March 21 Worcester School Committee meeting

 It's budget season, which means I am all over the state, so I'll do catch up on these as I can; I wasn't at this one and I can't make the next two, either, so they'll be coming later. Do note that the Committee meets this Thursday; the report of the Superintendent is on special education. 

The March 21 agenda is here; the video of the meeting is here. The report of the superintendent on future ready pathways is here.

Note that prior to the public session, there was an executive session on two worker compensation issues and negotiations with the Mass Nurses Association.

The consent agenda was passed. 

The Burncoat High School spirit team was recognized.

The held item on safety centers was filed without discussion; there's five years of data here.

During public comment, someone spoke on safety centers being "truly safety centers" and on George Jetson not being a cartoon at some point (which was apparently related to the request on car charging?). A parent spoke on school nutrition. As reported, Forest Grove students spoke on their civics project on school lunch. Another Forest Grove group spoke on their public petition (as noted by the Mayor; they worked through the process to get the item on the agenda, as comments have to be on something on the agenda) car chargers at Forest Grove. The public petition was sent to Finance, Operations, and Governance.
Remember that procedurally, Committee members cannot speak on public comment, save to refer; rules only work when they are enforced, however.
Dr. Monárrez thanked the students and teachers for being there and for modeling exactly what the report of the superintendent was on for the meeting. 

Dr. Monárrez introduced the report by noting that Wawecus Road School is acting as the "beta" for putting "future ready" into action, plus there are "Spark teachers" across the district. She said that they are working on "being a district that houses 48 schools to being a school district that offers opportunity and access to all of our scholars."

Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Marie Morse, Chris Kursonis, administrative director of college and career, and Sarah Kyriazis, director of ed tech and also principal of Wawecus School did the presentation. Morse emphasized the themes from the strategic plan involved: the equitable access to programs; students exercising agency in their learning; and future ready learning. The presentation included videos from students describing each of the parts of the vision of a learner. 

Kyriazis emphasized "joy in learning" stemming from social relationships, hands-on learning, and relevance. 
Kursonis then spoke of learning pathways:

and listed nine pathway priorities:

• curriculum and instruction
• college prep programs
• career guidance and exploration
• assessment and data analysis
• resource allocation and support
• family and community engagement
• technology integration
• success tracking
• policy review

In addition to what we might usually think of as Worcester Tech's programs, Kursonis outlined the paths in each of the comprehensive schools:

Two early college Promise program students spoke about early college and advanced placement classes (that's the fifth year program which is new this year). There are 16 students in that program. 
The district is also looking at extending these programs to all students including those in special education and in alternative programs. 
One of the educational technology coaches spoke of their work, of ensuring adults have skills needed for instruction; working on technology integration. There is work to making sure teachers are ready to shift as the world does. This is framed "not handing teachers another thing to do." There is work to map Vision of a Learner directly into the curriculum. 
The intent is to lead this to students who have a joy in learning leading to their being a successful adult. Next year, Wawecus will be piloting a portfolio of that demonstrates their skills and interests over the course of their learning. 
Dr. Monárrez closed by speaking of students carrying this beyond the school walls. 

McCullough noted the intentionality in the programs, of providing support to educators, of preparing students for being ready for work and for college. In response to her question, there will be guides for each section of the city and outline pathways to get students where they want to go. She also noted tracking students after graduation. 
Biancheria asked about funding; Monárrez said that Title IV is used for stipends, and there may have been some ESSER, and added that it will be in the budget. She asked for numbers on enrollment in Ch. 74 programs. She asked about school choice for students who aren't in a quadrant going to a program out of the quadrant, which has been an opportunity for years, so that isn't new? She said that most of the phone calls School Committee members get in the springtime is families not getting into Worcester Tech (which is not something I ever found). She asked about advanced manufacturing. She asked about working with unions and articulation agreements. Monárrez said they've had multiple conversations and will take note of that.

Mailman related her own memory of learning that was meaningful. She noted on the use of apprenticeship learning hours. She corrected that every chapter 74 program was open to students across the district (already, currently). In discussion, it was noted that the admission lottery at Tech is by quadrant; the administration will bringing forward a recommendation about admission to the other chapter 74 programs. She asked about time in the shops for the chapter 74 programs in the comprehensive programs. She offered hope that a new website might give better perspective on information for families. She asked about CTE programs, which there aren't any of (I don't understand this line of questioning). 

