OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
May 23, 2018
The Boston School Committee held a meeting on May 23, 2018 at 6 p.m. at the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, 2300 Washington Street, School Committee chamber, Roxbury, Massachusetts. For more information about any of the items listed below, visit www.bostonpublicschools.org, email [email protected] or call the Boston School Committee Office at (617) 635-9014.
ATTENDANCE
School Committee Members Present: Chairperson Michael Loconto; Michael O’Neill; Jeri Robinson; Regina Robinson; Dr. Miren Uriarte; and student representative Keondré McClay.
School Committee Members Absent: Vice Chairperson Hardin Coleman and Alexandra Oliver- Dávila.
DOCUMENTS PRESENTED
Agenda
Grants for Approval Totaling $150,000: BPS Teaching Fellowship – Districtwide - $40,000 High-Quality Curriculum – Districtwide - $10,000 Snowden High School Painting Project - Snowden High School - $100,000
Columbia Point School Properties Resolution – Draft
BPS Department of Global Education Update PowerPoint and Equity Impact Statement
Boston School Committee - Boston Police Superior Officers’ Tentative Agreement PowerPoint and Equity Impact Statement
Superior Officers Cost Out
Memo from Superintendent to Boston School Committee re: Boston Police Superior Officers Federation – Collective Bargaining Agreement, dated May 22, 2018 School Committee Meeting Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building School Committee Chamber
May 23, 2018
Boston School Committee - Plant Administrators Association’s Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement PowerPoint and Equity Impact Statement
Plant Administrators Cost Out
Memo from Superintendent to Boston School Committee re: Plant Administrators Association’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, dated May 23, 2018
Boston Public Schools Strategies to Serve Off-Track Youth PowerPoint
Excellence and equity for all: Unlocking Opportunities for off-track youth in Boston Public Schools – EY Parthenon
BPS Response to Off-Track Youth Report
CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Loconto led the pledge of allegiance and called the meeting to order.
CITATIONS
The Committee and Superintendent presented citations to the following graduating seniors who are active members of the Boston Student Advisory Council, the primary vehicle for student voice and youth engagement in Boston Public Schools:
Keondré McClay, Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers Dejah Delpleche, Snowden International School at Copley Alanna Bannister, West Roxbury Academy Dorothy Jeune , Madison Park Technical Vocational High School Malik Bullock, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School Steven Moquete, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School Jamaleek Bush, John D. O’Bryant School for Math and Science Jashara Henderson, John D. O’Bryant School for Math and Science Alejandro Melguizo, John D. O’Bryant School for Math and Science Anthony Pina, Mary Lyon Pilot School Nickoliss Twohads, Urban Science Academy Norsha Hydol, Tech Boston Academy Jhalen Williams, Excel High School
MEETING MINUTES
Approved – The Committee approved by unanimous consent the minutes of the May 9, 2018 School Committee meeting.
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SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
*As prepared for delivery.
Good evening everyone. I would like to start tonight’s report by addressing — yet again — another senseless school shooting: this one at Santa Fe High School in Texas, which tragically ended the lives of 8 innocent students and 2 teachers at the hands of a 17-year-old gunman. I know we are all sick and tired of hearing about school shootings and many of us are left speechless. But we cannot be silent.
This onslaught of school gun-violence can make us, as a society, desensitized to these brutal acts — that as a country we are beginning to “normalize” school shootings. We mustn’t let this happen. We cannot allow these incidents to be accepted as normal behavior. According to news reports over the weekend, more people have been killed in our schools ... so far this year … than have been killed while serving in the U.S. military.
Accounting for the 10 people shot to death on Friday at the Texas high school, 31 people — an overwhelming majority of them students — have been killed at schools since Jan. 1. Comparatively, 29 U.S. service members have been killed during the same time period, including both combat and non-combat deaths, according to the Pentagon.
In BPS, we are working focused on creating safe, welcoming and sustain school environments. We have a deep partnership with the Sandy Hook Promise for anti-violence initiatives and to create more inclusive learning environments. We are making commitments to facilities upgrades and access to mental health. But we cannot ignore that we have to do something about access to guns. There are some who may want us to ignore the simple fact that there are just too many guns in our country.
