Recording in progress. Good evening and welcome to the November 6, 2025 regular meeting of the Brookline School Committee. The first item on our agenda is a proposed executive session. I move to meet an in executive session pursuant to Massachusetts General Law
Chapter 30A section 21A for the following purposes. Purpose two, to conduct a strategy session in preparation for negotiations with non-UN personnel interim superintendent if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the committee and the chair so declares. And
purpose seven to review and approve minutes of the October 8th, October 9th, and October 22nd, 2025 executive session meetings. Is there a second? >> I'll second. Oh >> yeah, >> Bob. Who? Bob seconds. Bob, how do you vote? >> Andy,
>> yes. Suzanne, >> yes. >> Mariah, >> yes. >> And I also vote yes. We will be returning to open session. Are we back? Okay. Um, welcome back to the November 6 2025 meeting of the Brookline School
Committee. Um, we are going to quickly do the consent agenda item two. Is there a motion to accept the consent agenda? Suzanne moves. Is there a second? Bob seconds. Bob, how do you vote? >> Yes. >> Jesse. >> Um, this is all five items together.
>> Yes. >> Yes. >> Andy, >> yes. >> Suzanne, >> yes. >> Donna, >> yes. >> Marie, Marie, Mariah, >> yes. >> Carolyn, >> yes. And I vote yes as well. Um, we're going to uh move public comment just
ahead of the superintendent's report. I see we have some young people here and the superintendent has um graciously said she would move hers down. Um, so first up we have Alicia. Is Alicia on Zoom?
>> Okay. While Betsy is pulling that up, just so people are aware, there's a three minute limit. Uh, and the timer will go off. And if you could try to limit it to 3 minutes. And if you're quicker than 3 minutes, that's fine, too.
Whenever you're ready, Alicia, you can begin. >> Good evening. I am Alicia Shu, a longtime Brooklyn resident, a proud retired Lawrence School teacher of 30 years, and the parent of three adult children who graduated from the Brooklyn Public Schools. Currently, I serve on
Baffin's steering committee. The following statement is from Brooklyn Asian-American Family Network, Brooklyn Racial Justice and Equity, Brooklyn for the Culture, Brooklyn Muslim Friends. These organizations strongly oppose and
disagree with the Brooklyn School Committee's consideration to remove all religious and cultural observances from the 202627 school year. Occasions such as Yamapour, Rashashana, Lunar New Year, Eid alitra and good
Friday are powerful reflections of the diverse identities our students, staff and families preserve and uphold. These observances are affirming and significant. Students, families, and educators have worked tirelessly over
the years to ensure that such experiences are recognized and codified in policy. When members of a school community consistently and purposefully miss school to honor their values and beliefs, we must acknowledge that
learning and education exist to serve the needs and shared rhythms of that community. Holidays and the days of low attendance that often accompany them not only provide opportunities to celebrate unique traditions and faiths, but also cultivate awareness, empathy, and
respect for practices beyond our own. We respect the committee's responsibility to advocate for an extraordinary education for all students. As stewards of PSB, we are committed to partnering with our schools to support this mission and we urge the
committee to pursue that goal by celebrating rather than eliminating experiences that make Brookline extraordinary. We ask that you vote to maintain the current school closures under category 1 for the 202627
school year. We support calendar A or C as prepared by Dr. Wong. Alternatively, we support a proposal to rotate the number of cultural and religious holidays included in a school calendar. This seems to be an equitable system for
acknowledging and celebrating the diversity of our community while addressing the concerns raised about the length of the school year. Finally, if the school committee decides to eliminate all cultural and religious holidays, any restoration must be made
in an equitable manner that does not favor any particular community. If any holidays are restored, all holidays should be restored to maintain good faith within the community so that no group feels alienated or dismissed, but rather all feel celebrated, honored, and
respected. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Um, next we have Laura Baines Walsh, also via Zoom. Uh Laura, you should be able to turn on your microphone and camera. >> Okay. >> Uh I think that's working. We do hear
you. >> Okay. I'm sorry. My >> And we're seeing you now, too. >> Oh, excellent. Thank you so much. I appreciate your help. >> Okay. >> My name is >> My name is Laura Vans Walsh. I'm a mother of an eighth grader at Baker and a fifth grader in the lab program at
Driscoll. I'm also a town meeting member for precinct 16 and I've been a high school teacher for 12 years. I am so glad that we are discussing our fundamental approach to the school calendar. The current approach has been
suboptimal for years. We end too late in June and there are too many days off scattered throughout the year. This undermines the education of our students and begs the question, what are we doing here? Students and teachers need
consistency. We need a calendar that is simpler, not more complex. We need continuality and fewer disruptions. a schedule designed to support teaching and learning. Missing days throughout the year disrupts the rhythm and sense
of normaly that students rely on. I see this both as a teacher and the parent of students with learning disabilities. Adding more days off or even keeping the same number we have is a step in the wrong direction. Closing schools for
non-federal holidays creates real challenges for families with young children who must scramble to find and pay for child care. I worry that some school committee members are viewing the calendar as a way to solve other issues.
That's a rabbit hole that will only get deeper. Boston, one of the most diverse districts in the area, does not close for a long list of non-mandated holidays. You're presented with a variety of calendar options, but anything that adds
complexity instead of simplifying moves us in the wrong direction. There are just so many holidays that we already have off and adding more will not fix the problem. The fundamental problem is we have too many days off.
I respectfully urge you to stay focused on the fundamental purpose of our school district, educating students. Please consider a calendar that observes federal holidays only unless there is clear evidence that that particular day results in low attendance. This will
give our students what we need most, consistent, uninterrupted education. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Next is Linda Roseman. >> Testing. Is this karaoke night? Okay. Thank you,
Betsy. Uh, I'm Linda Roseman, a town meeting member from precinct 14. I'm the mother of four adult children who graduated from Brooklyn High School between 2002 and 2014. I'm a retired prek parah and substitute teacher and
one of my sons teaches at peers. I recently attended a presentation hosted by the town meeting members association about the resources available to Brooklyn because we are part of Norfick County already. I learned that although our students are
eligible to attend Norfol Agricultural High School at a very low cost to the town, we currently have no students attending the Aggie. The presenter was asked whether someone comes to Brooklyn to provide information and recruit students. Diplomatic
response was some communities are more welcoming than others. Brooklyn does not extend such an invitation. Apparently, I'm here to encourage you to change that. I'm a huge fan of vocational education. One of my daughters took the
culinary pathway at BHS. She graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and has a successful career in the restaurant industry. My oldest son attended Welock, which you could credibly argue is also a vocational school as it specializes in teacher training. Most people are not aware of
the existence of the Norfolk Agricultural School. And I think people who have heard of it assume it's for future farmers. The school offers programs in areas such as environmental science, veterinary science, mechanical engineering, and other subjects. And 98%
of Aggie graduates go on to college degree programs. 98%. Can we match that at the high school? I don't know. We say that one of our primary goals is to meet the needs of all students. The opportunity should be made known to our students and families
as it could open new worlds and pathways for many of our kids. Let's start a tradition of inviting a representative from the Norfolk Agricultural High School to an evening information session for all eighth graders and their parents or guardians. We should be taking
advantage of all resources available to our community. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, next we have Allah and Ysef Aldi. Um, hi, my name is Yousef and I'm in fourth grade at Pierce School. Education is
very important to me, too. But I still think we should celebrate each other's holidays by taking days off. If only some people don't come to school, they will list the missed the lesson and feel left out. Last year, I almost missed my spring concert because it fell on the same day as RE. Luckily, my awesome
music teacher noticed and rescheduled the whole concert last night. On another rainy day, I had to come into school to do my MCAST test because there's no other day to do it. If I had missed school for my holiday, I would have missed both of these activities. But if I have the days off, I get to celebrate my holiday with my friends, which is
fine. I'm so excited. I'm so excited to celebrate with my non-Muslim friends this year. Second, I like learning about my friends and classmates holidays. This year, I got to learn Russia in compar to the off. If my friends had just chosen
not to show up that day, I would have never known anything about the holidays they care about. Lastly, I look forward to the days off because I get to take a break day in the middle of the week and I get to take a homework free day which is a needed break for me. So, please don't remove any holidays. Thank you and have a nice day.
>> Thank you. Just confirming we're resetting the three minutes. >> Hello everyone. My name is Alati. I am a parent of uh children across the Brooklyn school system. One at BHS, two at Pierce, a middle schooler, and Yousef
who is uh in elementary fourth grade and also a preschooler at BEP. So all all levels. Almost 8 years ago, we moved to Brooklyn because it's diversity and inclusivity. And we have loved celebrating this rich multicultural
culturalism with our children. A celebration that includes respecting the holidays of our neighbors. But today we face a decision that is threatening to undermine the very values that make this town special. First, I want to address a problematic narrative that eliminating cultural and
religious holidays implies. For the last few years, folks haven't really complained much about the calendar or days off. But when a Muslim holiday get added on, we started debating removing all religious holidays. I heard the impact of this firsthand from my seventh grade
daughter. Paraphrasing her, she said, "They can't do that. If they remove all the holidays, I'll be blamed for other people losing their days off." What message are we sending our kids when we tell them their identity is a burden? We must reject this dangerous narrative
immediately. Now, let's talk about the calendar and the argument of efficiency. I agree that starting school before Labor Day can solve childcare challenges for the first week of September, but this is relatively contradictory. If we eliminate all the extra days off as
proposed to achieve an early finish, we're simply shifting the child care problem to June. Suddenly, parents will be scrambling to find care for children finishing a school a week before a camp starts. This is not a solution. It's just trading one inconvenient month for another. The value of these scheduled
breaks, a necessary pause in the flow of homework and school stress is vital for everyone, teachers and students alike. Furthermore, if we eliminate these days, our teachers will now have to accommodate students missing school for up to eight major category 1 and two
holidays. This creates an academic nightmare of makeup work, missed assignments, and logistical stress for students and teachers alike. Additionally, if all the holidays were removed, there's no guarantee this discussion won't be reopened next year with some groups arguing that their
holidays reinstate be reinstated due to low attendance. This is very concerning. In my in conclusion, my opinion is to keep all four days off, but in agreement with Mariah's proposal, cap and rotate at four, not three, four religious and
cultural holidays. Capping at four means we don't have to eliminate one holiday every few years. And it creates predictability, preserving the spirit of observance and allowing for additional future holidays to be added without disrupting the calendar in future years.
Brooklyn must lead by example. Let us choose a path of respect, logic, and unity, and solve this calendar conundrum once and for all. Thank you. >> Thank you. Next, we have Sam Dickerman. >> Hello. Uh, my name is Sam Dickerman. I'm a teacher at Brooklyn High School,
social studies department. I've been there 22 years. Um, I also went to Brooklyn schools and my kids went to Brooklyn schools and I can like Sarah Palin, I can see the high school from my house. Um, two quick requests. First of all, um, please just ban cell phones in
Brooklyn schools. Like for goodness sake, I'm going to sound like a teenager, but everybody's doing it. Um, the Senate's already passed that bill. We should, we're Brooklyn. We should lead on this. Just please. So, I'm out every Thursday. You'll see me with a sign out in front of the high school. Second thing I'd like to do is ask you to um please investigate what's going on
at the high school with AI. Um we found out on Tuesday that the school is going to turn on AI for student use. Uh the Google suite of tools. Um I recognize that AI is a valuable tool. It's something that people use in the real world for productivity. If you have
domain expertise, it can help you be more productive. you know, if you're an engineer or something, you're trying to complete a project, you can talk to it in the language of your expertise and you can filter out the bad stuff and go with the good stuff, that's fine. Um, the problem is that it's critical to
understand that our schools are not about productivity. Our students have no domain expertise in anything. That's why they're in high school. The products they create have no economic value. all their tests and papers could be thrown away at the end of the year because the value they get is from from creating the
product is entirely between their ears, not on the paper. Therefore, using AI to boost productivity doesn't make any sense. 100page paper, 200page papers, like it who cares. Um, all it can do is diminish the learning that students are doing. They have to think for
themselves. Uh, so now that AI is here, do we have to teach kids how to use it? To me, AI is the fox and the school is the hen house. Are there foxes in the woods out there? Sure. But that's why we build hen houses to protect those
within. So now some unknown person or group has unilaterally decided to turn on AI at the high school. They didn't ask the teachers. They didn't ask the parents. They're just inviting the fox right in. They I don't know if they asked you. Their arguments are kind of absurd. The
fox will make the hens more efficient. They'll be more productive, like they'll lay more eggs, the fox will train them for the real world. Like, are you kidding me? We all know what the fox is going to do when it gets into the hen house. So, the question our school administration seemed to have settled on is how do we use AI at the high school?
That's the wrong question. The question is, should we use AI at the high school? In the name of protecting our students and protecting the enterprise of education, the answer should be a resounding no. So, I ask this committee to please figure out who is turning on AI without any regard for its impact and get them to stop. And of course, also,
please just ban cell phones. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Um, I think I saw have Claudia come in. So, Claudia, you're up. >> I am Rabbi Claudia Craman. I'm senior rabbi of Temple Bion in Brooklyn. And
also I'm here on behalf of the Brooklyn Association Clergy Association and the one of the co-conveners. I'm also a parent of a junior at Brooklyn High. And the letter I'm going to read is a letter signed by at least 18 uh faith leaders
in Brooklyn. So to the members of the Brooklyn school committee and thank you for having me. As clergy and faith leaders serving the diverse and vibrant community of Brooklyn, we write to express our deep concern and opposition to the proposal to remove all religious
and cultural observations from the 2026 2027 Brooklyn public school calendar. Brooklyn is a town that values inclusion, respect, and diversity. Our community thrives because of our commitment to honoring the many cultures, faith, and traditions that
coexist here. The proposal to remove religious and cultural observances from the school calendar would undermine these core values and risk sending a message that faith and cultural identity are secondary to academic scheduling. As
people of faith and as leaders of our congregations, we believe that the education of our children must be holistic, embracing not only intellectual achievement but also moral, spiritual, and communal development.
