent in automo automotive tech and Jacob vas building Property Maintenance to all right wonderful congratulations we're moving on to approval of minutes we have a recommended motion I move that the school committee approve the minutes to the October 22nd 2024 school committee meeting as presented we have a motion do we have a second second second thank you any discussion seeing then we'll move to a vote Estelle yes Julie yes Michaela yes and yes for me as well all right public speak we do not have anyone at home and we do not have anyone here in the room so we are continuing forward we have no business with guests um I do not have a chair report for this evening do any other school committee members have recognitions or announcements seeing then we're moving on superintendent report uh just a couple items for you uh Elementary parent teacher conferences this evening last week we had uh Middle School parent teacher conferences uh next Tuesday night fall concert at long meow high and then uh we're we're preparing for the Thanksgiving break uh also would note uh that um Friday November 22nd is Chief Dear borne's last day as chief of the long metal fire department and uh so there'll be a a change of command ceremony um to uh to confer charge over to soon to be Chief John Ry so um an opportunity to publicly thank Chief Dearborn for his incredible support of long meta Public Schools he's been an amazing partner uh and it helps keep us safe every day and uh looking forward to working with uh soon to be Chief Ry um the long meow educational Excellence Foundation uh awarded uh formerly awarded grants to um Educators in the amount of over $78,000 a few weeks ago we had a nice award ceremony um and Lea over the years has given us uh well over a million dollars towards educational programming and enrichment so really grateful to uh leaf for their ongoing support ribbon cutting at the Wolf Swamp playground so we have officially cut the ribbon at all three Elementary playgrounds another uh not thanks to the school committee Town officials Town departments uh and residents that combined to make that a reality um our guests from takawa uh have joined us and they have um engaged with Town officials Town departments toured some of our classrooms and so it's been a joy to have them uh and I think they're probably I think their their time is wrapped up just about um and uh we had the pleasure of attending the conference of the mass Association of school committees and school superintendents last week um some great sessions uh great keynote speakers um a lot of takeaways particularly in relation to operations social emotional supports um uh Partnerships with Educators um it was great community members community members yeah um and uh departments are busy the technology off office um thanks to them for facilitating the the transition of town offices from town hall the community the community house now over at Greenwood Center and so that's been a a heavy lift for them uh along with DBW so they seem to be settling in over at Greenwood Center um our office of student and family support um is grateful to the school committee for supporting the introduction of a a addition halftime uh elll teacher and so we're pulling together the schedules to uh coincide with the availability of that teacher and um I'm really grateful to Neil de rosari for really you know helping us under coordinate the program as a whole uh and implementing recently um Lexia English which is a tool which will uh complement cka in a way that uh will allow elll students to access that curricul um seal implementation as well underway with our seal implementation team and um a very busy PD day on November 5th um thank you to Beth Nelson for coordinating dozens and dozens and dozens of activities for hundreds of Educators um it was a productive day um training for elementary Educators and CK our Middle School Educators had a chance to meet with uh the design team for the middle school project um High School Educators were involved in um along with other Educators in uh udl training um and working on formative assessments tied to the vogg so lots of good stuff going on uh over the last few weeks so that's it all right Wonder questions comments related to the superintendent's report all right other reports no all right um student rep report Andrew right so to start just a few updates from the music department that they wanted me to share um on Thursday remember 7th 66 LHS music students traveled to Boston to attend an open rehearsal of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and then on Wednesday November 13th the Belmont wait was that that was today no that was yesterday sorry um the Belmont Wind Ensemble um visited us for a collaboration with the LHS Wind Ensemble and they had a concert at 600 p.m. I believe it was informal and then on Wednesday I mean on Saturday November 16th 67 LHS students will travel to Westfield State where they will audition where they will where they will audition for spots in the Western District Festival ensembles and then as Dr mentioned um on Tuesday November 19th 146 LHS musicians will perform for the fall concer at 7:00 um and then on the week of November 18th we will have our Shaka tail feather event where students will be able to buy these um turkey feathers um and they can pin it onto a participating teachers picture and then by the end of the week Whoever has the most um tail feathers on their picture will have to wear a turkey costume for the entire school for an entire school day and then uh the Friday after Thanksgiving which is November 29th um we will have our run L Cat event located outside the high school um uh this just a really important event that helps to bring money into the Katarina bosovik Memorial Foundation which helps to benefit students in the form of SCH scholarships and other donations for LHS students and then just a few athletic updates winter signups are open so just get on that and then um football will have their final game of the season in the classic East Meadow Showdown on Thanksgiving and then cross country will travel to Fort devans Where The Boys team will compete at 115 and then the girls team um Lucy Connell qualified individually and she will compete right after that all right wonderful thank you lots of exciting things going on all right other reports um energy and sustainability EST um the um group was looking for volunteers for their sustain sustainability fair but no significant changes since their October 17th meeting all right great thank you um seal Michaela hi um we had a meeting last night it was actually a presentation from the Federation of children um with special needs and the topic was social and emotional learning um which you know it's like oh can you ever get enough of the answer is no um I still like it's sorry my do barking first um it was just really good and I recommend any please check it out I know it's going to be shared and then the next meeting is seber 11 and it's going over the new IEP wonderful thank you all right we have no other subcommittee reports and that brings us to ongoing business Middle School building project do you want to take that one uh sure and um um we had uh please report uh that town meeting the other night seemed to be a great uh endorsement of the project from the residents it was a great conversation about the um the direction of the project the Milestones that we've hit um some discussion around the uh what we can put in place to make it a safe campus safe 21st century campus so really pleased that so many residents turned out and showed an active interest in the project uh and so uh that was great news uh the Middle School building committee met last night we received an update from the design team our design team has really rolled up their sleeves to set up a series of meetings with our Educators and the entire staff at both middle schools so they're meeting with uh teams of core academic teachers teams of science teachers teams of um uh PE staff related arts teachers