The New York Times reported last November that the only variable that can explain the high rate of mass shootings in America is the astronomical number of guns. Speculation on other factors, such as mental health care or an unusually violent society we live in, have been debunked by research. Americans make up about 4.4 percent of the global population but we own 42 percent of the world’s guns. From 1966 to 2012, 31 percent of the gunmen in mass shootings worldwide were Americans, according to a 2015 study by the University of Alabama. The United States has 270 million guns and had 90 mass shooters from 1966 to 2012. No other country has more than 46 million guns or 18 mass shooters.
The issue of gun access not only affects young people in their schools but it also results in shootings in our neighborhoods, especially the neighborhoods where many of our young people live. The news often focuses on school shootings but it’s the other non-school related shootings that kill even more children. I am proud that Boston Police Commissioner Billy Evans has been vocal about these issues.
Last night I had an opportunity to spend some time with about two dozen BPS principals. This topic came up. People are worried and concerned about the safety of students. They want to
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May 23, 2018 barricade our schools- understandably so. But let’s not forget what makes our schools great- that they are welcoming to parents, students and community partners. In BPS, we are not about building “walls” but opening “doors.” Let’s not forget our values as we continue to ensure that we are putting in place safety protocols in our schools.
Tonight, members of EY-Parthenon will present the findings and recommendations of a report that I commissioned — and the Barr Foundation generously funded — studying how the district supports our off-track youth. In 2007, BPS commissioned a similar report (by the then-Parthenon Group) to examine how the district serves its students who were at risk for dropping out. That report revealed a serious need for improvement. In ensuing years, BPS made concerted efforts and devoted targeted resources toward supporting these students.
Over the last 10 years, we’ve celebrated our steadily rising graduation rate and declining dropout rate that’s put more students than ever on a path to graduate high school. Our high school graduation rate reached a historic high in 2017, continuing its decade-long rise that has produced a nearly 15 percentage-point increase in the number of students earning a diploma in four years. The BPS four-year graduation rate has risen from 57.9 percent in 2007 to 72.7 percent in 2017, representing a 14.8 percent increase. Over the same time, the annual dropout rate has fallen from 7.9 percent to 3.6 percent.
But we know these improvements have not been enough, that we need to do more to better support those students who are falling behind and falling through the cracks. That’s why last August I commissioned a new report by EY Parthenon to re-examine how we support students who are most at risk for to fall off to graduate. This newly completed report has found that — while there are recent signs of improvement, especially in the last 3 years for students who enter high school without EWI (early warnings signs) staying on track — we have much more improvement to make. This report on off-track youth is BOTH a call to action AND one key to further focusing our efforts effectively.
Among its key findings is something we’ve suspected… we need to: o Preventative strategies: Assist more youth to stay on track to graduation and prevent them from falling off-track. o Recuperative strategies: Assist more youth who fall off-track to get back on track to graduation. o System strategies: Adjust policies and practices that impact student success broadly.
The report calls on BPS to make bold, systemic changes to our high school policies and practices. And it recommends a more holistic, integrated approach to prevent students from falling off track to graduate and help them recover when they do. We know our dedicated educators work very hard to prepare our students for college, career and life readiness. We must get rid of the systemic and policy barriers so that they are in a better position to do their best work on behalf of all our students, including those who are falling behind and are off-track to graduate.
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In BPS, we are committed to preparing each one of our graduates is prepared for college, career and life in the 21st century. To close opportunity and achievement gaps, we need to make sure EVERY student in BPS is put in a position where they can be successful through their journey to graduation. This is our promise to youth. My leadership team is closely reviewing this report to determine the best path forward for BPS. We will be presenting our initial response to the School Committee tonight. We are indebted to the Barr Foundation for funding and supporting this work, and EY Parthenon, whose research provides us the needed direction to develop a strong plan of action to overhaul how we engage our students who are most at risk. You can view the report on our website at www.bostonpublicschools.org/offtrackyouthreport
Now onto some bright spots. Rhianon Gutierrez from the BPS Digital Learning department has been selected as an “Emerging Leader among Outstanding Young Educators” by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Rhianon is also a board member of the ISTE Inclusive Learning Network, which focuses on instructional and assistive technologies. In 2016, during her Ignite talk at ISTE, she spoke about her work around professional learning, accessibility, and Universal Design for Learning in the Boston Public Schools. Next month she will be honored at the ISTE’s conference and expo in Chicago. Congrats Rhianon for your great work.
Last Wednesday five teams of culinary students — representing three schools, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, Boston Day and Evening Academy, and Fenway High School — competing in the district’s second annual Cooking Up Change, an Iron-Chef like cook-off contest.