Allowing families to observe their sacred days without academic penalty affirms that we value the wholeness of each student and the fullness of their lives beyond the classroom. Renewing their observance would place undue
burden on students and families who wish to celebrate and practice their faith. It would force them to choose between religious observance and school attendance, an unfair and unnecessary choice that erodess the inclusive spirit
that defines Brooklyn. We also want to express our opposition to the proposed rotation of holidays. While we understand that this idea may be intended to create equality in practice, it would mean that some years members of a particular faith would be unable to
celebrate their most sacred days without missing school. True equity is not achieved by alternating recognition, but by ensuring that all traditions are honored consistently and respectfully. Each community's holidays should be
acknowledged as part of the shared fabric of Brooklyn's diverse and inclusive identity. We urge you to uphold the values of respect, inclusion, and diversity that Brooklyn has long cherished. Please maintain religious and cultural observances on the school
calendar, ensuring that all students and families can celebrate what is sacred to them without being excluded from their education. with respect and hope. Rabbi Claudia Kramer, that's myself. Reverend Candace Nichols, who is the senior
minister of Brooklyn Church of Christ and also co-convener of the Brooklyn clergy association. Can I one second more? Rabbi Andy Vogle, also co-convener, who's the senior rabbi of Temple Sinai, the Reverend Dr. Richard Burton from Old St. Parish, Reverend Dr.
Mark Kajana from First Church in Chesnut Hill. Rabbi Leah Carney from Temple Desire. Reverend Joseph Cherry from First Parish in Brooklyn. Reverend Julia Fleshman from Two Life Communities. Reverend Kent French from United Parish in Brooklyn. The Reverend Gwen Joo from
St. Paul Episcopal Church. The Reverend Joel Ice Rector of Episcopal Church of our Savior. Fa from Muko Muslim Friends. The Reverend Silas Gour from All Saint Parish. Rabbi Audrey Marcus Burkeman from Temple Rab Shalom. Rana Montaz from
Brooklyn Muslim Friends. Counter Marian Silverman from Temple Rab Shalom. Rabbi David Star from Congregation Mishkantil. And Rabbi Talia Stein from Temple Sinai in Brooklyn. Thank you so much for having us here. >> Thank you very much. Uh next we have Ron
Silver. He's remote. Okay. Hello. >> Begin whenever you're ready. >> Thank you. Hi, my name is Ron Silver. I'm a parent of two young children in the Brook in the public schools of Brooklyn. I'm grateful for the hard work of the committee and the entire PSP community and appreciate the
transparency and willingness to engage in the school calendar topic. I also appreciate that the school committee has recognized that the increasing number of school off days has gone overboard and is negatively impactful to our children and their family in many ways. I urge the school committee to implement common sense practices that best support our
children and community. I believe only observing holidays for federal holidays sets a bright line that is clean, simple to understand and and unifying. It would eliminate the hypothetical arguments over who who is or who is not observing holidays as well as opportunities for favoritism, virtue signaling, and
misperceptions and accusations over diversity, equity, and inclusion. Most importantly, keeping our kids in school without frequent disruptions is the best way for them to learn. This is obvious and well understood to the vast majority of parents and educators for whom I think it's important to acknowledge often stay silent on topics like this that we know are quite sensitive in our
current culture. I trust the school committee recognizes the negative impact on our children and families of the high volume of off days and that there are better ways to recognize the wonderful diversity of our student and faculty population. To those who believe the scale back of religious observances reduces the opportunity to celebrate and learn about other
cultures, I certainly respect the opinion and believe those views are well intended, but I do not believe it is accurate or realistic. Children learn and develop best when they're in school, and there are other more practical ways than that uh we can reach these aims. When my kids are off during a uh off school during a random day in the middle
of the week, there's a major disruption to their learning and there's also a financial burden to those in hourly jobs without child care who can least afford it. Adding school days to the end of the year bleeds into expensive summer camp schedules that are built around other school districts who have a more appropriate calendar and again only hurts our children and working parents. We should not feel an obligation to
appease every constituency by retaining so many days off days throughout the year. It may feel virtuous in the moment, but I believe it's more harmful than helpful to our children. Thank you. Thank you for your time and consideration. your volunteerism and everything you do that makes me proud to be part of the Brookline community. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Next is Gary Schiffman. >> Hi, Gary Schiffman, resident of Brooklyn town meeting member uh for precinct 9. Um two children attended Brookline schools. My wife attended Brookline schools. My business partner attended Brookline schools. And believe it or
not, in 2006, Bob Winrad hired me to be department chair at so of social studies at Brooklyn High School. I retired from there two years ago. Um, I'm here to ask you to ban cell phones bell to bell. I talked today to a colleague at North Andover High School and he said, "Yeah,
we ban uh cell phones bell to bell, no cell. That's our mantra." I said, "How is it?" He said, "It's better." I said, "Do students think so?" He said, "Yes." Lots of schools have done this already. Lots of states have done it, including New York State. A fair number of countries have done it. That alone
doesn't mean that they're right, but in fact, they are. Decent research shows that heavy doses of social media make many teens anxious and depressed. Paying attention shows that socially anxious people, a large subset of the adolescent population, hide in their phones to
avoid awkward social interactions, the kind that lead to human connection and friendship. if you get used to managing the discomfort. My younger daughter went to summer camp for eight weeks. No phones, no devices at all for eight weeks. When we picked her up, she wept in the car for 30
minutes. Uh first 30 minutes of the drive. Separation from her new friends meant that much to her. That was human connection. I've heard people say, good people say that we should teach students to use their phones responsibly rather than ban them. I've heard this argument
since 2014 when devices first became ubiquitous. How's that going? I wonder. The argument is no longer worth taking seriously. It's not happening. Go visit the cafeteria in any school. Half the students are staring down. Enter a
classroom 30 seconds before a teacher does. It used to be chatty and noisy. Now it's mostly silent. We're not teaching the students about device use. Mark Zuckerberg is teaching them about device use. What is a school? A place
for learning, of course. But not just that. It's also a place to be with people. To talk and listen, to laugh and argue, to play and create and negotiate, and sometimes when you need to be quiet and alone, to read in a corner of the
library, they still have books there. Brooklyn schools used to lead. We make the culture we want. paraphrasing a great leader of a great high school once upon a time. We're out of practice, but now is as good a time as any to get back into the
leadership position. Let us not be the last school or district to do common sense. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um next we have uh Ibraim Abdul Dam and I'm sorry if I mispronounced it.
>> Oh, they're speaking together. Sorry. And then um Jackson as well. Um, hi guys. My name is Jackson. I'm Ibrahim. Um, and we're two religious students at Brookline High School. Um, so we recently wrote an article for the
school newspaper, The Cyprus, about religious life, which we think is pretty relevant to the discussion about days off today. Um, in it we essentially argued that we think religious identity is being devalued in Brooklyn schools. And we think that removing so many religious holidays off the calendar is
going to reinforce that sentiment. And keeping the holidays on the calendar isn't a matter of losing class time. It's about recognizing the diverse cultural identities that make up our community. And as a Muslim student who's been in
the Brooklyn system my whole life, I've always had to miss school to observe my holidays while the rest of my peers continue their learning in the classroom. And I always made me feel a lack of support from my community. And it left me feeling like my identity was a detriment to my education.
and the removal of all religious holidays from the school calendar will bring that struggle to students of many more faiths and identities in Brooklyn, forcing students to choose between their culture and their academics. I don't think that should ever have to be an issue. The school should encourage
the honoring of identity and religion and not punish students for doing so. Very often in Brooklyn, I feel like we celebrate our commitment to diversity and inclusivity like many have said this evening, but this initiative is is in opposition to those values. We encourage you to read our article and
reflect on how this decision will affect students sense of belonging. The Brooklyn school system has been a place where students develop pride for who they are. Let's not undermine this accepting culture for a few more hours in the classroom. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Um that concludes
our public comment and we'll be moving on to the superintendent's report. >> Thank you. This is a presentation of um the time that I was away 10:10 to 10:20 um in to Andysia. And so this is to just
to describe to the school committee um the context and the and the what I was doing there. So I've been a member of the MASS global studies superintendence group um since actually 20 2006. And so
the purpose of the glo global studies group has been to enhance the understanding of global education for district leaders, support leadership and promoting global education and promoting universal global competency. And so the idea is if we did that for the
leadership then it would also impact the work with um students. And so we would meet regularly, we um shared meetings, we had speakers but we also did immersive travel. And so when we did the travel it would be to explore models of school governance, educator lensure and
training funding and basically how people ran schools in other places and the policy development over time. These are the sites that um we have traveled to um a lot of several
times in Finland um Havana Warsaw Krakco when we went to Warsaw Krakco we did also visit um um Awitz um Burkenhau and then also to Reovic and then the dots are when um COVID happened and so all
travel was shut down. The last three sites Helzinki Talon Ireland Northern Ireland, Andysia actually were organized by myself. So I picked up the travel component after after co um and
so the evolution of the global studies, we continue to look at equity through education. So all over the world, education is a focus because it is seen as um a vehicle to achieve equity for for for all. Um continuing interest to
see how equity is um expanded in other places um in different environments, different challenges. There is a continued commitment to universal global literacy for staff and students. And again it's to build the capacity to
influence and improve peaceful and equitable world outcomes. So the more we think there is um a higher cap higher universal global literacy for all that we will be working toward um that that
outcome and also it's also to better um support students to understand their place in the world. the more that they're introduced um to to the global environment and understand how they can work in that in that in
that way to better their agency to make the world the way they want it to be. So to understand the world better um so they can understand better how to how to change it. We um continue to expand the way we look at the world to help expand
the way our students look at the world and um and again learning how school leaders achieve what they um how they meet the needs of all students to overcome local challenges and it's really about training leaders changing their perspectives um to impact the
learning of their students. So the the regions again I led the last three Heleni, Talon, Ireland, Northern Ireland and then andia was there was an intentional choice to choose places that would increase um geopolitical cultural
knowledge base as well as looking at tools. Helzinki Talon Helsinki and Tal Helsinki is the largest shared border with Russia of all the European countries. Talon obviously was a former USSR satellite um so heavily influenced
by um Russia and Ireland. Northern Ireland had a classic conflict um in in their in their countries and so going to see how they've resolved that conflict and then and Lucia.
So and Lucia we chose because actually in the medieval period it was um a model of coexistence of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And so Anducio was chosen intentionally because of this history.
This map shows you there's Spain in the circle and then all of the African continent below the rest of Europe um to to the to the west of it and then of course um
the the Middle East um countries in the in the around the the water. But just to show you Spain in that context, Spain more up close. We were in the southern part of Spain and sort of the biggest
one there is Granada but we were in the southern part but it's to for us to appreciate how much the southern part of Spain was influenced by the northern part of Africa and the Muslim history that was there. So this is where the
geopolitical um sighting and understanding the the um geography of the site. This is a a more of a focus that we were visiting the Andysia region. So you see
Cordoba due north of Cordoba was Madrid. We landed in Madrid. We went to Toledo to Cordoba over to Tvilla then down to um Rhonda Granada and then
we flew out of Malaga. And Lysia was um so this is just the prehistory pre-Christian early Christian Spain. In the beginning there was actually a strong Celtic influence the Roman Empire and then during the Roman
Empire Catholicism became the dominant religion but there was also a significant Jewish population that also resided in the region. Many of us here are familiar with the Ashkanazi origin of the Jewish population. here is the is
where the sphartic Jewish population and so um and then the visit Gothic wool after the fall of Rome became more Christian but significant so and this is just uh this is a ro this is a Roman
amphitheater fully intact in um Malaga just to show you how I I think it's just truly amazing just to have that piece there um so the Islamic period in 711 Um there was a conquest of Toledo. So
Toledo was Catholic and um the it was um there was a there was a family in um northern Africa where the family was all killed and there was a surviving son and actually that son is the one that led the invasion of the conquest in 711. So
for eight um for almost eight centuries there was Muslim dominance in this area. And I think when you don't realize you if you if you've not gone there, you wouldn't realize that the primary language at that time for this entire
period was Arabic and also um the cultural exchange primar a lot between the Arabic and actually Jewish tradition of um study um that there was they were definitely they were
like the center of science and mathematics and medicine and also um later I'll show like the the study of um ethics and philosophy. They were known in this this um it's actually here that
there was um that they transcribed a lot of the work of the Greek philosophers. So this was just a really period of um coexistence and co-study and and again it lasted from 7-Eleven and ended in
1492 in Granada. Um so again the medieval significance and was considered the center of Muslim religion and culture in the medieval period and Cordoba was the largest Jewish settlement Jewish quarter
sphardic Jewish and Cordoba was the largest Muslim settlement and so again we chose this area. This is Toledo um and just to see and so it it still retains a lot of its medieval nature. in
touring um Toledo, there are parts that um are embedded in the that mark the Jewish neighborhoods. And so these tiles are still there. This is a mosque that was used at one time as a synagogue. And
so it's hard to see in this picture, but the the Muslim star is eight eight stars and the and the star David is six. And so embedded in this motif you see eight stars and also the star of David. So
this sign of assimilation of symbolism and and of the coexistence. This is um so there were also a lot of monasteries and um the monasteries remain and so to support themselves the monasteries often like they would be
known for candies or baked goods or weaving. And so all of this in in is still coexists to this day and reflected in the history. Um from Toledo we went to Cordoba and Cordoba this is this amazing cathedral
of Cordoba. It's very clear the Muslim arches are retained and then to the right are the high Gothic ceilings. So this was converted to a Catholic church retains a lot of the Muslim history. Um,
and then the symbols of the signatures of the people that decorated the the columns. And this this um piece to the right is where the choir is. And I put it here because it was designed by a 17-year-old
um all of that. And so this is the this was definitely added in the in the Gothic period. Um but this is where the c choir was. Um also in Cordoba um was the home of Mymanades. And so mymonades
is now a common name that we hear attached to schools or to hospitals or or um um so so he was known um as a high intellect in in medicine and also in study and um and and he was also known
um for his work in ethics and the study of Aristotle. So after 1492, Catholicism became the overwhelming dominant religion in Spain. Um and then the follow in the Spanish Inquisition. So the Spanish Inquisition
succeeded in expelling um the practice of Judaism and and is and um Muslim religion. It doesn't mean that people all left. they um initially they may have converted, still practiced their
religion, but ultimately um it became harder to do that. And so this this is the change um that we saw the history of, but a lot of the artifacts are still there and it is a history of that region that they're still proud of and um and
it's very visible. So we visited three schools. Um one in Sevilla, the colleia which is private urban Rhonda which was completely rural deep in the valley. Um and then Granada which is a public high
school in an urban area. Just quickly this is the this is the private school that we saw in Sevilla. Um but they because they're a private school they educate zero to 18 and um it's a very it's so it's like some of the schools
that we visit that are just the premium curriculum they actually say they're informed by um the studies the authors in the US like um Tony Wagner or um it so a lot of the work comes from here and
actually the the the head of school for here trained at at um Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is the fourth generation in this family to um operate the school. And so they have a IB program
um which is some might liken it to the AP program, but the IB is more comprehensive with curriculum and then a diploma in the end and their outcomes. Um they have around 900 students in their school. These are their seven objectives. The first one develop an
international multicultural mindset and then it go it's very forward outward thinking globally oriented. This is um the number of nationalities represented by their students. Again it's the school in the city in um in Sevilla in the
Andal Lucia region. Um it's our meeting with the leaders there. Um, but I thought this was interesting. They're the language of study and music, how early they start. The numbers in the parentheses are the number of hours per week that they are exposing.