uh the front office staff they've met with tech staff they've met with uh custodial maintenance staff and so they're Gathering a lot of feedback from the folks that will be using the building ultimately so they're compiling that information and they've fed that information back to the building committee beginning last night and then uh last night we also heard a presentation from kers our project manager on whether or not we should pursue a uh construction manager at risk project delivery method or a design bid build project delivery method so um no decision has been made on that it will likely uh come up at the next meeting of the Middle School building committee which is the the second Wednesday in December so all right yeah great thank you um Additionally the msba board um voted overwhelmingly to approve the town's preferred schematic um design for the Middle School building project um and we are required to sign and submit a new replacement study enrollment certificate um so we have a possible motion to allow me to sign that on behalf of the committee if someone would like to make that motion I move that the Long Meadow school committee authorize the chair to sign the Glenbrook Middle School design enrollment certification as presented for submission to the msba we have a motion do we have a second second thank you any discussion seeing none we'll move to a vote Adam yay Estelle yes Michaela yes Julie yes and yes for as well all right wonderful that brings us to new business we have um a note on the Center School Accelerated repair program another topic of conversation at our recent town meeting um which one of you is tackling that t we we we received notice from the msba on October 30th that our application uh to into the accelerated repair program to address the at Center was accepted so um very excited about that we we thought we'd be notified sometime in December so it was encouraging that we received that notification as early as we did on October 30th so um the the envelope of Center School clearly needs attention um we're not sure what schedule this will lead towards in terms of when that work will get started but once you're in the pipeline with the msba on the accelerated repair program uh it does move as quickly as public projects can move uh they will um assist us with um identifying a design team and ultimately a contractor for the project uh but the first step is for the school committee to consider signing the initial uh compliance certificate and so uh that will get us moving towards next steps with the msba which would be the full schematic design of a new roof at Center School so great news and um the town has already uh set aside some funds for the feasibility and schematic work that needs to be done so um we're excited about that all right great we have another possible motion for us to sign that initial compliance certificate um and send that on to the msba anyone would like to make that I've I just want to go on the record right now saying that I've always been a strong supporter of Rubes I think they're very helpful for education so because of that I move that the school committee approved the msba initial compliance certification associated with Center School roof replacement accelerated repair program and I authorize I say that we authorize the chair and the superintendent to sign this certification we have a motion do we have a second second thank you all right any discussion related to this seeing none we'll move to a vote Adam yes Estelle yes Michaela yes Julie yes and yes for me as well thank you all right we are headed into District Improvement plan all right I that was the most passionate emotion I've ever seen you need a roof a purely bureaucratic so uh all right so uh please to present to the committee for your consideration uh a district Improvement plan which would uh carry us through the 2627 school year a copy of the full plan is in your packet and um it builds on the conversations that we had when you met with the administrative team as a whole uh several weeks ago uh we also had an opportunity at an earlier meeting to sort of review some of the emerging themes so uh hopefully what you see in that plan is is familiar based on those recent conversations and even familiar based on uh our previous District Improvement plan so uh the full document is in your packet but um for your consideration I just want to if it's okay just share a a quick overview uh for you let me see if I have that let's see all right there we go all right so we we've taken um the approach of creating uh three-year District Improvement plans I think to to do them annually is really challenging Because by the time you get to the end of the year that it takes considerable amount of time to really pull stakeholders together and gather information um three years you know there are I've seen districts develop 10-year plans and it it feels like they become sort of meaningless pieces of paper after a couple of years so that the the three-year uh time frame seems to um really create a a horizon for us that is really more recognizable and achievable um and so that's been the practice and and Long Meadow for many many years and and really it's kind of a standard approach um across uh the Commonwealth um the the verbiage of the plan I I I dumped it into one of these word clouds just to see what what jumped out and um I was pleased to see that student learning uh was literally at the center of this word cloud and hopefully you see that it is at the center of uh the plan as well so the the plan before you this evening um the the focal areas really came to us from a number of different factors uh we had done a a staff and Community survey back in February of 24 that gave us some great insights on what the staff and Community hoped uh they would see in in our future directions and I'll share some of that with you shortly uh I hope that this feels familiar and lined up with uh school committee goals both current and even in recent years it's a reflection of uh School Improvement plans my hope would be that at your La at your next meeting um the administrative team would come with their individual school plans and it would be uh hopefully you'd see that it's very much in line with the district Improvement plan that is being presented tonight uh the mass depart Massachusetts Department of Elementary and secondary education has a set of standards for district Effectiveness uh that we reviewed as an administrative team over the summer those standards were also the basis for the staff and Community survey that we issued back in February uh so there's a there's kind of a linkage there uh as an administrative team we dove into a significant amount of achievement and performance data uh and that happens we did that in a in an extended Retreat um this past summer but obviously that happens on an ongoing basis as well I think our administrators kind of understand where the gaps are and where the where the Improvement targets could be based on achievement and performance data and then again sort of tie we tied a lot of that together with the administrative Retreats the planning Retreats that we that we conducted uh this past summer and so this is a different representation of some of the inputs that uh I just showed you on the previous slide and you you a representation of that uh that stakeholder survey um there's a tool here uh called called the student outcome comparison tool that the department of Elementary and secondary education released I think it was last spring and it really allows it's called a heat map and it really allows districts to uh zero in on opportunities for improvement and growth and so if if I were to click on this and I'll I'll spare you that tonight but it it literally lights up um you know the the the disciplines the grades the subgroups that um where we might see some underperformance and that we could focus our Improvement efforts on and so that that heat map was really interesting to us we're still building off of the uh reports