The winning students from this years’ Iron Chef-like contest are Ninth-grade student Autasia Fuentes of Dorchester, and eleventh-grade student Taya Henderson, of South Boston from Madison Park. They will be representing BPS in June in a nationwide competition in Washington, D.C. Their winning meal, chicken quesadilla with pico de gallo and chicken delight, will be featured in our school menus for the upcoming year. Cooking up Change is a national healthy cooking competition launched by Healthy Schools Campaign. It challenges teams of high school culinary students to create school lunch menu items that are not only healthy, but also meet nutrition guidelines and the budgetary constraints, which is $1.43 per meal in Boston Public Schools. This is a great opportunity for us to make school lunch enjoyable for everyone from the perspective of our very own students.
Last Thursday, the BPS History and Social Studies Department held a Maps Day here at the Bolling Building lobby that focused on exploring global perspectives and bias through geography. Close to 200 students from five different schools participated in the event and got to experience engaging stations, such as: o Bridgewater State University's Project EarthView, which is a 20-foot-tall inflatable globe that lets students walk through to see the world exactly how it is from inside. o Norman Leventhal Map Center: Using maps to explore the geography of Boston from 250 years ago
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o Shared Studios Portal: a high-tech inflatable room where students connected via audiovisual technology with individuals from Milwaukee to Mexico City, and Iraq to Honduras, including being able to talk to refugees about their everyday lives. This was presented in partnership w/ Andover Public Schools) o Model UN of Greater Boston: where students played the role of diplomats debating concerns around climate change through the lens of different countries. o Peters Map: Analyzing the differences between different map projections.
This is always a great event that expands student’s horizons.
Last week we kicked off the Spring Season City Championships where Boston City League high schools and middle schools compete against each other, both for bragging rights and to advance to the MIAA state tournament. This long-time tradition of intra-district sports competitions draws widespread community interest. It’s also unique to Boston Public Schools. No other district has such an event.
On Thursday, the John D. O’Bryant Tigers won the Girls Outdoor Track & Field City Championship, while the East Boston High School Jets captured first in the Boys Outdoor Track & Field City Championship division — each beating out the 13 other teams. The most outstanding athletes of the meet for the girls was Jahphiah Gillard from the West Roxbury Raiders. For the boys it was Abel Fuentes from East Boston. On Friday, the Boston Latin Academy Dragons won the boys volleyball city championship, beating the O’Bryant Tigers.
This morning, Mayor Walsh and I visited the Mattahunt Elementary School, where there was a naming ceremony for the school and the Haitian dual-language program. Last month, the School Committee voted in favor of changing the name of the building back to the Mattahunt after we used the temporary name, the “Mattapan Early Elementary School,” when we formed a new school in the building this year. -The name change came after we received nearly 100 suggestions from the community. We saw some great performances from the students and the music teacher who sang a fabulous rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. The K1 students in the Haitian-Creole program, which is now officially called the Toussaint L’Ouverture Academy, gave spectacular performances of songs from the Haitian culture, including the National Haitian Anthem. We are so proud to host the first pre-K Haitian dual-language program in the country at the Mattahunt; and that we are representative of the community and identities of the students we serve. Boston Public Schools is very proud to support students from every background and ethnicity in their path to success.
Also today, Mayor Walsh and I joined Police Commissioner Bill Evans, CEO of Delaware North’s Boston Holdings Charlie Jacobs, and Executive Director of the Boston Bruins Foundation Bob Sweeney, and Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, a Boston native, for an exciting event at the James F. Condon K-8 School. The school assembly celebrated our new partnership with the hockey team supporting the fitness and physical education of our youth.
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The Bruins organization has donated close to $80,000 of street hockey equipment to nearly 80 BPS elementary and K-8 schools through its B-Fit School Assembly Program. Each participating school received a full set of hockey sticks, goals, goalie gear, balls, and other equipment needed for both floor and street hockey. Nearly 25,000 BPS students have access to this street hockey equipment in their schools, including some 13,500 students in grades 3-5 who will use the hockey equipment as part of their PE curriculum. The Bruins are also helping financially support BPS in sustaining our use of an online fitness assessment tool that allows our students to set fitness goals and receive personalized fitness reports they can share with their families. BPS is committed to actively promoting the social, emotional, and physical wellness of all students. It’s wonderful that the Boston Bruins organization also recognizes the importance of physical education for our city’s youth. We’re thankful for their partnership, as we work to develop healthy bodies and minds that are ready to learn. The Condon students had a great time competing against the Mayor and other VIPs in hockey shooting drills.