And so, and so music and language, but it, you know, it's it's English, Chinese, Spanish, English, and then they can choose French or Spanish later. Not everyone coming to the school is a native Spanish speaker. They have people coming from other parts of the world.
You can't really tell, but the true violin size is the one on the bottom and the one to the right is a half size and the one on the upper left was a quarter size violin. And so I just thought that so for the for the younger students but
the integration of music um and the importance of that and language um we also visited the um palace um Muslim palace and so one thing about the gardens the gardens we saw there it's about um sight smell so there usually
have fragrant flowers and there's usually water so so the sight the scent and the and the water This motif ran throughout and again you have the multiaceted stars and the six and the
star of David six six um points embedded within the within the motif throughout. And we went to Rhonda which was um this ended up being our favorite school. It was deep down in the valley. It serves
eight villages. It takes some students an hour to get to the school. It was very similar to our experience when we went to Ireland. We visited Konamara, also a very rural school in Konamara. Takes kids an hour to get there. And Konamara, the one of the only schools in
in um Ireland taught entirely in Gaelic. This school um actually has a diverse population of people coming to the valley for agricultural work. So they have uh Catholic, Muslim, and um Jewish
students at this school. This is their board sort of saying, you know, we're coming, the Americanos, and uh and they and they fed us and and um we met with the teachers. We got to meet with students. So some of the pictures
are limited as you know. We can only take the back of just here like here back of students and um they created presentations for us. It was very very nice. They were doing some farming out um in front of the school. This gives
you a sense of the valley and how hard it is for the kids. I mean it's it it's hard for the kids to get to school. Um it was our favorite school because of the sense of community. Um, so we talk about all the things about building
community and you could feel it in this school and so it was inspirational to us about what we might want to bring back. Um, they did a show for us. So this is us in the large room. Can you imagine going in that being in that school with
the whole um, valley and everything outside of it? Um there was a bit of flamco and again the back of student and then they they performed this our spangled banner for us. They were so proud that they had done that and so our reception was so genuine they decided to
play the Spanish anthem as well. So one thing about the Spanish national anthem is one of the few national anthems in the world that has no words. >> Why doesn't it have any words? because they cannot agree on there is no. So
here we have the Star Spangled Banner. We kind of agree like what how we got to where we got to but in Spain so they have a history of all these different kinds of peoples that populated and so still in Andalysia you see the remnants
of the importance of the Judeaic Christian um Muslim confluence and so they just can't agree. So it's it's it's an anthem with no words. Um so again the schools we visited and then the last one was a public school in
Granada. And this is just the agenda. I I didn't have um we were able to see classrooms. So I don't have a lot of pictures because we were in the classrooms. Of course we visited the Alhhamra. So the Alhhamra is in um Granada. It was the last place to be
conquered. It was um an Islam palace. And so interestingly um Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand who were the promagators of the Spanish Inquisition
fell in love with the with with the palace. And so in the end they say it was a peaceful transition. um they agreed or they agreed that the that the Muslim could stay in um Granada
and practice their religion and they kept that promise for seven years and then after they did they did say you had to convert or to leave but the Alhhamra is completely intact because it was that kind of transference and so actually in
the history of transference um from Muslim to other it has actually in that period was a peaceful transference. Um so this is just a view from the
Alhamra. A truly beautiful site. Um and and so again interestingly because this area was the center of um Muslim practice that Isabella and Ferdinand fell in love with this area. They chose
to so these so they chose to be buried there and so it was actually I've always read about the Spanish Inquisition and Isabella and Ferdinand so it was very moving these are their these are their mortal remnants that are are there in
Granada and it's called um the place of kings where they're buried and this is the the part that's on top and we've We flew out of Malaga and I and so there is a I didn't know this. I
didn't know this. Picassa was born in Malaga and so we so there's a Anyway, so that's so that is just an insight in um I've had a long life commitment to um to
leading global global literacy and so I do hope to bring that to to the schools here that perspective. Um again just um visiting areas with and understanding their geopolitical history.
>> Um so the rest of the report actually we're going to just talk about professional development day that was yesterday. So I'm going to invite Deputy Superintendent Benoy and she's going to share with you what it was a fabulous day. I thought >> yeah we had a um we had a day that was
kind of broken into two parts in the way that it was structured. So, it was professional development districtwide um for all of our educators um within our school. And the morning was really broken into building based work and the afternoon was broken into departmental,
grade level, program based work. And part of the structure for that was ensuring that for that departmental work, you know, we have some of our departments from K through 12, so our visual arts, our, you know, our performing arts, our wellness departments,
you know, we wanted to make sure that they could meet as a department all at once and that the school-based needs weren't conflicting with that and people weren't having to be pulled in different directions. So, it was it was structured so they could do both of those things. Um, so I just wanted to give some highlights of the morning. So for in the
afternoon, so for as part of the morning, we had a number of different things going on in buildings um in the way that they were structured, but we had um professional learning building based professional learning communities meeting for part of the time. Our high school faculty gathered together for a
significant part of the morning to um engage collaboratively some of the work that's leading to the beginning of thinking about our vision of a learner. um at the high school. Um we had some professional learning specific to digital tools they were using in the
buildings. We had some inclusive classroom practices sessions happening and um planning regarding windblock engagement strategies and collaboration time and planning related to just any of the different building based strategic
initiatives that they have going on. So our um subcommittee heard the various um uh strategic plans for the building in the last few weeks the beginning of October and so thinking about that they were gathering their faculty together to
work on that. Um in the afternoon they were meeting by um departments or programs and the leaders for those departments and programs were really thinking about the needs of their what was going on in their departments. Um so at the K5 level it was really based
around grade level um collaboration related to literacy and it was a great opportunity to have teachers together within a grade level across all eight schools special educators general educators our EL teachers being able to collaborate together. That doesn't often
get to happen. You get all of those people together at once um for you know for a lengthy period of time. So for the entire afternoon. So that was um important work that was happening. We had um content area choice choice based workshops. So within some of the
departments they offered some choice workshops led by department members where they were working on different things or sharing practices um including things like exploring project-based learning in their contact content areas um visual thinking strategies for
students skill sharing workshops um collaboration around common assessments and assessment practices and UDL strategies and equitable grading practices. So there's a lot of good work that was happening and coming out of that collaboration that was happening in the afternoon. So we're very thankful
for the day um in November where we still have a lot of work to do together for the rest of the year. >> Thank you. Any questions for the superintendent or for the deputy superintendent? >> Okay, seeing none. Thank you. Thank you. >> Um I just was so for the high school
vision of a learner, we invited the K8 curriculum coordinator. So they were all there too. So that was nice. It was a was really was a good good start of that process. >> Thank you. Um so next on our agenda is
item 5A, a second reading of the 2026 to 27 school district calendar. I'd like to invite uh Superintendent Wong to um make a statement on the calendar. >> Okay. So sorry you're gonna you're hearing a lot from me tonight at the
start. Um this is something I wrote to the is addressed to the school committee as we look at the school calendar. Um as I know you have as I know as I know you have as well. I've read each
communication to the school committee and have reviewed all of the options submitted thus far. I have checked in with the BEu leadership. I have also checked in with some of wealthy school leadership. I am in awe of the thought you have
given to this and to the creative ideas you have offered. It is also clear to me that each of you has been endeavoring to find a win-win solution that will be most fair. There are solutions that are objectively
evenhanded. Yet, despite the intent of measures to be fair, I think the impact will feel less than satisfactory, especially in the contextual history of Brooklyn.
Parsing out the days equally may have an unintentional impact of diminishing the reason for placing the holiday on the calendar in the first place. also low in attendance on some days would definitely
be a real a reality so that from my personal perspective I experienced many of my friends milestone events growing up we attended each other's confirmations bar mitzvah bach mitzvah
and recital and so I'm speaking of my time growing up here over time I returned turned for Shiva or church services when we lost parents. The last one I attended was for
Ellsworth Rosen, a former member of the school committee and select board just last year. I was privileged to have Margot Stum as a social studies teacher. She also taught my brother. She knew my family. As you know, Margot, originally from the
South, founded Facing History, Facing Ourselves, a curriculum she developed out of her work in the classroom in the story shared by local Holocaust survivors, one of whom was a friend's parent. You may not know that it was
Ellsworth Rosen, then chair of the school committee, who approved her extraordinary request for a sbatical to enable her to develop the curriculum further so it could be scaled across other school districts.
You may know that facing history has a global presence now with sites all over the world. At the time I was a student, we had good Friday off. Christmas was part of the December break. While there is no
documented low attendance data, I can tell you it was obvious there was low attendance due to some religious holidays and it impacted what those of us were taught while in school. No school and Jewish holidays came much
later. Our community is only more diverse than it was before. When one then personally when one applies to attend Harvard College there is an interview. I was interviewed by an alumnest and by
the dean of admissions. I was surprised to hear the dean was most interested in hearing what it was like to grow up in Brooklyn. He characterized Brooklyn as the most significantly evenly relig religiously
diverse of all of the local communities of Massachusetts and across the country. Was fascinated to hear how it might have influenced my perspective on the world. Frankly, as a 16-year-old, it was a
perspective I had never been asked to think about. But his asking me to reflect on that experience changed forever how I looked at growing up in Brooklyn. How we as a community embrace the
diversity that is here is what defines us, sets us apart, and sets us up as a role model for our students and others. Other communities with less diversity don't even have a chance to do this.
This is an opportunity. I recommend that we keep the holidays as we have them with an earlier start. Staff on 91 and 92 and students to start on 93 with school on that Friday. I appreciate that we are
all wary of the lateness of the end of school. There are other good practical reasons for an earlier start such as the impact on AP courses. I suggest we take a deeper look at the calendar to see if we can adjust some of our release days.
I also suggest we consider asking the state to consider the requirements for 180 days for all schools in light of this dilemma because I do think it is something that that everyone is experiencing. I don't believe there is a perfect
solution to address all the concerns that have been raised. I think this is one that feels best for us at the moment and we can keep on working on adjusting our parameters for the future. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Superintendent Wong. Um, I appreciate that perspective very much. Uh, just to set the table, we have Susan Harris from town council uh on Zoom. If anybody has any legal questions, we cannot vote on any calendars today, just so everybody's aware, unless we
voted on the first one, which I don't think anybody wants, which would start after Labor Day. Um, so first, I think I' I' these are only straw polls, but I I' I'd like to take a straw poll of um removing from consideration the two
calendars. Does anybody want to start after Labor Day this year? That's the question. Yeah, hold your horses, Bob. We're we're going to remove some things. Okay. Does anybody want to start after Labor Day? Anybody on Zoom want to start after Labor Day? Okay, Betsy, let's remove those from our consideration.
>> Um A and B. So A and B are are um off the table. Um I uh would like to support the superintendent in uh keeping the holidays that we have and beginning on the 1st of September. I know that um
she's also been in touch with the BEu on looking at creative ways as we move down with contract negotiations to talk about whether there are are other options um with release days and things like that to maximize our time. Um but um I I I
support the superintendent's recommendation. Um we can't vote today, but I'm going to go around. Everybody can tell us what they think. Bob's been like a a eight-year-old child. So, let's go to Let's go to Bob. >> How disrespectful that was.
>> Like, you're jumping up and down. You're very very ready. >> No, I just wanted to raise my hand. Okay. Um I think talking about the calendar and religious holidays today is so appropriate considering Superintendent Wong's presentation today about Spain and all the different um
religions that live there. Okay. So, I want to make a little speech. Okay. So, as I noted last time when I spoke about this uh when we spoke about the school calendar holidays, I said it was complicated. We've heard from many, many of our constituents in email messages
and tonight in public comment. That is a very good thing. the practice of the first amendment of our constitution, embracing our freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the freedom to petition the government for the redress of grievances
is alive and well in Brooklyn. As we vote tonight, as we do at every meeting, we demonstrate that our valued representative democracy is very healthy in Brooklyn, Massachusetts. Again, as I noted last time, our
foundational driving principle in a school system is the organiz is the optimization of teaching and learning. My proposals, one for an earlier start to the school year and two, for the elimination of all but state and federal holidays, were about that, much more engaged teaching and learning at the
beginning of the year than in late June and more continuity of teaching and learning if there are fewer days off. Fewer days off and fewer early release days are also familyfriendly as I think everybody has noted especially for
families with two working parents and for parents with kids who have special needs. We need as Dr. Wong has just mentioned we need to continue thinking hard about these cal calendar challenges. So the proposal for an earlier start is not so controversial.