that we received the collaborative uh Equity audit report from March of 21 there's um that was a a a guiding document for us it has been a guiding document for us but there's still some work to be done in that area and we want to we want to keep that front and center and and not let that that report slide into the background uh our administrators also engaged in this sort of this assessment of our district Improvement plan again I'm just showing you a little visual to sort of represent uh how we unpacked the last plan and where we thought we hit some targets and where we felt like we we needed to grow so this was interesting I had um in the in the stakeholder survey I had asked um respondents what is the single most positive aspect of this District relating to our efforts to support Student Learning and Development and so I wanted to share with you sort of the themes that jumped out of this part of the this open response part of the survey and the most frequently mentioned positive aspect was the quality and dedication of our Educators and so that was really encouraging to see that to have that reflected back to us in that in that survey uh the respondents appreciation for the the supportive environments and resources the diverse and challenging curriculum particularly uh the Arts and Music and extracurriculars were mentioned quite a bit um communication and feedback was seen as strong and extracurriculars were also a standout for us now what's interesting is when I show you the next slide which is the uh the aspects that the things that folks would like to see change some of the same things come up so we we were spending some time trying to tease that out I'll give you an example of that um on if you could change one thing about this District that relates to our efforts to support student learning what would it be and you'll notice that number five is communication and transparency so we were trying to tease that out and I think what we what our takeaway was um around uh communication on individual student progress I think the feeling was that communication about what we do and the activities and the you know uh parents feel like they know what's happening in their schools but maybe some better sense of their individual child's progress so uh that was interesting uh I think uh families you know want to see us continue to focus on safety safety safety safety that that came out quite a bit in the in the survey um improving curriculum and academic rigor really kind of getting back to the bread and butter of of of curriculum and ensuring that we had uh high quality rigorous curriculum in place and so those are some of the things I won't read everything on the slide but some of the things that that we heard that was reflected back to us from that from that survey and so pleased to present to the committee tonight A District Improvement plan that includes four overarching goals uh one goal relating to curriculum second area focusing on inclusive practice third area focusing how we can continue to work on embedding the the vision of The Graduate into our into our daily practice and then uh a strong Focus as well on creating uh supportive and safe learning environments and so each of those four areas includes some intermediate objectives and then some some indicators of success you know like what how will you know how do we know that we uh what needs to be done is probably a better way of saying it to to achieve the the goals that we've identified for ourselves so um it's a fairly dense document this was my best effort at sort of summarizing that in in the area of curriculum uh ensuring that taking the next step I should say with mtss processes mtss refers to the the multi-tiered systems of support ensuring that we have um a Continuum of support and services academically and social emotionally and behaviorally for kids uh Universal Design for Learning how you know what's the next uh what's the next step how do we uh ensure that we are uh we have provided sufficient professional development but we're also seeing it in action at the classroom level and then curriculum renewal which I know has been a point of emphasis for the school committee making sure that we have highquality rigorous curriculums in place and so having a real clearly articulated plan for that and the plan spells out a couple of of focal areas for us in terms of curriculum renewal uh inclusive practice is supporting the diverse identities when I think about identities we're thinking about you know the identities of of children as as Learners as people um and and making sure that we're being responsive to those identities responsive to their academic identities their their ethnic their cultural their racial identities uh and and making sure that children see themselves in the in the instruction they see themselves in the content of their classes uh recruitment retention and growth you know it's a it's a narrower teacher Pipeline and so we're just going to have to be I think more active as administrators to really get out there and and make sure that we're uh representing Long Meadow Public Schools effectively and that we are uh actively uh recruiting at area colleges and job fairs uh committing to inclusive practice through uh our commitment to the new IEP process which I think the sense is that if if we're committed to that new IEP process that it will naturally lead towards more inclusive practice particularly giving students ownership of the goals of their IEP that that is a a big point of emphasis the VG um opportunities for deeper learning when I say deeper learning it's an umbrella term to think about um learning opportunities that are uh engaging relevant rigorous Project based authentic those real opportunities for kids to dive deep into their learning I think with the new Middle School we've got a great opportunity to really embed that further um and then assessment and Reporting uh how do we you know we're moving past that stage where we are orienting people to the vog now how do we assess it how can we report it back to families in terms of the competencies that kids are are developing um safe and supportive environment yel ruler we talked about anti-bullying bias and hate uh education for staff for kids and parents awareness for staff kids and parents um we're all in this together and if everybody has a clear idea of what our commitments are to creating schools that are free from hate and bias then that's a big part of the work ahead and then digital safety which um some of these slides below kind of just go uh just as touch deeper on some of the commitments um so just backing up go one curriculum renewal mtss processes and Universal Design uh Panorama education is a is a tool that we are looking to roll out in the next few years Panorama education is essentially a data warehouse that will allow best way to explain it sort of One-Stop shopping for educators to monitor student progress and growth and create interventions um I depict Ed the the curate here curate is a a state um organization that assesses curriculum to make sure that it is rigorous and high quality in nature and so again a point of emphasis for the committee has been to make sure that we when we bring curriculum renewals forward that those that those proposals reflect the standards of vetted uh re searched curriculum and also are reflective of our commitment to the vog our commitment to uh to Universal Design This is sort of uh the best way of sort of representing that when we think about Universal Design for Learning do kids have multiple means to be engaged in class uh can they are they presented information in multiple ways and can they express their learning in multiple ways and that's the that's the challenge of Education nowadays is to make sure that kids feel that that connection and when when you design universally you're creating classrooms that are responsive to kids individual identities as Learners and as people and so we have uh we are at the beginning stages of entering a partnership