Also, today I had the opportunity to speak at the 11th Annual BPS Wellness Summit, held at the Kroc Community Center in Uphams Corner. This event is meant for staff in the Office of Social Emotional Wellness to come to together to share resources and success stories — and to inspire one another to create safe, healthy and sustaining learning environments. The full-day event kicked off with a keynote address by Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, MD who spoke about the importance of developing health literacy among students as an essential way to ensuring they are college, career and life ready when they graduate. Schools also got to share their best practices in collaborating to improve student health and wellness on a variety of topic areas. The SEL-Well team also held handed out a number of awards, including the Excellence in School Wellness Awards and Healthy & Sustainable Custodial Awards. This is always a fabulous event that creates a great bonding and learning experience for the 200 participants.
Lastly, I want to congratulate the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers, which has been selected as the winner of the 2018 Pozen Prize for School Innovation. The $80,000 award is given annually to recognize schools that consistently boost students’ achievements through innovative models, programs and practices. Boston Community Leadership Academy was selected as runner-up, receiving a $10,000 prize.
“We are pleased today to recognize the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers as the latest winner of the Pozen Prize,” “Kennedy Academy has leveraged its Horace Mann charter autonomies to build a long-standing reputation as a place of high academic achievement for students from all backgrounds,” said Robert Pozen, who created the prize with his wife, Elizabeth. The school offers its students both a powerful alternative to traditional vocational programs and the academic rigor for college preparation, helping to ensure all students are ready to succeed in their chosen next steps after graduation.”
Kennedy Academy makes career and college preparation a focus throughout a student’s entire career, with weekly seminars on college and career, a robust system to ensure students explore and understand career pathways, and support throughout the college application process. The school also offers a unique program making it possible for students to earn their Certified
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Nursing Assistant certification at EMK alongside their college prep work, making it possible for students to have a work opportunity that can help pay their college tuition.
“Kennedy Academy demonstrates the power that school-based autonomy can have in shaping a school that serves both its students and its faculty well,” added Paul Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation, who noted more than half the teachers at Kennedy Academy have more than a decade of experience. “The school has created a unique atmosphere that inspires success and makes it possible for students to thrive.”
Kennedy Academy has also worked to broaden its ability to serve all students, expanding its special education staffing and programs, and providing opportunities for students at all levels to access high-level coursework, including AP courses. Serving a student body that is over 90% African-American and Hispanic/Latino, and with 75% considered “high needs,” the school reported sending 99% of its graduates to two- or four-year colleges, with 73% of the Class of 2017 attending four-year schools. Just over half of graduates pursue health-related college majors. This is well earned prize by Headmaster Caren Walker Gregory, who has served the Kennedy Academy for 18 years, and the rest of her dedicated staff.
I want to invite everyone to the 3rd Annual Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline (DSTPP) Community Forum on June 5th at the Freedom House from 10-1pm, hosted by our Office of Social Emotional Learning and Wellness. Please join the team as they will share out the projects they have been working on and engage participants in robust discussions to gather feedback that will inform action steps for the upcoming school year.
Ms. Regina Robinson congratulated the Mattahunt Elementary School community on its recent school renaming celebration.
Mr. O’Neill said that yesterday he visited the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and was greatly impressed with the school’s valedictorian, Erisette Marie Cruz, who will attend Gallaudet University in the fall.
Chairperson Loconto noted that the winners of the Cooking Up Change contest will serve samples at an upcoming School Committee meeting. He congratulated Ms. Jeri Robinson, who serves as vice president of Early Childhood Initiatives at Boston Children’s Museum, on receiving the first-ever Champion of the Field Award from the Association of Children’s Museums.
Chairperson Loconto praised the Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) for its advocacy of MA House Bill 3610, the so-called “Red Flag” bill which, if approved, would let a court temporarily prohibit someone from possessing or buying a gun if they are judged to be a risk to themselves or to others.
The School Committee approved the Superintendent’s Report by unanimous consent.
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GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
Liliana Mickle, member, board of directors, Key Steps, testified in support of Key Steps.
Lisa Guisbond, executive director, Citizens for Public Schools, testified regarding Build BPS.
Barbara Fields, former educator, and Megan Wolf, BPS parent, read a letter co-signed by ten education and community groups requesting a moratorium on school facilities decisions until the release of the next phase of Build BPS.