Obviously, late August and early September can be a tough time to find ch child care. High school activities are underway. I would prefer that the kids begin school on August 31st, enabling enabling us to conclude school in midJune, but that can't happen without collective bargaining. So maybe next
year. For tonight, honoring our current collective bargaining agreement, we can at least vote to begin school on September 3rd and still conclude school earlier in June. Okay. The religious and cultural holidays. Tremendous passion has been expressed
from a broad segment segment of our community to retain all of the category one holidays. Roshashana, Yong Kipur, Luna New Year, Idal Fitter, and Good Friday. The passion is about Brookline's beautiful racial, cultural, religious,
and immigrant quilt. The passion is about respect for and honoring our diversity. to remove religious and cultural holidays is viewed by many as disrespectful of and dishonoring that diversity. My own per my own perspective
on our community's diversity and its connection to its schools is this. One of our core values is understanding and respect for human differences. When I was at Brookline High, we edited that core value, replacing it with understanding and respect for human differences and our essential kinship.
That was our translation of our nation's motto e pluribus unum the Latin term meaning from many one. How important is that motto today as our national government promotes and practices an anti-immigrant and Christian nationalist
philosophy. Very important. When I proposed only closing schools on state and federal holidays, I also proposed making our education for diversity more robust and for all our students at the same time in school. I was thinking about everyone learning about the
holidays few days before each one occurred and a systemwide e pluribus unum day, a day of education and celebration about all of our religions and cultures. I still support that kind of intentional diversity education and
there were great resources I mentioned last time to help our very talented and creative teachers. The teaching tolerance project at Southern Poverty Law Center, the pluralism project at Harvard and facing history and ourselves Brooks Brookline's own. These celebrations which are already happening
in most if not all of our schools could be f further enhanced. So this decision tonight about 2026 2027 calendar or this conversation about that calendar is about all of us for all of us. It's a
decision for our community. And my responsibility as an elected official in a representative democracy is to listen carefully to our community and to listen carefully to our community, reflect on what I hear, and then mediate between my
own ideas and beliefs and those of the and those of others. And so after listening and reflecting, I've decided to support the passion of those who believe we best honor our diversity by closing schools on these five important religious and cultural holidays. This
Thank you. This allows our friends and neighbors the freedom to celebrate their holidays unencumbered by the concern about missing instructional time. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Um, so Mariah and Carolyn,
we're going to go around the room if anybody has something uh about a particular calendar. Just a reminder, we cannot vote today because this is a second reading. So, I'm I'm essentially taking a straw poll. So far, I'm option C. Bob, I think, is leaning option C.
Jesse, >> hi. Public schools are designed to provide learning and teaching along with opportunities for social emotional growth throughout the entire school year. Since any resident of a
municipality can generally elect to attend their local public school, the makeup of the school will generally reflect the diversity of the community. This diversity within the public school system expresses itself in many ways,
including differences in race and gender, economic status, religious backgrounds. As a public school system and receiving funds from the federal and state governments, it is imperative that the public school system treat all students
and staff fairly. Over many decades, in addition to the mandated days of closure, federal and state, in the public schools of Brooklyn, other closure days were added primarily to reflect days of low attendance due to
religious observances. This is similar in my view to what would be done for Christmas if the day wasn't already designated as a federal holiday. These days were added due to issues related specifically to finding sufficient substitute teachers to run
effective classroom instruction for a single weekday of learning and for the reality of a significant number of students observing a particular religious holy day. Each one of these days represents a day
of lost teaching and learning and as such results in the lengthening of the academic year notwithstanding starting a day or two earlier with a Labor Day weekend immediately after school would start. Let me be very clear. Parents and
their children in our in our district make decisions about when to take off from school based on many factors. be they religious or personal like a family vacation or some other event. It doesn't really matter if school is open or not
in these kinds of circumstances. Thus, for religiously observing families in the public school system, there will be days when the families will observe religious holy days and their children will simply not attend school. This
phenomenon is not unfair to those families, nor is it inequitable. In fact, the public schools have an obligation to maintain teaching and learning every weekday, 5 days a week, 180 days in the year. Recognizing one
religious holy day or another is appropriate when communicated throughout the school system by announcements, classroom discussions, posters, but not by causing a systemwide loss of a day of instruction. I am fully behind and will only support
the option that only closes PSB for federal and state mandated holidays. Finally, the proposed three-year rotation of religious holidays is confusing. counterproductive for a diverse public school community
for the following reasons. While this idea may sound equitable on the surface, rotating religious holidays actually creates inconsistency and frustration for families and students, public schools have an obligation to
treat all faiths equally, but not by rotating which ones matter in any particular year. A system where one group's holidays are recognized one year and ignored the next couple of years sends a harmful message perhaps that some religions are only quote worth
acknowledging part of the time. Moreover, such a policy would create unnecessary confusion. Families, teachers, administrators would have to relearn the calendar every year, complicating scheduling, testing, and
attendance. Students from faiths whose holidays aren't recognized in a given year would still face the same problem of missing dates for their religious observances, which means the core issue of equity is not solved. Finally, public
schools are meant to remain religiously neutral. By officially rotating religious observances, the district could appear to be ranking or endorsing religions, even unintentionally. A better approach is to keep school open
on all days while ensuring that students who observe religious holidays can be excused without penalty. That approach respects everyone's beliefs while maintaining consistency, fairness, and constitutional neutrality.
Thank you. >> Uh does that mean on the straw poll you'd be endorsing option D? >> Option >> D. Is that what you're >> I believe it was option D. >> Okay. Andy, do you have anything you'd like to add?
>> Sure. Uh I've changed my mind on this one. I think I've previously um expressed at least tenative support for getting rid of all the non-mandatory holidays. Um I'm now coming to think that if we did that, we'd just be teeing up an even more divisive argument next
year over um whether to bring back some of those holidays as days of low attendance. and that's just not a road I want to go down. Um I've also said before that um I don't know my experience working in a school has been that has made me think that um these interruptions are not necessarily a bad
thing for teaching and learning. Um on the one hand there is the disruption. On the other hand, I think um a long stretch without these days off leads to exhaustion and burnout for teachers and students which is not great for instruction either. Uh so yes, line me up for option C.
>> Option C. Okay, Suzanne. Yes, I support uh option C. I support uh the thinking behind Superintendent Wong's words. What she said to us tonight. I believe we are student centered and these holidays as and h
holidays that we've heard are super important to our students. They feel very strongly about it. Um I do not believe one sizefits all. I think it's one size fits none. And in that and I just feel that we're losing that opportunity to share with our students
and our families what is so very important to them uh without promoting those when not it would that's just what it is. And um I I really have been moved by the words that we've received the comments we've
gotten and the the belief and the values that we have around diversity inclusion and respect. We I've heard that over and over and over again. I tried to say that at the last meeting. I still believe that that's so much a part of our core values and that we need to live those
core values. I am proud to be here in Brooklyn. I am proud that we have such a diverse population and I am proud that we can honor that diversity, inclusion, and respect. And I would support uh option C. Okay. Thank you. Um, Donna and
then Carolyn and then Mariah and then Ad. >> Can we go to them first and come back to me because I'm still >> Okay. Um, Carolyn, >> thanks. Hi. And I'm going to leave my camera off. I just want to clarify. I'm not there today because I had um
a fairly major surgery which I'm so I'm resting in my bed. Um, and I don't want that on camera. Um so I reshared with everyone um the email that we received last year from Jamie Adolf, Principal Yaid off um
regarding the ba day before Thanksgiving. Um this was a very credible letter that in my view um underscored what should be the focus of this task. Uh Jamie reminded us, implored us really to center teaching
and learning and the needs of educators as they do their jobs when we think about our job as a school committee, which in this case is setting the school year schedule. And she implored us to look practically
and logically and be data driven about the real days of concern among her her colleague building leaders and the teaching staff the real days of low attendance which we have the data for
and I've shared it and I can share it again and to make our calendar decision based on that operational information. So I encourage us all to relook at that data. Um when Val first raised the idea of no religious days off last year. I
was really intrigued. I was intrigued to hear more. I had never thought about that and I asked her why she liked that approach and she said simply separation of church and state. But here in Brooklyn, we have drifted from that in several respects, including
calling religious holidays days of low attendance that are not days of low attendance. Um, and we're drifting further at the expense of what we're supposed to be doing with this document. We need more flexibility with the
calendar in order to be able to create a logical, productive, supportive work plan for teachers and students, including I'll note students with disabilities, as CPAC wrote to us about this week. The idea of rotating holidays
digs us even deeper into I think as one community member called it a rabbit hole. Who chooses? Who would choose here? How is choosing not synonymous with discrimination? They're synonyms. Um, rotating, moreover, is not a compromise between
the various community desires because it does nothing to give us the flexibility that we need. It's just an attempt to compromise among the religious and cultural holidays. Um so speaking to some of the points raised
um in advocacy um for category 1 holidays, it's important to me to note the school district's job is not to celebrate religious or cultural holidays. This is that church and state
part. PBS cannot celebrate. We can accommodate individuals who wish to celebrate and we all know that Brookline is diverse as the superintendent noted and that is not going to change if the calendar changes. We're all going to continue. I I've been in the district 15
years. I still have kids in the district. Um they are well aware of the many religions, cultures, nationalities, languages of their peers. Um and the schools do a great job of pointing up
many of those um and enriching aspects of our community. Um if we want to give everyone in our diverse community an equal opportunity to celebrate religious holidays, the logical way to do that is
to be closed for none. Every staff and every student are entitled to excused absence for individual religious observation. In Brooklyn, we go further by giving relief to homework and other obligations. So, I continue to
enthusiastically support a simpler, more flexible, truly progressive change and to get out of the religious celebration business and stick with what's been what is best for teaching and learning business. Um,
which I will also say is a an approach we've heard. We've heard strong arguments, many arguments to keep holidays and to get rid of them all. Many, many people want to do this. I think that if we continue with the
status quo, which has become a very complex, unpopular calendar, it will be a very unpopular decision. Um, I actually think the best option is I'm not looking at them now, but I think it's F.
State and federal holiday closures only. Don't blur the line between church and state. An earlier start in September, an earlier end in June, a full day off for the day before Thanksgiving because a noon dismissal is an insult to ourselves
and our teachers. um and ideally also moving the November PD day which is also the bane of many people's existence um to mid-March at least on the odd years. Um
I've said this all many times. I've looked at this, thought about this extensively. Um, and in terms of my my job as a school committee member and our job as a school committee, um, I would go with E or F. >> But E or F.
>> If you're doing a straw poll, which >> I am. >> Yeah, >> that's poll feels like a vote, but >> it's just to get a sense of of waiting for a vote for next week so that we don't have to look at six calendars again.
>> Understood. Thank you. So, I'm sorry. ENF. You said >> correct. Yes. Thank you, Val. >> ENF or not DNF, right? ENF. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> Mariah, thank you. Um,
I'm not going to attempt to weigh in on whether or not these holidays are good or bad for the year or for students. There's plenty of experts on both sides who have already asserted both things to be true. Um what I what I would say is that um I
think it will be great not necessarily for this year um but in the years that we can that we can make the school year end before Junth we should be taking that day before Thanksgiving off and trading it for another day and looking at the data if there's other key days of
the year which are which are as Caroline says data driven days that are of low attendance we should be removing those days from the calendar whenever we can. I also um would like us and it's not technically part of this vote, but I want to talk about it. The definition of
categories two and below revisit those because one of the one of the worst problems we have is not necessarily with the day one holidays, but the other holidays which end up being days that nobody can do tests and nobody can have
homework. And I think there has to be a much better way to give the students who absolutely should have grace to be able to make up something later on but still have the school day be able to continue. Um we have days that have very little
academic value right now because things are paused completely and I think that that is a mistake in how we treat our 180 days that we take. Um and then the last thing I would say is that um it would be really helpful to also when we
can look at if there's an a possibility to work with the BEu on structuring our early release days to be much more sustainable for families and to be less disruptive for the academic days as well. Those are shortened days that are counted as part of our 180. And um I
think that we can all agree no matter how we feel about the the days of low attendance so to speak and the religious days that um that we want every day that we're in school and every hour to count as much as it can. And I think that there's
other ways beyond these particular days to do a better job on that front. Um I'm happy to support um the calendar that um Superintendent Wong has put forward for us for this year, but I think that there's there's a lot of other ways we
can do better for the students, for the adults who support them, and for the um staff and PSP to make um our days more functional and our calendar more functional. And I really hope that we won't just continue to roll this forward, but we'll really think about
these issues hopefully especially category one and two or I'll say categories two and below rather for the upcoming year. That should be something that we can change with the input obviously of um educators to make sure that and the building leadership to make
sure that um that's structured in a much more functional way. Thank you. >> Thank you, Donna. Um, can I ask a question before I start talking? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Actually had a question for Andy.
Um, I don't remember the exact words you used, but you said something about um, uh, removing federal and state holidays would tee us up next year for, um, >> Can you can you explain? Removing all of the non-federal and state holidays would
just tee us up for an even more divisive argument next year over whether to bring some of them back as days of low attendance >> because because of staffing issues >> or because of students not showing up.