with with cast which is a a well-known uh provider of professional development in the area of udl uh and and so that's goal one goal two again um supporting uh the various learning styles of students their identities recruitment retention the implementation of the new IEP uh goal three embedding the vog I want to highlight sort of that summative informative assessment practices you know so um summative assessments are uh end of unit or end of course assessments that give us a clear idea of what a child has learned over a long period of time formative assessments are meant to inform instruction they happen Midway uh in the in the midst of a a unit of instruction but they can inform the instruction to make sure that we're being responsive so how do we how do we create uh assessment practices that really zero in on the competencies uh that are articulated in that vision of The Graduate and goal four um the sort of a comprehensive approach to creating supportive School climates and safe learning environments and there's a sort of a list of some of the um activities that uh we see uh rolling out in the next three years Yale rulers see something say something um cell phone review which again I know is a point of emphasis for this committee or committed to that um cyber security um our our Tech staff is raising our Collective Awareness on on making sure that we are um that we are we have a a safe Network um that secures the assets of the district and also keeps kids safe social media awareness and Education data privacy uh is also something that we need to continue to focus on that we're we're keeping kids safe and keeping their identity safe if they happen to be using some uh educational sites or software so um it's a lot um we feel like this District Improvement plan charts a course again I hope all of this is familiar and and and sort of reflective of the conversations that we've had recently My Hope Is that this plan gets all of our arrows pointed in the same direction I I think of these in smaller arrows as our schools and there more arrows in schools but I think of them as our schools but you know they're all individual they have their own unique identities but we're all heading in the same direction when you're handed in the same direction it's just a better use of resources and training and professional development and Staffing and uh connecting pardon the the typo there but connecting District goals with school goals and educator goals and and when all of those things are are turning uh together it creates energy and growth and Improvement so um really pleased with the the really huge input of the community um our administrators have been at this for months now sort of trying to pull this all together to put it together in one coherent form and and hopefully it charts the course and gets us pointed in the right direction and happy to answer any questions might have and if um it's for your consideration if you if you felt that um it was in good shape um potentially could uh consider it for a vote tonight or if you wanted to bring it back at your next meeting that's an option as well all right we'll open up to questions Andor comments Adam I guess I mean first of all let me just say this is a very impressive um presentation document that's been made it you know takes into account uh a lot of different bodies of input to come together and to do a a a very difficult task um even over 3 years I think that that you know is is a profound commitment what we're we're putting forth here um what you know we talk about Summit of informative assessments you know going through two 24 to 27 what um you know what how do we have in place in the interim almost like a formative assessment to see if we need you know more support in one area for teachers or if there's you know something that that is not working as well how how are we assessing that right right um I think it depends on the the area that we the focal area right so if it if it's an area relating to um student well-being um so we have uh numerous climate surveys that help us understand if kids feel safe in school uh if it's relating to academic performance just regular and ongoing review of student performance data I I guess maybe this is where your question is leading like I wouldn't mind having the flexibility to tweak and adjust the plan um let's say this time next year or this time in 2026 you know just to make sure that we're you know I see it as mostly fixed but there's probably some pieces of this that maybe could be fluid and could be adjusted from from year to year based on what we're seeing in a given year right we don't know what's around the bend right I was thinking more you know what my mind immediately went to was just the academic rigor so I didn't know was there any you know surveying of the parents to see you know if they felt like we were meeting you know the the goals or if there was any other obviously academic performance is is you know you want to make sure that you're not that the rigor isn't going above and beyond and we're we're asking too much of of our students but I just didn't know if we had anything in place yeah that's an excellent question um I think when the administrators come back to you with their individual school plans you might get a little bit more sense of that like okay you know so Elementary uh literacy um we are in year One MH how do we how are we going to know it's working I think that's a a fair question to ask of our of our principles next week M um and even you know I'm thinking about uh English language learner Services you know you've made an investment um how has that investment reflected in the services that kids are getting this year and what does that look like for next year so yeah I think um I think I if I could maybe ask our administrators to kind sort of take that question on with their individual school plans that would be yeah I it's it's not that it this is just a curiosity of mine it's not like I see that there's something Miss no everything seems to be very well spelled out the goals how we're assessing I just wanted to know in the you know from year to year was there anything that we we can do just to get more more data and this and and certainly there's plenty of work that happens that's not even represented here right so right um like for example what's not in here really is the the the construction of the Middle School like we I I included the the academic side of the middle school project but yeah so there there's certainly things that we could no it' be it be the size of the budget if you accounted for I mean it' be a mass you'd have to wheel it in here yeah yeah other questions Andor thoughts I'm happy to see about cyber security and data privacy of the students it's really important a lot of our information is sold to third parties and people don't realize it yeah yeah and I know I helped out with the um there was a Cyber ransomware attack in city of Hartford school from school like few years ago okay so I guess um yeah I'm glad it's I'm glad it's there yeah yeah I don't know what the training will look like but yeah the the the state offers some um some free training and um we've accessed it in the past but it almost feels like something you have to revisit and uh we have some data privacy protocols in place that um we have some work to do in terms of helping the community and even staff understand why we have those data privacy protocols so there's there's certain sites and certain software that we we just want to make sure that if we're using it it is uh recognized as a service that protects students personal information you know well I'm glad to see um M um I was going to say I'm glad to see um that a lot of a lot of familiarity um to see things that have been kind of the focus of the committee and the school district over the last few years brought forward um and moving on to the next step so datadriven decision- making and practice enhancing that with new tools like Panorama um new focuses like seal data behavioral data