Amanj Omar, student, McCormack Middle School, testified regarding the Columbia Point School Properties proposal.
Peggy Wiesenberg, attorney, testified against the Columbia Point School Properties Resolution.
ACTION ITEMS
Approved – The Committee approved by unanimous consent grants for approval totaling $150,000.
The Committee then discussed the Columbia Point School Properties Resolution. Chairperson Loconto read the draft resolution aloud for the record.
Mr. O’Neill said that the resolution marks the beginning of a process, not the end, adding that he will not vote in favor of transferring the land unless the Build BPS plan is made clear. He said that he does not support a moratorium on facilities decisions.
The Superintendent announced that he is assembling Build BPS engagement advisory group comprised of approximately 30 members who will review school reconfiguration proposals. He expected to bring the next phase of Build BPS to the Committee in the next 12 months. Chairperson Loconto asked the Superintendent to return to Committee with more details on engagement advisory group and timeline moving forward.
Ms. Regina Robinson echoed Mr. O’Neill’s comments and suggested that the next phase of engagement regarding the Columbia Point School Properties proposal include feedback from student, parents, and residents.
Dr. Uriarte said that she lacks clarity around the reasoning and timing of the proposal, adding that she does not support declaring moratorium on facilities decisions.
Ms. Jeri Robinson requested more clarity around Build BPS to provide the Committee with context for the proposal.
Mr. O’Neill offered the following amended language: “BPS will actively seek student, school, and community and community input and involvement to inform the drafting of the RFP.”
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Dr. Uriarte requested clarity from the City’s Department of Neighborhood Development and asked that the Committee receive a presentation on the Build BPS community engagement process. Chairperson Loconto recalled that district’s April 11th presentation to the Committee was co-presented by Sheila Dillon, the City’s Chief of Housing and Director of Neighborhood Development. He noted that the resolution states that BPS will retain, care custody and control of the land throughout the RFP process. He suggested that DND officials return to Committee with an update detailing the community engagement process before the RFP is issued.
The Superintendent reiterated his earlier comments that this proposal would not impact Build BPS.
Dr. Uriarte suggested ensuring that residents be able to continue to use the land free of charge. Chairperson Loconto said that there will be an opportunity to add such specifications later in the process.
Approved – The Committee approved the Columbia Point School Properties Resolution by a roll call vote of 4-1. Dr. Uriate voted no.
REPORTS
BPS Department of Global Education Update – BPS Director of Global Education Brittany Wheaton Calloway presented an update on international student travel. Highlights included:
● Since 2014, the BPS international student traveler population has grown by 42% ● Since 2014, students traveling domestically has increased by 28% ● Since 2015, the male participation rate increased by 7% and is expected to exceed last year’s rate by August 2018 ● By August 2018, 23 of BPS’s 38 high schools will have conducted international trips. When combining international and domestic trips, 34 of the 38 high school have conducted student travel. ● Since 2015, BPS has trained 127 BPS faculty and staff members in Global Trip Leader Management.
Students, teachers, and a parent representing the McCormack Middle School, Warren-Prescott K-8, and TechBoston Academy discussed the impact that international travel had on student learning.
Committee members praised the increased participation rates in international student travel and encouraged the district to expand it further.
Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreements – Lisa Maki, director of BPS Labor Relations, presented tentative collective bargaining agreements between the Boston School Committee and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, and the Boston School Committee and the Plant Administrators Association. Ms. Maki presented highlights of the agreements, both of which consist of annual wage increases of two percent from 2016-2020 and include supplemental
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May 23, 2018 appropriation requests to the Boston City Council for FY18 ($54,983 for Superior Officers; $49,338 for Plant Administrators).
The Committee is scheduled to vote on both agreements, as well as the supplemental appropriations, on June 6th.
Discussion on Off-Track Youth – Chris Librizzi, managing director at EY-Parthenon, presented the findings of a new report titled Excellence and equity for all — Unlocking opportunities for off-track youth in Boston Public Schools. Superintendent Chang commissioned the report last August to gain a deeper understanding of how the district’s secondary and alternative schools have historically supported those students considered “off track to graduate,” meaning they are at least two years off-pace in terms of their age and required credits.
The report was funded by the Barr Foundation and produced by the EY-Parthenon practice of Ernst & Young LLP. The extensive study examines how students who are not on track to graduation face steep challenges and low rates of success. It also identifies why students fall off track and the early-warning indicators that could put youth at risk of falling off track.