>> Um, thank you. I wanted to make sure I understood what you said. Um, I think um there was something in in in what everyone said that resonated for me. I'm actually glad that I'm following Mariah because um there were some similar threads in what I'm what what I had
initially been thinking. Um I think that no matter what we choose, there's um no perfect solution and every approach will involve tradeoffs. Um someone will inevitably feel left out. And so, um,
rather than focusing on trying to design a calendar that solves everything for everyone, I think our job really is to define um, a framework that can be applied um, fairly and consistently and predictably um, and one that centers
student learning. Um for me specifically um that means identifying some parameters um that we can come back to when we have um these conversations. Um
data is really important to me. Um the impact on instructional time. um making sure that our calendar is simple and manageable for staff um so that it can be implemented um effectively and with
fidelity. Um I think that if we as a committee agree on um guiding principles, then we can use those principles down the road when questions do come up about different holidays. We certainly haven't included
all of uh all of the holidays in our in our calendar as you know and um and I agree with Mariah. We need to look at some of the definitions that we're using. Um so in terms of the straw bill, I I can't say I can say what I would not vote for
if that's helpful. >> Sure. >> Is it? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Um I would not vote for A or B. And I think um I I think um whatever decision we come to as a
committee, I would like to see this conversation taken up with more sort of more robustly um next year at some point so that we again are like looking at guiding principles and a framework um when questions come
to us about the calendar. >> Okay. Adi Hi everyone. Um, I just wanted to talk about what I've been hearing recently because um, I've talked to a lot of my peers and friends about this question of
what holidays we're going to be honoring as category 1 holidays um, as days off from school. So, I've heard people talk about this in student council. That's the main avenue of where I've heard student perspectives and also just in
classes and conversations with friends. And for the most part, what I've heard is that students are in favor of keeping all the holidays as days off from school. And obviously there are the arguments of diversity and inclusion which many people have talked about
today. I wanted to talk about two things in relation to this. one, I think the impact of students missing a day of school for a religious holiday is actually really hard on the students. Um, BHS is, at least at the high school
level, BHS is a really academically intense and also a great school, but what comes with the intensity is that missing even one day of school can be really hard to catch up from and can kind of snowball in terms
of work. Um, from experience, I know that like being sick for a couple days can really set you back behind. And then if a holiday you celebrate is no longer being offered as a day off, I think students might make decisions and decide not to take that day off, not to
celebrate because they feel like they can't afford it. Um, so I really think that giving the day off for these category 1 holidays is the only way for students to really be able to observe um or for all students who celebrate to be
able to observe. The second thing I wanted to talk about is something that Andy mentioned. I think the breaks in learning can actually be a good thing. This is from my perspective as a student. Um, I know people usually talk about March as the hardest month in the
year because it's an uninterrupted stretch of straight learning and the test the testing is usually really intense because you you have no days off in the entire month. And I think generally these days off from school and
the um no homework holidays can be a nice respit occasionally. Obviously, we're not having this happen all the time. It's not every day. So, I think having five days out of the year which we choose to honor as days off from
school, one isn't hurting as much from my perspective as it would be to not offer them. And I think there's actually some benefits. >> Thank you. So, um what I've heard is A and B are off the table and we will take
our vote on the 13th. So, next week we'll take our um vote on a calendar uh of the remaining. So, C, D, E, or F. >> Val, sorry, I have my hand. >> Caroline, >> thank you. Um I just would like a quick another bite of the apple there to
respond to sort of what Mariah and Donna were talking about. Um and I've talked about that too. So, I agree. We have a and I brought this up last year and it never got addressed. we
are misaligned between the PSB policy and the homework instructions. Um, and I think it would behoove us to review that peripheral document um that says what happens on the different
categories. Um and um I would also just like to say and the day before Thanksgiving is I think the high the lowest attendance of the year. Um
I just want to say we went through this last year. We were told we would come back to it and have a longer runway because so many important concerns were raised and maybe This is just the way it
goes. But I just want to say like there's no point in saying we should come back to it next year. We're in it now. Let's do the job. And if people it but it appears people don't want to do the job of taking a
hard look at how we approach the calendar because the majority seems to be going for the status quo. Um, so if the status quo is what folks want, then there's not much point in in talking
about um a different approach unless we were to do a survey, a community survey, which Lincoln Sudbury just did. Um, very strong participation. Um, and by the way, crystal clear
results that the community does not want to add more holidays, does not want to rotate holidays, and most strongly favors state and federal only. Um, so if there is going to be some kind of longer
look, maybe we need to um do what our peers in in Sudbury are doing and get some actual data um because we're really a little bit all over the place with our nomenclature
um about about attendance and also about what people want. >> Okay, that's it. Thank you. Um, nothing else on this right now. We're going to move on to the enrollment update. >> One I just had one question. >> Yeah. >> If if it's is the subject still open or
>> Yeah. >> So, um, sorry. >> Still open. >> Thank you. So, I I just wanted to draw maybe a comparison between in option C. It doesn't really matter which one. I think they're all the same here. November versus March. And that's I think it's the same thing
this November which is basically no week without a break. One has two days off. Another one has a holiday next year and another day off or at least half day for early dismissal. The middle of the next week has another one and then the next one's Thanksgiving
with a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday essentially no school. Um that's packed with breaks. In fact, you don't get three days of education in a week. you get one or two and then we get to March
which has at least uh again option C is probably the same the other ones as March 10th is a closure for uh religious observance and then Good Friday. So there you have a week and then a break, a week and then a break and then a week
and you're in April already. So I don't see the issue about like March is going to drive everybody to exhaustion or anything like that. I think that argument is a little bit um different than what my colleague on my right mentioned last week which is that you
know people might be tired but a whole month of of I think if I I remember you might have said this that that a month of educa straight education can be uh enlightening it can be um a build uh it you know it could reach a crescendo by Good Friday you know three weeks maybe
with no school with with school every day um I don't see a fiveday you know I don't I don't see the real world stopping as often as the school district stopping in a month otherwise things just wouldn't get done. So for an enterprise that's focused on um the best
teaching and learning and again social emotional opportunities every single day the the stark contrast to me in how this calendar all all versions are set up in terms of November uh and then with a long December break of almost you know week and a half or something and then
April again to sort of say that March is too long and that somehow we need some breaks because it will it will exhaust us to me seems a a little difficult to comprehend. >> Thank you. Um,
so is Megan online? >> She's online. Okay. So, moving on to the enrollment update. >> Hi, Megan. >> Thanks for having me this evening. I'm gonna work with Susan so we can chat with you guys about what's going going on with our enrollment report and then
drive the presentation. So, please do let me know that you can see it. >> We can. Can you hear me? >> Is the mic on? >> Is this good? There we go. >> Okay.
So, uh just a little orientation um for our presentation tonight on um enrollment. So, we're going to start off and we're going to talk about and share information about our October one numbers um alongside the history so that
you can kind of see what the trend has been there. Uh then we'll take a peek at uh what that uh October one enrollment looks like by school. >> Um >> yeah, >> thank you. I know this is not as riveting as the last conversation, but
um then we're going to look at how our enrollment projection for this year fared against the October one enrollment. Um then we're going to seek to understand some of the ways that uh
um our enrollment uh in migration and out migration uh impact our ability to forecast especially at a more granular level. Uh then we'll talk a little bit about our projection for next year uh
some you know high level summary points and then take any questions you might have. So, uh, Megan and I are going to tag team on this. Um, and I'm going to start, uh, start us off by looking or Megan's going to start us off by looking at the enrollment over time.
>> Um, so this, uh, year enrollment uh, reporting to DESIE, which is what these reports are based on, um, have not officially closed. So, this number is not technically official. The submission goes through, I think, tomorrow. We don't anticipate any big changes, but if
it goes up or down by one or two, don't, you know, no big deal. Uh, but this is really um, uh, we think it's pretty settled. So, this year, the total enrollment for the public schools of Brooklyn, as reported to DESIE in our October one report, we anticipate to be 6,949
students. Um, and as a note, this does not include our out of district students who are reported in a separate um, avenue. they are reported just in a separate um area. Nor does it include our early education students who are
under three years old who are peers for our special education students. Um they are not counted in this either. Um so we'll see some more information about those um in the next slide though because we of course are working with those families and want to honor their
existence in our community. Um so this slide is uh showing us a little bit about how our students are distributed across the district here. Um and at a high level um again those out of district students
there are 66 you can see that we are being are actually reporting to the state. Um, and our early education sites have 237 students we report, but actually there's 253 in the the
community. Um, with us, our elementary enrollment is 4,565 and Brookline High School is totaling in at 25,147 this year. Um, our kindergarten overall, you can
see the class sizes sort of going across the bottom in the totals. Our kindergarten class this year was notably smaller than some of our other cohorts. Um, and it was smaller than expected. Um, and it's difficult to say why, but we'll talk a little bit more about that
as we move on as well. I'll pass it off to Susan so she can talk to you a little bit about how we got here, whether we did uh perceive correctly on uh who was coming. >> Thank you.
So this next slide um shares with you what the October enrollment is in the first column and in the next column is what we had predicted it would be. Um and so I want to walk through these various sections and just uh point out a
few highlights. So uh on the audit district um we have 66 students that we're claiming on the October one report. Karen uh will be doing a presentation in another month and she'll be sharing information about uh all of
the students that are in out of district placements that we serve here. They're two different numbers and I want to point that out so that when you look at Karen's and she's presenting and if you recall back in the spring when she was presenting she shared with you all of
the students that we support. Some of our settlement agreements will state uh perhaps that we will count them one year and the other school counts them in another year. Um so some of the students that that we're actually serving and
paying for are not um included in the October one report just based on the rules um that we have to follow in order to sub do our submission. So I want to point that out. Um so we had predicted 66 and uh the number we're reporting on
October one is 66 uh pre kindergarten. So, this number is lower, but you'll remember back in the spring that when we were consolidating classes um at beep that uh that meant we were reducing the number of classes that
we we would be um um we would have in place for this year. And so the decline of 33 is as a result of the consolidation. It's not uh for any other reason. So, it's not that our forecast really was off. it was that made we made
choices after the forecast that consolidated classes and then lowered the number of um seats uh available. So that's what that number um uh that's the highlight uh for that number. And then in elementary, as Megan said, the
kindergarten number is always one that's hard to predict. Um the last several years we had just used the prior year kindergarten as the current year number because it was the most current information that we had. Um I'm changing
that methodology a little bit for next year. But uh the number in fact that we were um using for our forecast was 286 and that was because we had 286 kids the year before. But in fact, they came 30
students less than what we expected in kindergarten. Um, and again, we don't really have good uh uh information about why why in one year you're going to have significantly less than in another year, uh, per se. Some of this could have to
do with families moving in and out, and Megan's going to talk a little bit more about that later. um on the the other area um in the elementary level that was was quite a bit less than we anticipated. And when I say less, it's 30 students. Of course, we had eight elementary uh schools. So,
it's not that we have 30 students in one location. Um there's but um fourth grade seemed to be another area where we had a lot more out migration than anticipated. So overall from our forecast um we were
uh lower uh 94 students at the elementary level. At the middle and the high school we were pretty pretty close to spot on there. Um uh at least um on an overall look, right? So at the middle school overall we were one less than we
projected and at the high school six more. Uh but when you look at grade levels, so sixth grade, seventh grade, eighth grade, the numbers, although eighth grade was on point, um the the the rising uh sixth grade uh had more
than we had we had anticipated and the seventh grade had less. So uh those netted out. So, it's really hard when when you're looking at this, especially with with the changes in out and in migration, which is pretty significant here in Brooklyn, to be able to identify
what families are going to be leaving, what grades those students are going to be in. And then likewise, when the kids come back or or different families move in, what grade level they're going to be um enrolling their students in. So, so that is really um how we fared when you
look at it. um elementary, middle, and high. On the next slide, um you know, I I I took a look at, you know, how does our enrollment October one enrollment align with the McRopper and McGibbons
report um and the NASDAQ report. Now, the NASDAQ was although they they give you a forecast that goes out many years, it's it's using a coho cohort survival technique and that does not project out
in the long run um as accurately as other methodologies would be. Um and so it's not a surprise that in the outer years on the Nestec that we would see um numbers that might be very different than what our experience um is. But when
we look at Cropper McGibbons and we're looking at a really high level, I also want to point out that this slide is blown up so that you can see the variation. Um so in blue on the on the chart um is what our October one enrollment is along with our projection
for 27. So 6673 is our projection for next year. When you look at cropper the cropper uh forecast that's in the orange um or it could be red depending on um uh how how you view this the slide from
home. But but what you can see when you put these next to each other is that the pattern itself is pretty in alignment. Right? both are showing that we're going to have declining enrollment and we have had overall declining enrollment although
it's not significant. Um and when we get to the projection for next year it's it's really is pretty close to what the Cropper McGibbons although it's a different um technique that was used to come to those numbers. They're they're pretty similar. Craropper then um is
projecting um a decrease again next year and then our enrollment will start to increase. So, I I would I would think that um given the the um the close connection between what our enrollments
are actually coming in at and what their projection was, I think it's, you know, it's it's worthy of uh relying on uh those last two years as as being something fairly valid. So, though we'll go down a little bit this year coming up and the year after that, it looks like
um they're projecting our enrollment will start to increase slightly. We'll see how that uh comes out and we should probably do a refresher um at some point in the next couple of years. So at that at with that in mind. So first of all, elementary enrollment is lower than we
uh forecast when we're looking at the overall enrollment. It it seems to align well with the with the forecast from Craropper. Um but I wanted to better understand what was going on at the elementary, middle, and high. So the next slide.
>> Sure. Um, so those are actuals for what you're calling school year 27. >> That's the that's four hours on October 1. That is the forecast for us for next year or FY27.
>> Okay. But some of them say school sy and some of them say FY. So I just want to understand if there's a >> no different. >> Okay. Thanks. >> Yep. I didn't notice that. So, thank you for pointing that out. We will uh be consistent um when we present it next
time. So, when we break it out by uh elementary, what you can see again, we're blue and then the reddish orange color is the cropper. Um and then the uh gray is NASDAQ. at the elementary um our
our actual enrollment at the elementary level is is lower than what the cropper report um suggested at the middle school it's similar. >> Can I just ask a clarification on this slide? Is October one actuals or is October one your projection? Because the
heading is projection but then I'm I don't know what the columns mean. The column means for October one. >> Yeah. So all of the October one are October one as as uh we submitted and were certified. Um 27 is what we're um
anticipating it will be next year. >> So 27 27 is the projection but the rest of those three years are the actuals for 26 25 24 >> correct. >> Thank you. So at the high school what you'll see on
the last again you'll see that the cropper uh prediction was that the high school would be um declining and what we're seeing is it's staying fairly stable. Um but the net result is that the forecast is is pretty consistent
though um where the students are showing up is uh a little bit different than we had anticipated. So, I've I've made some adjustments when we've uh for the forecast on 27, and I'll talk about that a little later on.