um things like udl being kind of refocused and thought about how can we expand that out to the vision of The Graduate so that sort of expansion of work that's happened um and finding new ways to make that you know increasingly relevant and also up to date with the new information and Technologies and programs that we have Michaela um yeah thanks I just I had one question about the um audit from 2011 I mean 2021 not 2011 um so is that something that is regularly like assessed and checked back with that you meet with them to kind of help Target the next Direction on where to go there we we we certainly regularly check back on that report and I think it is informing this plan we don't check back with the organization um on that that's something that we could do we do partner with with CLE still for um some staff mentoring and uh for early career administrators but right now that report is in our hands and and we're sort of following up on it based on the directions and recommendations that came out of it uh we haven't really gone back to that organization uh to sort of check back in on our progress and then thank you and then I also um just obviously I think kind of reiterating what ni F said it's you know the udl and B and mtss all the wonderful acronyms but I feel like they're you know getting to the next level and all of that and it's wonderful to see and actually like last night in the seal meeting it was really one of those moments where when you're H in a like an advocate special Advocate is presenting to you about what's best for students with disabilities and everything that they're saying about social and emotional learning um hits the target of like what the district has done to adopt a new curriculum in that way like it talked about like how schools and classrooms should have Moon thermometers it talks about like how important social and emotional learning really is to a a person's success in life um so I really like it was so nice to see that and like when you think of those Wheels how important all those connections in the same common language and goals are and so with that being said I think I would like to see this like executed in the um like NE like the school level kind of like thinking about conferences cuz I feel like conferences and like communication with parents comes up a lot and like how can we make like the V and udl like engagement representation action and expression like how can students voices use those things to show their parents what they're learning and like it just kind of seems especially like you said the middle school being a focal point um and how we're like looking so forward to that building how can we start now working at the middle school level making those things like really really Innovative since that's our goal completely agree I I think sort of having our the the reporting that we do to parents reflective of these goals makes so much sense and and um some of that you know requires us to convey the vision of this plan effectively you know to make sure that parents understand that we are we we do expect kids to be involved in authentic deeper learning and it's it's not just about uh test scores and mcast performance um we're trying to develop the whole child and then so what what does our communication to families look like what does a parent teacher conference look like in 2024 I think that's something that I hope that this plan points us towards that so I I totally agree with you all right um yeah I think I think in that note too um kind of what Michaela was saying um is is that focus on goal two that idea of events that are focused on um bringing families on board with more of the curriculum updates that are happening so those opportunities for parents to engage with the literacy curriculum to engage with how that's being taught at their school to engage with yel ruler and how that's being used in the school opportunities for them to really become familiar with what is happening on a daily basis um and also how to support that best at home are really important all right other thoughts comments feedback Andrew um I just had a quick question about um sort of what you mean when you talk about academic rigor um in here cuz I think at least at the high school and what we talked about in school council with principal Landers is at least in terms like do you mean like course offerings or working within our current courses or something else because I think a big conversation we have in school council is about not offering too many more regish courses cuz that can um harm students a in the College admission process and feel we do also have a very competitive student body already and I think um sort of upping our academic riger would probably make that even more competitive for students so could you sort of expand on what exact you mean when you talk about academic grigger yeah I think it means a few different things I think right it it it shouldn't mean just turning the dial up to get kids to work harder and Chase more honors classes and AP classes right I think it should mean that kids have opportunities in a classroom to pursue a level of rigor that makes sense for them so if you think about it so step aside from the high school for a minute but in a in a in a fourth grade classroom right do we um by applying udl do you have are you creating opportunities for kids to um pursue the level of challenge that makes sense for them and so then you can extend that you know what what does that look like in a high school I don't think I think frankly in a high school what it's almost that concept of deeper learning ought to be the the EMP point of emphasis you know creating opport unities for kids to be involved in project-based you know highly engaging relevant opportunities to learn it's it's the LHS and this stuff is happening right but it's the LHS Capstone class which is you know just getting um just getting out of the gate it's the LHS internship opportunities it's the it's the opportunities in in all existing classes where teachers are creating these chances for kids to um really be deeply immersive in their learning and it kind of ties into you know when you have high stakes testing hanging over your head sometimes that can compromise deeper learning right and so um it really shouldn't be about chasing down as many AP classes as possible it really should be about giving kids those chances to really find a pathway like what's my passion and how can I pursue it so got a lot of work to do I mean it in a in a community in this community that has historically you know um kind of approached it the way you were describing that you know we we have to you know encourage folks to understand this vision of what we're trying to achieve right thank you yeah it's a very good point though I think rigor uh sometimes maybe is a word that is a little bit trickier to find ourselves on the same page with and it what it should mean is more like what is being talked about here rigorous should mean engaging and challenging and relevant to you individually not just harder yeah yeah that's why this sort of jumped out of me on the page cuz I had a I was pretty sure that was sort of the answer you give me but I just wanted to sort of re clarify because I do think as students and looking back like just looking overall has like when I think of rigor I do think of hardest courses at the hardest level Etc so I yeah that's a great point to bring up yeah I don't think rigger can get any better than some of the phrases that you've used which I'm going to be stealing immediately about deeper and authentic learning when I'm selecting people for admission for the University of Massachusetts Medical School I don't care at all about their test scores I want to see them demonstrate that deeper and authentic learning I can't tell you how many Physicians I've worked with who had great test scores but they have trouble with addition so right yeah that's that's beautiful I almost cried when you said that all right any further discussion related