Johnson asked when there would be recommendations about lotteries, as he has a lot of concerns as to where it is going, and there may need to be much discussion. Morse said that there wouldn't be any potential changes recommended until June; DESE has to be notified by October. Administration will bring recommendations to the School Committee. Monárrez noted that there isn't enough time for changes for next school year that are new; the budget process may include ones the Committee already knows about.

Binienda said that Worcester was recognized for a long time on pathways, and chapter 74, and said that they were not new. She asked about "the program at North" and if firefighters are being used in instruction. Tatum noted that the EMT program is not a chapter 74 program; the district is looking into a different company to provide the instruction as well as other options. Binienda stated that CTE programs moved into chapter 74 programs. Tatum further explained that the students cannot take the EMT exam until they are 18 years old, leaving a wide gap as to when they then are able to take it. Binienda spoke of the need for training for 8th grade guidance counselors. She noted algebra being taken in 8th grade can determine their math path; Morse noted the ability for students to doubling up to provide more options. Monárrez added that guidance counselors are being pulled together across the district for learning. She spoke of the importance of bringing the families in and ensuring the families are involved in decision making for their child. Engagement with families through very different means are being used. 

The Committee then moved on to the item from the Student Advisory item, proposed as: 

To explore and provide resources that will support teachers/staff with their mental health such as counseling services, mindfulness training, as well as support groups that discuss stress management and coping skills that will support a positive school environment.

Students spoke to the difficulty of connecting with guidance counselors particularly around future planning, and of students not getting all the support that they should. They requested consistent follow-up with students. They noted that there are students who feel overlooked in their future planning. "When students are left in the dark, it can create a sense of unfairness." They asked for students to have an equal opportunity in pursuing their goals. 
The Burncoat rep Thomas Sutton noted that the previous students were speaking to an item that was to go on the next agenda. He spoke to the one on the actual agenda. "Staff's wellness directly impacts their ability to teach us," he said. He said that one only need go on Instagram to see the stress that teachers are under, and asked that opportunities for support be given. The item was referred to administration.

The grants: 

• the Homeless Emergency Support Grant from DESE Student and Family Support in the amount of $125,000.00
• the ParentChild+ Grant from the ParentChild+/Wellington Management Foundation in the amount of $27,000.00
• the ParentChild+ Grant from the ParentChild+/Wellington Management Foundation in the amount of $28,000.00
• the Perkins Equipment and Program Improvement Grant from DESE in the amount of $92,660.00 
• the History Field Trip Grant Program from the American Battlefield Trust in the amount of $2,000.00

...were passed unanimously on a roll call, after Mailman asked about the scheduling program in the Perkins grant.

The easement for Verizon at Doherty was passed unanimously on a roll call.

Biancheria asked for a report on providing therapy dogs at school sites. She said she understood that it was going to Finance and Operations (and named the members, leaving out Johnson), and outlined wanting it seems? to have the district funding this. She argued that the student deaths could have used. We should note that there is no federal or state standard for "therapy animals" and they're not legally recognized. Monárrez said that they'd be bringing forward not only finance but also policy, as it is both. The item was referred to FOG.

Biancheria asked for a report "no later than the end of May" on the number of students homeschooling, saying "the process always has some tweaks." This is much less true now that we have a superintendent who isn't on a collision course with homeschooling families, as was previously the case. The item was referred to TLSS.

The report on Other Post-Employment Benefits was referred to FOG after a question by Mailman on how many employees are now contributing; Allen said less than 100, as it is the new employees of the unions who have ratified that in their contracts.

Guardiola spoke on school meals; he said we have families of many kinds across the city whose dietary needs must be met. He said the students reached out to him on this item. He said we should be sourcing locally (does he think we aren't?) and cited the Worcester Food Hub; 68 districts use the food hub for aggregation (um...why does WPS need an aggregator? The district is its own aggregator and has been for years. It’s also, while not strictly speaking an ethics violation, sketchy for him to tout something that is an effort of his employer). Mailman noted the large amount of time spent on school nutrition last year; she learned last year that there are many efforts on meeting these needs. She asked if anyone could speak to local sourcing. Allen said the district generally purchases from farmers directly and look to expand that through the nutrition innovation program. McCullough asked that the item be referred instead to FOG subcommittee. Biancheria asked about cost; Allen said yes, that school nutrition is entirely supported by its own revenue. She suggested "if we branch out, there" might be cost associated with that; she said "there is a long history" of unhappiness. Roy asked if there could be a committee of students from schools. Allen noted the use of superintendent student advisory council, and said that the administration is thinking of using both parent and younger students as new menu items roll out.

The Student Opportunity Act plan was approved on a roll call without discussion.