So, Megan's going to share some information about in migration and out migration. Our our highest uh um uh the time of year where we receive the most um uh changes in and out is during the
summer, June to September. And so Megan does a an awesome job tracking um where students are are going when they leave us and um where they uh were prior to arrival. So I'm going to let her share um what what uh is hot off the press for
in migration out migration. >> Yeah, thank you Susan. Um so yeah, as Susan mentioned the in migration and out migration is a huge portion of our student population here. We always have students coming and students going. This
does put a little bit of a face on the individual um and families that we're serving as well. Keeping in mind that we're not all just numbers. These are families and children that um even though the numbers maybe for the cohort survival don't change all that much. The actual individual students that our
teachers are servicing may change quite a bit. Um and summer is our busiest time for people to come and go. Um so uh it's a it's a new students which is the inmigration
has been a little bit less than the withdrawals or the out migration for the last couple of years. That 2023 24 school year was a very strange year in terms of the um turn the population shift. Um it was definitely the COVID
recovery year that was um quite different. For the last couple years, there's been a a chain net decrease um slightly over the course of the summertime and then in migration has been in decline. Um but that is also
sort of um reflective of the overall slight decline in enrollment. So it's proportional. So we're going to dig into each of these areas a little bit and see if we can find any patterns or lessons to learn from uh what we're seeing. So, first
we're going to look at the out migration. Um, so that is to say summer withdrawals, students who are leaving the public schools of Brooklyn at the end of a school year to go attend school somewhere else for the following school
year. And what we're what we find and is true every year is that our out migration is largely due to families who are moving out of Brooklyn. This is not necessarily school choices. uh these are family um housing or other kinds of
situational changes. They are leaving this the town of Brooklyn altogether. Um so we're going to look a little bit about where our families are going when they leave uh the public schools of Brooklyn. This chart to the right hand
side of the slide is a 100% view. So we can sort of see the proportion of who is doing what when. the totals are different, right? So, actually the withdrawals are a bit higher for the last two years. Um, but
the proportions you can see um the shift is is not uh nothing crazy. Um, so students who are leaving to attend other schools in Massachusetts, which is the green bar. Um, or schools outside of Massachusetts, which is blue. So that
includes out of uh state to California, Connecticut, Maine, Tennessee, what have you. Um, but also families who are leaving for international locations are all represented in that blue bar. They've all completely moved out of Brooklyn. Um, and then the yellow bar,
which is students who are choosing Massachusetts private schools, only a portion of those remain Brooklyn residents, as some are also moving out to other communities and are reporting that their child's next school will in fact be a private school. So, this is related a little bit to how we are
required to report to the state. Um, but we do know that only a portion of the students who attend private school will remain um, Brookline residents. And then as far as the new student registration, the in
migration, these are students who enrolled PSB to begin attendance for this reported school year. So you can see um it was much lower in 23 24, but it has increased in 2425 and 2526.
Um and then again in migration is really because families are moving in. They're replacing those empty houses and units in town that other families have vacated. Um, and summer in migration is down by 22
students from last year. Um, and interestingly, students enrolling from outside of Massachusetts, so any other state or country, um, did decline by about 50 students this year, which is somewhat proportional again to the overall decline. Um, and I will note the
number of students returning to PSB, whose last school was a Massachusetts private school, was higher this year than the last couple of years at 39 students. Um, so that's a pretty good uptick. It's difficult to say whether they were all Brooklyn residents. Some
of them again were coming from other um communities, moved here, and chose public after um joining a community that they believe the public system is great for. Um, but that's an interesting little note there. And then the other wild card that's not
necessarily summer um, specific is in terms of trying to predict what our enrollment is going to look like. There's always the wild card of what our grade 12 to kindergarten replacement looks like. So each year grade 12
graduates out, we congratulate them. We welcome them into their their new life. um and we replaced them in our numbers, our community um with kindergarten cohort. A whole new class joins us um to begin their journey. So this year the
outgoing grade 12 class was 548, which really is truly one of the larger cohorts we've had in PSP. It's not the only big one, but it was one of the biggest ones we've had in a while. Um and therefore our incoming kindergarten class was lower than it has been
historically. So at 453. So, we're not seeing that replacement in the overall numbers that we often see. And then the other piece is kindergarten is such a wild card because we never know who's here. We
don't know who has 5-year-olds. Um we open kindergarten registration starting in January. And actually for the community, keep your eyes out. We're going to start um doing our outreach very soon for next year. Um but we open in January and we enroll
families from January through the beginning of school and on in fact I registered a kindergartener today um for the existing kind class. One piece of thing uh one piece to keep in mind is the enrollment outreach that we do to try to reach families to get
them to enroll as soon as possible so we have as much good information as possible. Um we've been doing better. You can see that the number uh the proportion of summer registrations has decreased for the last three years. Um so it was only
61 students out of the 453. So about 14% of the class um or late minute last minute arrivals in the summer. Um, but that does lead to still uncertainty. If 14% or 16% or 19% of your kindergarten
still isn't registered um before we're making financial decisions and projections and and class placements and things like that, that summertime um addition does make things more uncertain and more difficult to forecast because we don't know if we're just doing a really good job getting a hold of people
or if there's going to be a flood on, you know, August 25th of 30 more kids, which is has happened as well. So, um, that's a little bit about how we kind of got to where we are and the the humans who are populating
our classrooms and where they've come from and those who have left us and where they've gone. So, I'll pass it back to Susan. She she can talk to you a little bit about what we're thinking moving forward. >> So, the next slide and really the last chart is our enrollment projection for
27 um this year. So, we used the cohort for survival methodology. Um, and last year we tried to make some targeted adjustments by grade level. Um, after
looking over kind of the history of the changes in the cohorts um over time, we thought uh we we saw some patterns there that we would apply to the methodology to make some adjustments after we use
the cohort. um um adjustment um method. So given what we've we we're seeing now um we've shifted a little bit since it it's really hard to predict on a granular
basis like grade by grade by grade. Um it it makes more sense um after looking at how the data is um um the October one data um that we go with
just a cohort survival using a three-year average. And then for kindergarten, instead of using last year's number, we're using a three-year average so that it'll um hopefully moderate um any uh big fluctuations
between the years. Um so in essence, uh we're using cohort survival. Um at the kindergarten level, we're using a three-year average. Um and based on that um we're anticipating um another slight
decline at the elementary level of about 67 at the middle school and high school a little bit higher. Uh the rising fifth grade um uh going into um um next year
uh is is higher than the exiting eighth grade. And so therefore uh you see an adjustment at the middle school because of that. And you see the same thing at the high school. So you have an eighth grade, the rising eighth grade has 517
um but and that will be moving up. Um but the existing ninth grade is 499. So more students coming in um uh causes those numbers at the middle and the high school to go up a little bit higher.
Again, these are not any significant variations in our numbers. They're spread out over many schools and many uh grades. So, that is our best estimate at this time uh for what our enrollment will be looking like next year and we
will be using these numbers as we build the FY27 budget. So, in summary, um enrollment continues to decline slightly. Uh we knew this uh we anticipated this when we got the
cropper McGibbon report and in fact our October one enrollments are proving uh that um uh out at the elementary level it's slightly lower and at the high school it's slightly higher than the
Craropper McGibbons uh forecast. Our out migration is higher than our in migration but that is proportional to the decline in enrollment. So, we're seeing less families move in and our enrollments are going down. So, so that
makes sense. Um, our graduating cohorts, um, so the high school 12th grade cohorts are larger, uh, than the incoming kindergartens, and that's been true for the last couple of years. Um, overall, uh, FY27 enrollment is is
expected to go down slightly. Um and um based on the Cropper M McGibbons uh forecast, we're anticipating that we'll start to have a slight uptick in enrollment in FY29. Um it's always important to know, you
know, again, as we've as we've tried to share with you today, um that enrollment forecasts are vulnerable to a lot of circumstances, um including housing availability and socioeconomic circumstances that may cause families to move in. Certainly,
federal policies uh will impact uh families, especially uh from abroad. Um, and so those factors um, aren't as easy to forecast, especially here in Brooklyn with a churn as large as you have here.
It's not something that I have seen in most of the other school districts or any of the other school districts that I have been a part of. So, we'll take any questions you might have. Thank you. Um, Megan, I have a question for you, I think. Uh, have you seen any
evidence that the out migration or the I guess the lack of in migration for the last two years has either to do with things going on globally or um our own federal
>> government in DC evidence one way or the other regarding that um you know so no nothing tangible thoughts on where you're seeing changes. >> I mean, I suspect that yes, the uh
global environment in the federal decisions, things regarding Harvard over the summer in particular, may have had um certain amount of impact on famil family's choices about whether they would move to the greater Boston area in general um at this time. Um but I don't
really, for instance, with the kindergarten, I have no idea why it's so much um smaller. Uh, if that makes any sense. >> Thank you, Mariah. And then Andy, and then Donna, is your hand up or you just stretching? >> Okay.
>> Thank you. I have um one minor question and one larger question. Um and thanks for all the information that was shared tonight. It's really helpful. My question was um I don't remember us consolidating a beep classroom that you talked about, and I was wondering if you
could refresh our memories. Maybe it's just me who doesn't remember this, but that was something that didn't didn't jive in my brain. Could you just discuss where that happened and whether we discussed it?
>> Yeah, sure. Uh Margaret did a presentation um alongside um Karen when we were talking about budgetary reductions and they were looking at consolidations and Margaret did a presentation on that uh and ways
that she could consolidate the classes uh to achieve some savings. >> Where is it? >> Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay, now it's ringing a bell. Thank you very much for that. Um >> dude, where is it, Susan? Um I think it was like the third meeting in March.
>> No, no, no. Which location? >> I believe it was at Driscoll. >> Okay. Thanks. >> Sorry. >> Yep. No problem. And then my next question is could you talk a little bit more about the methodology that you're using for forecasting? You mentioned a
little bit of kindergarten what you had been doing. Um but just generally how is the how is the projection um the methodology how is it working for other grades um in general
>> what is this >> so the method the cohort survival methodology um looks over the past three years and um and it takes an average of the change
um as the cohorts move up through and metriculate up through the system. So I used three years because I didn't want as opposed to four or five sometimes I'll look at five years but because you start getting into kind of postcoid era.
I I just I didn't feel good about going back four or five years. So I I made the choice when I was um preparing the forecast to to just use the most current three years and then I I I kind of validated that against the Cropper
McGibbons. So I I don't look at theirs until I've done mine and then I try to triangulate the the information to see if it makes sense. And um and and when I looked at the differences in grades, when I compare the FY26 projection
against what happened, the variation by grade was much greater than I anticipated it would look. So, I didn't feel there was a real value to trying to make further adjustments beyond using the cohort survival technique um because
it didn't really play out um to be uh effective at the at that granular level. So I feel I feel that the projection the forecast for 27 will net us similar results or or better results maybe even
at the elementary level and similar at the um middle school and high school level. Um but not uh not really making adjustments uh by grade because that just didn't play out. And I think that's what I was trying to
share with you earlier. It just didn't play out at the grade level. >> Thank you Andy. And then Bob, >> can I ask a followup before we move on? >> Yeah, go ahead. >> Um, so if it's not if you when you rolled it, if I just understood what you said, if you tested that that methodology against back data and it
didn't work right, like are we we're not going to you're saying though you're not going to adjust it even though it's it wasn't particularly accurate. I'm I'm confused by that statement. >> Okay. Okay. Yeah, let me clarify. year. So she used a method where she adjusted
grade by grade based on specific cohort changes that we had seen historically and those the the nuance of grade one to grade one is so difficult to predict that the cohort survival method was just more predictable, more reliable. >> Okay. So this is a new methodology. Your
previous methodology I see. Okay. Thank you for that clarification. >> Yep. >> Andy and then Bob. Yeah, thanks. I'm not sure whether this is for Megan or for Susan. Um I feel like I've read more than one newspaper article recently um
that was suggesting that um families in affluent districts are leaving the public schools for private schools at a higher rate than before. Am I right in thinking that based on what you're presenting there's really no evidence of that happening right now in Brooklyn?
I would say this slide shows that that is absolutely correct that there is no evidence that that there is a change in that pattern here in Brooklyn because that yellow box on the slide that's on the screen um that proportion
is pretty consistent. >> Thanks. >> I think Andy the article was actually the or the articles that you may be referring to was not about the rate of families leaving. It was more about the rate of families returning and if it had
it's gone back to precoid >> um numbers from what I remember. >> Uh Bob, >> thank you. Thank you Susan and Megan for this presentation. I have two questions. One, do you know the percentage of um of kids, school age kids who go to private
schools right now from Brooklyn? >> I do not have that number. That's reported separately at a different time of year. >> Okay. Um secondly, um do you have data on the relationship between the enrollment projections and the space
that we have in the school system considering the building that has been going on and continues to go on. Um I'm just wondering if there's the projections for the high school for example required us to build a freshman campus etc etc. So what are the what are
the space um implications um of the enrollment projections? In other words, do will we have space extra space in the system to think about? Right now we haven't we have we've just begun building um the FY27 budget. We
just launched it a week and a half ago. So we will be looking at the impact of this enrollment projection on classes. Um there so there's two parts to that Bob. There's this is really forecasting
um you know all students but we have um a rather significant population of students that are special education that we're also providing education for here as opposed to having them go to out of district placements. So we have the rise program,
the ALC program, Winthrop and those programs over the last three years have been a a concerted effort to grow them to keep as many students here as we can. Those take up classrooms as well. So, one of the things that we're looking at now and been working with the principles
the last week or so is to go through and map out like what we're using each space for so that we can get a better understanding of where we might have some capacity and where we see we're going to need to grow. So, um, we've been trying to grow Winthrop House for
the last couple of years, and we're hoping, um, that perhaps we can actually take start to take students in from other schools, in which case we're going to need more space for those kinds of things. Next year, we're anticipating that we will be growing RISE program, one more classroom. So, as we think
about space utilization, we think about what we have right now, what we need, and as we build these programs, making sure that we have the space to be able to accommodate those students as they move up through the lower elementary school rise program to the upper elementary to the middle school, etc.
So, we're looking at that right now. When I answered the question a couple of weeks ago, we know that we have some um space availability at the Driscoll School. It was built for four sections. We haven't grown to four sections since the school opened just last year. So, >> right. Yeah.
>> I mean, to me, it's it's partially a budget question. Um, >> sure. >> Have we anticipated how much space we might have and what kind of income we might get by you by renting out or by bringing programs in um to increase the amount of money that we take in. >> We are thinking similarly.
>> Okay. >> Thank you. >> Um Suzanne and then Carolyn. Oh, and then Don is ready. Okay. >> Thank you. Thank you, Megan. And thank you, Susan. Could you just remind me when was the Cropper McGibbon >> uh survey done?