to The District Improvement plan and or possible motions I feel moved I feel so moved about this that I move on the recommendation of the superintendent and the administrative team that the school committee approved the 2024 to 2027 School District Improvement plan as presented we have a motion do we have a second second thank you any discussion seeing them we'll move to a vote Adam y Estelle yes Michaela yes and yes for me as well thank you all right great work I look forward to hearing from our building principles in our next meeting and seeing that alignment I have enjoyed over the years seeing how that um this sort of sets that stage for that to then move down to the building level and down to the professional development offerings curriculum offerings Etc that we see so that alignment is really um doing very well and I look forward to seeing that with the next one as well all right FY 26 Capital plan I have a sneaking suspicion that's going to be you Mr man that is me uh good evening in your packet tonight is a uh document um reflecting our FY 26 capital request um each year about this time we have um we bring forward to the school committee a a list of projects that we would uh we will submit to the town manager for consideration for funding um it will go through a process where uh the town manager will um accumulate all of the department requests and uh put forward a proposed list to the capital planning committee for their review and they will then uh meet with the Departments uh ask questions look for additional information to help understand the needs and the project and recommend to the select board which project should be included on the annual town meeting warrant uh for funding the allocation amount that is included in FY 25's uh in 25's budget is about $2.1 million um each year goes up slightly but not a substantial amount uh the request you have in front of you would be for consideration for funding in FY 26 um I will say I've made a couple of grammatical corrections to the document in front of you um just so you know but I would say the document's broken up into three sections uh page one and top of page two would be the prioritized or the projects we are submitting for consideration in FY 26 uh the rest of page 2 3 and four would be projects that we find are um in need and have some value and Merit but are not at the point where we are recommending moving forward for consideration at this point um for FY 26 funding but hopefully we'd be able to say we could address them over the course of the next 5 years but depending upon the cost of projects and other needs throughout 10 town I wouldn't say that's a an absolute certainty and then the last page is an update on projects that were funded in the past and a status of where they might uh fall in terms of either completion uh or waiting additional action so tonight you have nine projects that we are submitting um realistically we will be lucky if we get one or two of them again based on the cost of the projects and the total pot of money that's available it's it's you know it's I'm sure a very difficult task for Town manager to go through the needs of uh all the Departments DPW Public Safety um parks and wreck to kind of assess um how what what needs to move forward and and what might be able to wait for another year um for funding um there also may be opportunities in terms of conversations I've had with the T manager of maybe some other funding sources that might be able to address some of the needs we're presenting tonight um again we'll have to wait and see I think as she's looking at all of the requests and the total cost for the projects she's going to recommend moving forward so I thought I would quickly go through the nine projects we have um for consideration they are broken up into three categories uh the first category being safety um it would be for additional funding for security cameras and related equipment we did have a $200,000 project request in fy2 it got scaled back at town meeting and we we had about $80,000 on Tuesday town meeting appropriated the additional $120,000 that funding is to replace all of the cameras here at the high school and at the police station this additional funding request of $75 ,000 would be to add or provide additional camera coverage in the other buildings both school and town facilities um the 200,000 really did not provide us that opportunity it replaced the backend the servers our storage capacity and the existing cameras this funding request would be to provide additional coverage that um has been requested but we haven't been able to address because of funding uh the second item is for for some upgrades to the PA system at Williams it's it's kind of it's always difficult with the hope of a new build new Middle School how much do we invest into the current buildings um we have made some investments in this uh system but it would benefit with some updated wiring um some additional speakers both interior and exterior um before that that building but again we try to we try to do what we can with what funding we have when Capital doesn't when it's not recommended um the next category are facility related requests and in this category we have four building uh projects related the first is for the uh upgrade of the HVAC Chiller system at Blueberry um similar and it has a price tag of $700,000 it is similar to request that was approved uh for Wolf Swamp to upgrade their system which we anticipate will happen during the summer of 2025 uh these systems are uh new part of the building Renovations that were done in the early 2000s so they're getting 20 years or so and definitely in need of replacement um the issue we had this summer over at William at will swamp with uh humidity levels and the system not being able to keep uh the temperature at a comfortable level in the building was due to the the lack of the chiller working at full capacity uh the second item is for the um implementation of the changes to the Stadium Field here at the high school uh the town meeting funded uh I believe $60,000 or so for um an assessment of the field and a recommendation is forthcoming in terms of whether or not uh or what changes should be made to make that field uh better for utilization whether it be a synthetic or staying with the natural grass field but with uh either pulling up and putting down different sod um and so this we don't have the report yet so I don't have a dollar amount but I I would say based on conversation with the um the firm doing the assessment it will be in the millions especially if you include the track the bleachers lighting and accessibility around the field um it will be extensive so but I think it's important that you know it it's communicated that we do have uh needs Associated to that field you know depend whatever the recommendation is the third request is for uh carpet replacement um this would be say phase one to address the areas that are in most need I would say specifically at the elementary schools um the request is for $100,000 um you know based on uh moisture issu issues and age of carpet um either converting to tile or some other flooring where possible but replacing those uh areas that are most need um where it's either a safety trip Hazard and or a health issue you know we'd like to get moving on funding for uh for that request and the third item which has been on our Capital plan for uh maybe 10 years is uh painting uh throughout the district uh Capital has historically said they don't believe it's a capital uh eligible expense they feel an operating budget um expense and uh I remind them that there are no funds any in any budget in um any Department's operating budget to address the needs district and townwide for the painting needs uh there was some funds appropriated by the town from some ARA money um the town manager indicated maybe there might be some funding available to at least continue some of the initial painting that was done this past summer at a couple of the elementary schools but uh it