According to the report, the proportion of BPS students who are considered “off-track” has decreased slightly over the past decade, and there are strong signs of promise in the last three years. However, the district still has thousands of students falling off track, placing them at risk of dropping out. The research found that while 90 percent of BPS students stay on track to graduate, very few of those who fall off track recover to graduate.
One of the key findings of the report is that among the 3,300 students viewed as “off-track,” only one in four, or 25 percent, end up graduating within four years while 36 percent graduate in six years. Comparatively, 84 percent of “on-track” students graduate in four years while 89 percent graduate within six years.
Today, almost one in five students is off track by two years or more. Additionally, less than half of all Black and Latino students attended a high school with an expected graduation rate above 70 percent during the 2015-16 school year. These students, by and large, were attending open enrollment schools and alternative schools.
After the original 2007 report revealed a serious need for improvement to better serve off-track youth, BPS made significant efforts and investments in crucial areas, including alternative education. Thanks to these concerted efforts, the BPS four-year graduation rate has risen from 57.9 percent in 2007 to 72.7 percent in 2017. Over the same time, the annual dropout rate has fallen from 7.9 percent to 3.6 percent.
Among the report’s findings: Many open enrollment schools (schools in which students do not have to pass an exam or go through an admissions process) are not meeting the high needs of many of their students — and demand for these schools has fallen over time.
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Part of the difficulty for open-enrollment schools results from the stratification of the BPS system; the most needy are clustered in a subset of schools, exacerbating the challenge. Funding of BPS high schools does not fully reflect the broader diversity and intensity of need across schools. Students who eventually become off track frequently transfer from school to school within BPS and often experience poor outcomes when they switch schools. Alternative education schools, on average, are not successfully re-engaging off-track students, and students seeking a placement in alternative schools are frequently unable to find one.
The report makes a range of recommendations, including: Transforming open enrollment and selective schools. Overhauling alternative education. Better identifying early warning signs when students are falling behind. Changing policies for admission and funding to enhance equity and create conditions that allow all schools to succeed. Shifting to an ongoing, data-driven, active management approach of high schools.
Committee members called the report “sobering,” and expressed disappointment that the district has not made more progress since the release of a similar report 10 years ago. Dr. Uriarte requested demographics data on off-track students, which Mr. Librizzi agreed to provide. Mr. O’Neill thanked the Superintendent for commissioning the report, the Barr Foundation for funding it, and the Private Industry Council for its partnership supporting off-track students.
BPS Response to Off-Track Youth Report – BPS Deputy Superintendent of Strategy Dr. Donna Muncey and Executive Director of Strategy Dan Anderson presented the district’s response to EY-Parthenon’s Off-Track Youth Report. Actions currently underway include: redesigning the Re-Engagement Center; realigning existing alternative education programs with student needs; supporting the integration of college and career exploration, work-based learning opportunities, and career and technical education opportunities into the school day; and continue the development and rollout of the Essentials for Instructional Equity. The district is also exploring a number of actions for the near future, including: implementing effective use of early warning indicator data for student support across high schools; and ending administrative assignment of students to under-selected and under-enrolled schools. The presenters noted that answering the call to solve the challenges presented in the report will require a coordinated and sustained effort over several years.
Committee members asked the Superintendent to return with a more specific response that includes an aggressive timeline that reflects the sense of urgency conveyed in the report. The Superintendent said that by September his team will craft a comprehensive strategic plan that includes indicators and targets.
Dr. Uriarte asked that a representative from the Office of English Language Learners be included in the process.
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Mr. O’Neill suggested that early warning indicators and off-track youth data be added to the BPS Performance Meter.
Chairperson Loconto asked clarifying questions about early warning indicators and the district’s investment, all of which were answered by the presenters and the Superintendent.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON REPORTS
Peggy Wiesenberg, advocate, asked if the meetings of the Build BPS advisory group would be subject to MA Open Meeting Law.
Megan Wolf, BPS parent, testified regarding the Columbia Point School Properties resolution.
John Mudd, advocate, testified in favor of targeted programing in response to the off-track youth presentation.
NEW BUSINESS
None.
ADJOURN
At approximately 11:37 p.m., the Committee voted by unanimous consent to adjourn the meeting.
Attest:
Elizabeth Sullivan Executive Secretary
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