>> It was um it was done in 24. We received it in February of 24. So, it's fairly fresh. >> Oh, it is fresh because we had one before that. We did 2019. >> Yeah, that was a long That was a long time ago. And everybody was upset about >> that prediction because they said it was
way too low. But it turned out that they were actually kind of right. I don't know how they knew the >> We had a pandemic. Yeah. >> How they knew the pandemic was coming. >> Yeah. Yeah. That that that had a huge impact because the Cropper McGibbons report was presented to you in 2019 and in 2020 you had the pandemic. So it's
really hard to to really totally understand um the impacts of the pandemic on those. >> And we had and the visa that has to be having an impact. what >> visas for our international students because we had what two or 300 international students at one point.
What do we have any idea what our numbers are now? Megan, do you know? >> I do not know offhand. Uh because that's that's as always I'd like to remind you it's a complicated question because we have people who are not international folks who are coming from international.
So they're reported that way and then also vice versa folks who are just on visas or or whatever other um ways they're here. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you. >> But the but I can say that the proportion is the same of incoming
students from outside the US. That proportion this year is the same as it has been for the last few years. So that hasn't changed drastically. Thanks. >> Okay. Thank you Carolyn and then Donna. Thanks. Um,
this is a little Oh, sorry. I'm going to deflect my question because my son and husband just came in the room to look for something. Sorry. >> Okay, Donna. And then we'll come back to Carolyn. >> Did you already Yeah. Um, first of all, thank you so much for this
information. I have two questions. one um is the out migration data available broken down by grade level and my second question is
as a new school committee member when I'm looking at this enrollment data and particularly the forecasting for next year what do you want me to know what's like most what like what might others know that I I don't know.
>> So, is it available? Yes, I think I do have a chart that does break down the out migration by grade level. Um, not by school, but by grade. Yes. Um, and it it is proportional to the changes that we see in the the main report um of
the the enrollment. Um, and then what do you need to know about this information as a new committee member? Um, I think it's understanding that Brooklyn is a really mobile community. Our students do not stay the same. Even though the
numbers don't change that much, as I said, it's really important to understand that the the actual humans who are sitting in our classrooms are not the same. Our students are, you know, making new friends every year. Um,
our teachers are, you know, working with students coming from all over the place. Um, so they're not necessarily just one cohort moving up with each other from kindergarten to to graduation. Um, it's a really mobile population with a lot of
diversity of learners and experiences. Um, and it really does make a difference to the to the Brookline um, enrollment, but also to the the lived experience of our community. >> Thank you, >> Megan. Thank you. How much do you expect
like how much should I expect those numbers to shift the enrollment numbers for the next school year? >> So that's that's what we would look at here in that um projection. Um so that's the kind of shift that we'd be
looking at based on what we think is going to happen. So no meaning for next year the to if the district total is >> yeah like I mean I read including kindergarten and new beef students we register a lot of kids like
>> 2,000 kids a year. >> I I think the um the slide is titled FY26 and that's the confusion. It's FY27 projected enrollment. >> Oh well you're really on on the >> We were so into the numbers. We weren't
paying attention to some of our titling clearly. >> So this is the >> And so are those are are are we expecting though? Do those typically shift subst how substantially do they shift? >> No, I'm saying if we're looking at these numbers today and I look at these
numbers again in six months, are they going to change a lot? >> Oh, so the overall number will not change a lot. >> Okay. >> Thank you. by the time we get to next October, they will shift because of out migration at the end of the year. Um, you know, right now is our most stable
time for our enrollment. We will still see changes. Um, in fact, our peak enrollment is usually somewhere depending on the year between December, January, and February. That's sort of the peak of when we have the most humans in our classrooms. Um, you know, bringing them in and then people start
to filter out as the spring um goes on and into the end of the year. Thank you. >> I think that's another thing I found interesting here about the enrollment is that in a lot of places you think of registration at the beginning of the year and then things kind of sta
stabilize, but that it never quite stabilizes here. There always seems to be a certain amount of in-n-out migration. um not as significant as the summer, but it it does continue to um >> to shift as the year goes on, which is
why we we say we want to wait until, you know, certainly October, you know, because of people coming in and in and out, getting them registered, everything settled out and our numbers um kind of stabilize a little bit. Uh but they they
will shift, they will continue to shift for the for the remainder of the year. There's generally not a week that goes by where we don't register a new student >> except for maybe the last week of school. >> Megan, does that have anything to do with um sort of the southern hemisphere
and young kids leaving to go back to >> Yeah, both the southern hemisphere and um some of the East Asian nations, their school calendars differ from ours. Um so families will make um moves based on their their existing school calendar.
Not exclusively. Sometimes you just need to move for a job in March. That happens too. >> All right. Any other questions? Carolyn is has her hand down. Okay. >> But sorry, that was a mistake. I do have a quick question. >> Okay.
>> So, thanks guys for this. Um, thank you, Megan. Susan, I like your new methodology. That makes sense. um question more kind of related to the looking at building by building
um kind of class sizes overall sizes as you're doing whatever body of work you're doing now Susan um I wonder if it might be possible to also look at and report out on buffer zone use I guess
I'd have a cons a question potential concern if like buffer zones are being heavily used such that students are sort of families aren't kind of getting their first choice or getting a school that's
closest to their home. Um I just would be interested in in sort of pulling out like >> so I can tell you I think I've kept track this year the number of families who did not get their first choice of school and live in a zone or a buffer
zone of that school is extremely small. So that means that mostamilies are >> is it always based on request or do you do assignments? >> So we always ask families their preference. >> Okay. >> Always. that's not always possible to accommodate depending on the cohort that
they're arriving into. Um, and obviously with our kindergarteners, we encourage them to come early so that the sooner that they come, um, they do get a little bit of, um, better chance of getting their first preference if they come early. >> And sorry, I'm Oh, go ahead. >> Go ahead. I was just going to ask a
followup about buffer zones, which is do do you think that the current maps are um sufficiently flexible to um keep our class sizes of where we expect them to be and to keep people close to um home and and to
their preference. >> I don't think they always align with what families believe their neighborhood school is, if that is an answer to the question. I think we do with them the map what we need to do and our numbers seem to be generally speaking okay. Um
whether that aligns with what the community believes is their community school. Um I'm not sure that that's always true. We get a lot of special requests based on well it's this is closer and we think this is our school and can we go there
and things like that. >> Thank you. Sorry Caroline. Did you have a followup? >> That's okay, Val. Um, and not being meaning mean meaning to press, I'm truly just curious, Megan, when you say a small number this year, is that like
three to five, 10 to 20, like what's very small? >> Um, I don't have it up on my screen right now because I don't >> Yeah. And I'm not asking for exact just like >> I can probably I can probably pull that pretty quickly for um the committee tomorrow, but I think it's probably
somewhere in the like not a special request for the open enrollment policy that is part of the the committee's policy. Um I think it's probably maybe 10 to 15 students that may be
fewer households of course right with siblings >> and they tend to be in sim this like is there consistency >> across >> it will just depend on if we have cohorts that are more crowded you know larger size classes at a particular
school we just simply can't accommodate that request. >> Okay. So based on when you say special request, you mean somebody asking for a school that is not in the that is not their district or buffer zone. >> Correct. Nonzone school requests. Yes.
>> Thanks so much, Megan. >> Those we're not always able to accommodate as easily, but the ones who are you live there, you get to go to one of your schools close to home. We do a pretty good job of that. >> Thank you. Anything else? All right. Thank you,
Megan and Susan. Um, next up is our MCCAST trends and analysis report. Robin Thank you. Give me a second to set up here. Working a few different things here. Um so, thank you so much. And so, tonight
we're going to go do an overview of the 20 um 25 MCCAST um report. So, as we've done with some others, I just want to ground us in kind of thinking about the purpose of data in schools and
for us as we think about how it informs instruction for us. There oop sorry for us. Um so thinking about the major purpose of assessment in schools should be to provide interpretive information for teachers and school leaders about
their impact on students so that these educators have the best information about what steps to take with instruction about how they need to change and adapt. And so when we think about what we're going to go through tonight, I thought I would first give just the
overview of our presentation. Sorry. Oh, sorry. I can't see my Betsy. Do you know my actual slideshow is went away on my screen? I can't see it. So, I can't
>> Yeah. Um, >> Yep. I want me to try again. Actually, I don't see the slideshow at all. And is that the updated version? I should also sorry I should start by saying you have a print copy in front of you that has a couple of those title
mistakes like Susan caught on hers because I was really focused on the content when I was reviewing it and just before we got in here today I was like oops you got a couple of titles that are wrong. That's okay. Thank you, Betsy.
You all right? Are you okay? I was not as nimble as Bella with my screen sharing and presenting at the same time. Okay. All right. Next slide. >> Um, next slide, please. So, this is just
our overview. So, I thought we have new members of our committee. Um, some of you have been around and re reviewing MCCAST results for a while, but we have some new members of our committee. So, I thought I would start by talking about our assessment system overall. Just a quick um what is MCCAST? So, what is the
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System? Define some of our key terms that we'll talk about tonight. And those are also key terms for families as they're reviewing their own child's academic um MCCAST report. And then how it relates to some of our strategic
priorities because we if you look at our current strategic plan, we actually do have some benchmarks related to MCCAST. So I felt it was important to report out on that. Um, and then our district overview, some grades span snapshots
within that, the eighth grade civics when we talk about the middle school grades span, and just some overall takeaways and recommendations based on what we were seeing last year. Um, next slide. I always feel like it's important to
orient MCCAST results as one measure, one data data point in all of the data that we have for students. Um, and so thinking about our system of assessment being that that MCCAST data, that statewide snapshot, that district data
that we have, and we'll talk about that in a minute, and then the classroom level data. The next slide. So when we think about this in the larger scheme, you know, our MCCAST is given annually. It's really a comparative measure to think about how
our students, our individual students and our district and our grade levels are performing relative to state level learning standards and allows us to understand how we're doing comparatively across the state. You know, so are the trends that we are seeing in our student performance similar to other communities
that maybe have similar demographics or all communities across the state? we think about our district level data. We're talking about those that benchmarking data and some of um that helps us on that's taken multiple times
a year and all of our students at a particular grade level or grad span. Um we're collecting that data for them. Um, so if you think back a few weeks ago when Matt Dubis was here and talking about some of our our data in terms of attendance and belonging and some of the
things that we're doing there, that is part of that district level data. So when we're thinking about all of the what we know about students that helps inform some of the decisions we make. It's also things like Dibbles and STAR. So dibbles is given um at our earlier
grades some of our um literacy data that we're collecting um and star is both in ELA and math. We look at attendance data. We're looking at trends across um our schools overall and our common assessments. So our locally designed common assessments that we may be given
or are part of curriculum that we've adopted that we might be using to kind of compare or working together. And then at the classroom level you want to those are ongoing all the time and that's we have lots of data that happens at the classroom level as we know and it's really important data about how our
students are doing and so individual assessments those could be exit tickets those could be observational data that we have about our students behavioral data lots of things that help inform all together these things are picture of how our district is doing but also how individual children are doing and how we
best support them. So we want to take that landscape all together. Next slide please. And when we think about MCCAST in that just so for um understanding what it is when it's given um so our
MCCAST is our our statewide system. It is currently an online assessment. So you know moved from a paper test to an online test many you know quite a few years ago now. But we are completely a digital test at this point. Um it's given in grades 3 through 8 annually in
ELA and in the 10th grade um in mathematics and in the 10th grade in ELA and mathematics. There the assessment for science and technology is in grades five, 8 and 10. So it's not given annually. Um and then we have a new
civics assessment um that we have data for for the first time this year that we'll see and that's given in grade 8. When we talk about um we are we report scores are reported in a number of ways. So there's a scale
score there's the performance level of students. So and there is the student growth percentile or SGP. Um and you know next slide as we think about our um chief and all overall we can kind of think about how we use these to inform
our practice. So the performance levels and scaled scores um the language around performance levels have to do with um have to do with where students are relative to meeting expectations. Their
performance relative to meeting grade level expectations. how would we would expect a student who is making progress over the course of the year um to meet expectations. So we have not meeting partially meeting expectations and exceeding expectations and our our goal
is always to have our students meeting and exceeding expectations. Right? That's what we're looking for for all our students. I think it's an important distinction when we say that students are partially meeting. I think it's really important that we don't think about that in terms of passing or not
passing the MCCAST test. It means that you and they're partially meeting expectations. They probably have areas of strength and some places that they need to work on. Their overall score is that some of those are they're not meeting all of our expectations, but I think that's a really important distinction. Um and then our students
that are not meeting expectations are su certainly students that we want to make sure that we're connecting with supports and services um that they may need. Okay. Um the student growth percentile. So it's this is a really important measure
that as we look at our students performance particularly for individual students but also cohorts of students how they're growing overall because a student may not be meeting expectations but they could have huge growth in a year and that's really important to note
and it's important to know in terms of thinking about progress for students over time and how we continue that that growth. When we talk about student growth percentile, we're talking it's a number that's derived that really kind of indicates relative, you know, reg
relative growth as compared to their academic peers. And when they, when Desessie uses the term academic peers, they're not talking about, you know, my third grade class or my fourth grade class of kids. They're talking about students statewide that performed similarly to them in the past. So there,
you know, like how their performance level is is similar to theirs and how they're growing from year to year. We really only have um, you know, average growth is always set at 50%. So the average growth is 50% across the state.
And so we're always looking for um, growth that's higher than that, like higher than 50%. So um when we look at um moderate high or kind of typ high typical growth you're talking about that
is growth that's over 50% but under 60 and over 60 we start to get into high growth in a particular year and then very high growth. Okay, next slide. So when we talk about our strategic priorities related to MCCAST.