really hit main are like main hallways it didn't even get into classrooms so all of the the buildings are in need of um painting throughout the buildings and then the third category is technology related um the there are three projects the first is replacement of our um wireless access points and switches um this would be be a two phase two-phase project this would be phase one with a request of about $260,000 and again this would be replacement um throughout all the school and town buildings of our wireless access points and the UN necessary switch gear Associated to um those access points the current equipment is about 5 years old um I'm told that's about the expected useful we would also want to take advantage of um federal e- rate funding which allows for reimbursement up to a certain percentage for elal projects so um funding would be used to help offset some of the cost in both years of the project and then um the second project would be for some enhancement at um I'm sorry for uh replacement of projection systems throughout the district um especially at the elementary level but also here at the high school where they have smartboards throughout all of the classroom instructional spaces uh the systems are starting to uh die they're getting on 10 years old the ones here at the high school the ones in the elementary schools are even older than that um so we have been replacing them as needed but looking for a more comprehensive approach to be able to kind of proactively go out and do it instead of waiting for them to die and have a few systems on hand um to replace them so phase one would be a request for $50,000 to address the most um the the areas where the systems are in the worst conditions and the last project is for um some upgrades to the network at the police station uh 25,000 it would be for um a designated fiber line directly into the police station currently it runs I believe through the town hall and then over to the police department with the uncertainty of what the use may be of town hall now that they've relocated to Greenwood um the uh Tech director thought it would be helpful and for their connection to Westcom um to have a direct fiber connection into that location would also provide for replacement of some surveillance equipment and uh the rem remote access control system that is tied into Westcom so those are the nine projects that um are putting forward for consideration um the list is comprised with input from administrators um I sent it out to them early in the fall saying here is the status of the projects from last year do you have any new projects do you want to advocate for moving something into the prioritize list why uh we also meet with DPW to understand some of the facility needs that they're looking at um I'm sure to Adam's disappointment the roofs did not make it into the prioritized list but um they're there because I think this is a mechanism to kind of convey our needs across all the buildings even large I mean any roof project itself would be more than the total capital budget in one year looking at the accelerated repair program through msba are opportunities to help maybe move some of these larger projects along the Windows app Center school art just about getting to the age now of being eligible for project requests through through that program but as much as it's about uh conveying our needs but also you know identifying those that we feel need the most attention you know in the near future so I can answer try to answer any questions you may have I know it's a lot of information um but that is what we're proposing for FY 26 all right question from folks regarding the study on the field um the report to be hopefully back in late fall is that late fall 24 25 yes I would say within the next few weeks we met with the consultant um out on the field earlier in the fall I was interviewed Marty and I were both interviewed by them a couple of weeks ago and I think they were just kind of pulling together the last pieces of their uh report and recommendations I mean given the size of that proposed project I figured that was going to be at the annual town meeting I think I think we need um the report to kind of help uh assess what the needs are and uh potential cost Associated to each of the those various areas that you know we mentioned so it might be something we see coming possibly in the spring okay for funding or consideration okay other questions um I'm just curious maybe offline I don't know maybe talk to whoever proposed to technology and just to see um you know if they would be fiber ready like next few years I don't know what they're proposing with the you know for the current Network infrastructure update but eventually you know with the town approving I mean you know passing the you know article about five yeah we currently do have a fiber connection Loop um that it's situated here right now we're planning on moving we're in the process of moving that to the DPW and so um I think they're just waiting for some connections there to relocate I think the servers are there but not operating yet but yeah cuz I didn't even know like if the internet is funded by Comcast here for you know the school it is not we use a different vendor for that access must be lovely yeah one of the eligible expenses that we can use e rap funding for is to offset some of that our our okay internet connection uh annual expenses okay but yes we most certainly can connect you to the director of Technology who'd be able to uh address some of those questions for the pa um speakers if that would be able to move through would those be the right kind of speakers that we then just move on to the next building highly doubtful they'd be going to a different building in the district we might be able to save them and utilize them for replacement in other locations because it would have to work with the current system yeah I mean from my understanding is some of the some of the current speakers aren't working and it isn't just the speaker it's the wire connection that would have to be run to get them operable and I think the same with the issue outside I think there's limited to um very limited amount of speakers on the exterior portion of the building so during our announcement anybody outside wouldn't be able to hear which is why we have them take radios with them so in case there's a need to get a hold of somebody they communicate over the radio Okay the system the PA system that we're talking about this isn't is it just not knowing anything about this uh emergency notification is it run through this system is it a separate system no I mean we don't the buildings are so old that our emergency systems aren't necessarily tied into the pa okay um announcements can be made through the phone system also there's an all call that allows um that communication this would be kind of the speakers that are up in the ceiling or on the wall to make daily announcements and so forth so but the fire alarms the alarm is a separate system not run through the PA system okay good other questions thoughts parliamentary procedure question you know as far as the motion that may or may not be presented here for this is that motion would that motion be in support of all nine measures yeah it would be to um I guess approve the capital project list for submission to the prioritized Capital project list for submission to the town manager basically saying here are our nine projects we want you to consider for inclusion and funding for f 26 and then the town manager decides of those nine what again through conversations with us and uh DPW and other departments Gathering more information there are forms that we would submit with each one kind of outlining our reasons why and the priority and that but again with $2 million and and knowing the need needs every year that that 2 million is used to fund some of it goes towards Street Paving some of it towards sidewalks guard rails fire TR DPW Vehicles it quickly gets eaten up so that's why I said at the beginning one or two projects you know is usually what we're able especially when they're it's a $700,000 request we're talking about a third of the allocation going to one project what um while we're on that what would it be replaced with the HVAC system at Blueberry it would um so my understanding is the current system would is using like a Freon system and I guess we're looking to phase that out um I think the chiller itself would also have to be replaced so I can't give you the exact technical answer as to what the system what would replace it but it would uh have the system operational uh more to the level that we need it working at I just feel like whenever we end up replacing these things too always ends up next on the epa's list yeah anyways okay well I mean are there any other questions Michaela okay I am again moved I moved that the school committee approved the prioritized FY 26 capital projects list as presented and dated 13th of November 201 24 we have a motion do we have a second second thank you any discussion seeing none we'll move to a vote Adam y Estelle yes Michaela yes and yes for me as well all right FY 25 budget we voted on this also at town meeting related to Chapter 70 increased funds um so we might have a little bit more money um one of you like to speak to what that could look like in our own fy2 budget sure I can start sure um So based on the action of article two being approved at the town meeting on Tuesday there is an additional $125,000 that's been approved for our FY 25 general fund um the school committee will have to amend our budget at some point to include this additional funding in whichever lines are um appropriate based on the needs I think um it probably would make sense to go back and look at some of the areas we I think identified at the end of the the superintendent's presentation back in last winter February of areas where there were probably some needs that we weren't able to fully incorporate um for funding in FY 25 um maybe some behavioral supports um the school committee also approved uh El the elll position a couple meetings ago that really that did not exist in our budget at the time so some funding might be allocated towards that I know there's always um discussion around curriculum replacement cycle funding our budget has very small amount Associated to that um that doesn't come near the cost of of the needs regarding uh curriculum adoption um and athletic is always a topic of conversation in terms of funding and needs so those are just some areas Dr sh I don't know if there well done so I would say we probably yeah refer to finance subw we can kind of have a greater detailed discussion about those areas and bring back a recommendation as to where to incorporate them into the budget and then an associated um revision to FY 25's budget at some point down the road all right any questions related to that just thank you it's a lot of hard work you guys do on this we're grateful that the that the residents supported the the article that increased our budget it's great it's great yep glad to have a little bit more ready to be put to use y all right we are now moving on to our next agenda item an administrative assistant retirement I'm going to let you speak I tried to lose this letter and I I you know but uh we uh we received notice that Diane Janis who serves as executive assistant to the superintendent and to the school committee uh has uh provided us notice with of her retirement on July 25th 2025 so um there will be many opportunities to thank Diane for her amazing career but um certainly don't want to miss this opportunity um as as Diane articulated in her letter she has worked with five superintendents five business managers six curriculum directors seven directors of Technology four directors of people Services seven facility directors one of which is her son one director of student and family support um so that that speaks to uh Diane's longevity and what a a a rock she has been for this District she's sort of at the front porch of Long Middle Public School and um is wonderful recipient of an incredible amount of phone calls and emails and requests and questions uh from staff and from families and uh and but also as that quiet engine that kind of keeps things moving Diane's heard me say this but it's the best way I can explain Diane's role here is you can take me out of the district for a few days and no one notices in fact people might be grateful you take Diane out of the district for even you know a day and and the questions pile up she she is um she she knows our contracts and our policies is better than any administrator probably in the district so um we're going to miss Diane greatly and I'm I'm grateful for all the professional and personal support she's extended to me over the years um and and I know she's a asset to the school committee as well so have you received any designs for the Statue yet they're same person who did the the Miami Heat um I'm going to jump on the bed I to say there's definitely more to say down the line and we have all the way until July 25th to get to say this um but we are thrilled for you um that you will be enjoying a retirement we are very sad for us um and I've had the privilege of working with Diane over the last 5 years she has been with long metal Public Schools since 20 ,000 24 years of service to Long Meadow public schools and six years before that for the town of Long Meadow so a 30-year career in Long Meadow of service and devotion and just I have enjoyed getting to know you and I am continually in awe of it is imposs I don't know that there's any question I've asked that you have not had an answer to um um so just the amount of support and the knowledge that Diane brings to our district district and to our school committee um is is not is not possible to put fully into words um and we are so appreciative of the service you've given and wish you a wonderful retirement full of time with your lovely family and joy and Adventures and all good things so thank you very much um I can't believe it's been 30 years or it will be in April um it went by really fast but I term it I started as a mom job working 10 hours a week in the accounting office and then just quickly moved from one position to the next position and came to the school district and I met so many awesome people along the way um and I wouldn't dare name names because I'd forget half of them um but I want to say thank you to everybody for my unexpected career um and just remember I'm not leaving till July of 2025 so hopefully that will provide everyone including me the time to get ready for the transition so thank you thank you thank you so much thank you so we do have to actually accept the notice of retirement much as we might try to lose it ourselves um um so there is a motion for that I move that the school committee accept the notice of retirement from the administrative assistant extraordinaire the superintendent and school committee Miz Dian jantis effective July 25th 2025 we have a motion do we have a second second thank you any further discussion seeing none we will move to a vote Adam yelle yes Michaela yes Julie yes and yes for me as well grudgingly really but happily also grudgingly and happily that's right all right we are um heading out of our regular meeting and into an executive session we have a possible motion related to that we will not be returning to open session I move to the school committee meet in executive session pursuant to Massachusetts General Law chapter 30A 21A purpose 2 to conduct a strategy session in preparation with collective bargaining with units AB CDE e f and H and purpose 7 consideration a release of executive session minutes of previous meetings not to reconvene an open session all right we have a motion do we have a second second thank you any discussion seeing none we'll move to a vote Adam yay Estelle yes Michaela yes Julie yes and yes for me as well we will see you all in almost two weeks um just before Thanksgiving have a lovely evening thank you Andrew you