So overall, one of our strate strategic priorities was to increase achievement for all students by establishing, implementing, and regularly assessing consistent highquality and challenging curriculum delivered using evidence-based practices. So you've seen
the result of our efforts toward this as we think about the roll out roll out of our literacy curriculum K through eight and kind of in and thinking about future curriculum reviews as we've you know kind of made progress in thinking about the consistency of that across
classrooms and across schools to ensure equitable um instruction for our students and opportunity. Next slide. Um, within our strategic plan, there are benchmarks for each year. And so, thinking about the benchmark that's
associated with last year's MCCAST tests, um, we had a number of benchmarks related to that. So, overall, we were looking for our students to attain proficiency on ELA and math MCCAST at
73% or higher. So, again, those would be students that we're considering at meets or exceeds. that would be the indicator that we're looking for that performance level. Um and that at science we were looking at 74%. And I I don't know if you you know kind of thinking back in
the strategic plan these are um benchmarks that kind of increased each year as you went along. So we'll talk about where we are relative to that. And then in addition to that, we were thinking we have benchmarks related to our students who are identified as
black, African-American, and Latinx. And thinking about the number of students that are meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA and math. And we're looking for an increase in that percentage overall of three percentage points from the previous year and
thinking where they were. Um, and we're also looking for growth because remember that growth percentile is really important because it tells us, you know, where our stu how our students are growing relative to students who've performed similarly to them in the past. And we're
looking for higher growth for our students. Right. Next slide. >> If it's on the slide about that slide, >> this one or the one with the benchmarks? >> The benchmark slide. >> Okay. Um is there are there any implications on
the benchmarks related to the removal of MCCAST as a graduation requirement? >> Um for for our these came straight from our strategic plan. >> Yeah. So, >> so we'll talk about that later in terms of what that means for 10th 10th grade, you know, like
>> or more like and does it have any implication for student >> I'm sorry I'm so tired so I'm having trouble >> constructing a sentence, but would it have any impact on student participation or how many students are taking the MCCAST and h and and um
>> that's a great question and actually we will talk about that when we talk about 10th grade because there are some we know some things about that. saw some trends for that statewide um and certainly within our community. So, next slide. So, our overall and so this is looking at all of our students grades
three through eight and 10 that took the MCCAST across these content areas. So, all Brooklyn line students, all subgroups, everyone. So, when we look at this, this is relative to our the benchmarks that we sent set for ourselves thinking about we didn't quite
meet our benchmark in ELA. we're just under it. Um, but we did meet the benchmark that we had, you know, projected for oursel in math and science in terms of the the number of the percentage of students that are meeting and exceeding. And, you know, I think it's important to note that when we're
talking about, you know, even you know, the goal of 72% of our students meeting and exceeding 73 75 what those are really high numbers. Those are numbers to be celebrated. So, so that 72, we didn't meet the benchmark. We met our we fell just shy of that. That's still a
number to be celebrated for our students overall. That's that's tremendous performance. >> Yeah. I have a question about the meaning of these student growth percentiles. So it's clear what that means for an individual student like a 58.9. Um for an entire district to have
that as their average student growth percentile. Like where does that put us relative to other districts in the state? like is it realistic to expect an entire district to have you know an SGP in the 60s for example >> so you know again that's an average of all the out you know that that average
growth so if you again it's always reported as 50% is the even when we think about districts or cohorts of kids that the average growth would be relatively you know 50% and so it you know it is again we're we're our
students are growing at a good a strong rate. >> I guess I'm asking about the spread of that number across districts, right? Like >> like comparatively, >> but the district in the state with the highest average student growth percentile, do you know how how high that is? >> No, I don't know what that is my head,
but it's certainly information that we can find out. >> Yeah. >> So, if you're if it if you're curious curious, we can find out. Um, and again, so as Andy pointed out, like our average growth is in that very it's it's it's moderate, but it's high
moderate. Like, so when you think about 60 as the cutoff for like high growth overall, and we're at an average of 58.5 and 58.9 for our our total student population. That's strong growth by our our student community. So overall,
>> so actually now I have a math question on that. Yeah. because it looks like in some of these I mean only by very slightly but that we we went down a little bit from 24. >> Yeah. >> So I I'm just trying to understand the
the >> I think our our number in 24 was 50 Well, it was 58.8, right? Like our our average student growth growth percentile was 58.8 in 2024. Okay. >> And we just went, you know, that growth went down.
>> Yeah. No, no. I'm just trying to understand this right like does it how it skews with whether it's >> a particular community increase substantially right like are kids of color increase up or not or anyway >> well and again we'll talk about that a
little bit in a moment so you know like we can kind of consider this data this is our average district as a whole and we'll talk about um particularly as we think about some of our subgroups and what that means for them >> but Robin these are cohorts that you compare It's not. So, so the it is a
complicated Yeah. number >> um because it's it's saying that >> since it's one number, >> it's confusing and it's saying that all of our students compared to a similar group of students last year. >> Yeah.
>> How did we improve compared to how they improved, >> we actually improved? >> A little bit better. a little bit better than a similar district improved. >> No, it's not it's not comparing it to a similar district. It's really kind of thinking about you. It's not like we
take a neighborhood district and we compare ourselves to it. It's thinking about >> similar to a cohort of students, right? Aren't we comparing cohorts of students to cohorts of students? >> This is the average of all of our students who took the MCCAST.
>> So, okay. This is our this is our our district growth percent like this is you know for the entire district all students who took the M who took the MCCAST. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> It's okay.
>> Andy opened a can of worms. >> Well, it's a math problem. >> Yeah. What I'm asking is something quite different, right? Not a math problem at all, but just how to interpret a score of 58.9. Like, you know, is that like the best of any district in the Commonwealth or is it the good? Is it
above average but still one standard deviation? You know, like what what is the distribution across the 300 districts of of average SGPs? >> And I and again I don't have that information of of all of the districts in Massachusetts, but we are like if you
think of 50% as that is the average that that's how they like and then they it skews based on that. Um we are in that high moderate growth. So it's it's a it's a strong growth percentile. It's a good thing. Right. So as we look at it,
next slide. >> Now relative to our our um other U benchmarks that were part of our strategic plan. So thinking about I students identifying as black or African-American or Latinx. um we did
meet our what we had set for ourselves as benchmarks in both in ELA in the overall number of percentage of students who are meeting and exceeding um the growth percentage was slightly less when you look at that cohort of you know like
that um population of students um and um we did increase at the rate that we had hoped to so it's improvement so that's good um we did not meet our benchmark Um, for math we stayed the same. So we stayed flat. So 40% last year were
meeting it and exceeding. It was 40% again this year. So you know our goal had been to be at least at 43 or higher or students meeting or exceeding. >> Sorry. Um I think we've seen this number historically broken out
um black, African-American, Latinx separately and then also students with disabilities. Do you have those numbers? We will talk about high need students which is again >> that's well that's two combined right >> it's combined so but we're talking I
this was pulled relative to the strategic plan >> with a disability >> right >> okay sorry we were just discussing what high need high needs is is sort of two of lots of things right it's like of color with a disability or
>> disability and low income okay >> um so Again, we're making progress relative to our our um our strategic plan, but you know, it does call to attention that a disparity still exists for our students, and
that's an important it's an important thing to remember and to consider as we look at all of our data. Um, next slide. So, our district-wide ELA data specifically, so just catch up my notes here. So this
is for all Brookline students and again we are at 72% meaning and exceeding 512 is the average scaled score and again that's AC across students grades three through eight and grade 10. Um we're seeing high moderate or typical
um high moderate or typical growth in a pattern over time that is consistent with statewide data. So like our growth is we are we are growing at a a you know
like our our overall pattern of growth is similar to to the state. So like we're not increasing our growth over time but we're staying steady but it's still a high rate of growth overall for our students. um our students are increasingly meeting and exceeding
performing performance expectations across grade levels and across grade spans. So if you think about you know if you look at the graph on the bottom the bar graph that's that's going horizontally. That's a breakdown by grade level of students that are meeting
and exceeding. So starting in the third grade and like looking through the 10th grade more and more of our students are meeting and exceeding each year across those grade spans. And that's a really important thing to remember. Um, so districtwide, 72% of our students, which
is roughly 273 students who took the test last year, are meeting and exceeding. Um, 23 of our percent of our students are partially meeting performance expectations. Um, and remember that means that doesn't mean they didn't pass MCCAST. It means that
they have areas of strength and areas for growth relative to those um the expectations at their grade level and that and um about 6% were not meeting performance expectations. So it still adds up to a large number of students
because partially meeting is about 776 students and not meeting expectations is 193 students. So, while it seems like a small percentage, it still is a significant number of students that we need to make sure that we're using all of our other data in alignment with this
and making sure that they getting they're getting the supports that they need. >> Next slide, >> Robin. >> Yep. >> Can I ask will you talk in this um presentation about what happens
I what happens with a student who's not meeting expectations? >> Okay. Yes, we can. Um, so when we think about students who aren't meeting expectations, right? Like I can I can talk about that right now. That's, you know, like the advice to parents if they were to
receive a report that says their student isn't meeting expectations in any particular area that they should certainly been be consulting with their child's school to think about what additional supports are necessary. At a school level, when we're looking at this data and we're considering students who
may not be meeting expectations or who are partially meeting expectations, we're really critically looking at that information and we're thinking about what additional supports need to be in place for them at the classroom level. Um whether it's in, you know, interventions that are happening in that
tier 2 potentially. But again, we're looking at it in in conjunction with all of that other data that we have about a student. So we wouldn't just take this one snapshot of MCCAST and say, "Oh, absolutely a student that needs support." We would like look at that student. We'd also look at what's
happening for them at the classroom level. What other data do we have about them? And that's really the the role of our student intervention teams, why those are critically important in our schools and that um that those teams have the opportunity to meet together and really consider the needs of
students. And it's also why as we build out our M system of supports, our MTSS, our multi-tered system, we're thinking about what supports can happen within the classroom when there are additional supports that need to happen outside the classroom. And those are conversations with within the school and with
families. Okay. Um Okay. So this is our data for high need students. So this is an important um grouping overall. So when we talk about high need students, we're talking about
students who are um economically disadvantaged. They could be um have um disability status, so an IEP, students on IEPs, um and they could be students that are are English language learners. So there any
of those students in that group together. So, you know, there there some of our our more vulnerable students that we want to ensure that we are um providing supports for. So, when we look at their overall achievement as um
across the district, remember we had that really high percentage of meeting and exceeding that number drops significantly when we're talking about our students in our high needs category. So, that's important to keep a keep an eye on. The other thing that we don't
see is across the grade levels. If you remember the slide previous, we saw our students from grade three to 10, increasingly they were, you know, moving toward meeting and exceeding with higher higher percentages. We don't see that in the same way. It's it's kind of fairly
consistent as you look across grade levels. Um, their average scaled score um is just below the meeting. That again, that's average scaled score overall. um and growth is only slightly lower but so it's good students are
growing but we're you know from an individual standpoint but we still need to make sure that we're paying attention. I think it's really important to understand that when we look across the district and if you remember there were 193 students who weren't um meeting
expectations in ELA across the district 185 of those fall in this high needs category. So when we t think about the percentage of students that are represented there um in not meeting expectations and we compare it to our
total 185 of that 193 fall into those subgroups of students with disabilities students who are economically disadvantaged and are students. Okay. So, that's really important to think about.
Comparatively, and this um this data point is not on this slide, but it's related to it. If we were to separate the performance of our non- high need students from our high need students, you know, compared to their their high
non- high needs peers, 90% of our non- high need students are actually meeting and exceeding expectations. 90%. So think about, you know, so again, why it's really critically important that we're paying attention. We're not
just looking at a percentage point, but we're thinking about who those students are in our classrooms at each grade level. And and thinking about instructionally and systematically, what are we doing to support their growth? And to your point, Andy, that kind of
thinking about the overall this SGP, when we look at our non- highnee students, um, while our high needs students, their growth is 55, which is, you know, it's it's better than average, but our our non- high need students are growing at a
greater rate. Their average growth is 60.3 growth percentile. So, they're achieving higher and they're growing at a higher rate. So that's important to consider. Um, okay, next slide.
So much like with ELA, we see a similar trend in math overall. Um, I think one of the things that we see when we look at math, it's just kind of interesting to look at. And I'm not sure the um the reason for this exactly, but you know, we see this little bump in
the seventh grade, which is great. So our seventh graders um we had more students meeting and exceeding. So that's that's impressive across the district. We see the same rates of growth. So again, we're seeing our average SGP is is high. When we look at
our student population altogether, our average scaled score is above average and we're at 73% meeting and exceeding. Our performance is overall similar to last year. um you know if you look at the um the graph on
the left your screen you know it's fairly consistent from last year to this year. Okay. Uh next slide. So again when we look at our um
our districtwide um data for our high need students we do have 50% of our students in the high needs category that are meeting and exceeding. Again, we have an average scale score of just over a meeting, so 502. Um, we have a high
our our rate of growth is higher in this area than it is um or it's closer, you know, to their average peers, non- high needs peers. Um again though when we think about overall the percentage of students meeting and exceeding um as
compared to when we pull out high need students and we only look at non high need students um 88% are meeting and exceeding of the non- high needs as compared to 502% of our high need students. So again, it why it's
important to focus on not just the overall data, which is which is, you know, something to celebrate, but also thinking about making sure we continue to have an eye on our subgroup data. >> Bella, >> I think this is the one where you you
picked up this should be this one. >> Yeah, it should be math. >> Math. >> No, this is this one is math, but I think it might have had an ELA title on your packet. >> Yeah. Yeah. On the hard copy. The graphs are all correct. Um, and I,
like I said, I I uh I missed it on the title. There are a couple that have the wrong have ELA on there that should not. Um, okay, next slide. Um, this is our overall data for science and so STE,
which is science, technology, and engineering um in grades 3 through 8 and 10. And it's important to note that this is only given at the fifth grade, the eighth grade, and the 10th grade. So this is a little bit different. We don't report stu um growth percentile for this because they don't take it every year.
So it's really hard, you know, like they only take it in um at certain points in time. The other thing that is important to note about this test um overall the fifth and the eighth um compared to the 10th is that the fifth and the eighth
really comprises everything until fifth grade, right? Like all the science they've been learning across a number of grade levels kind of, you know, culminatively is looked at in fifth grade. Um because it should be kind of building on each other over time, but it's a it's a you know, it's a broader look. Um, and the same is true of the
eighth grade where it's really kind of the culmination of their eighth middle school experience. That 10th grade test, which is really a high school test, some students will take it in ninth and some will take it in in 10th, is really course specific. So, our students are either taking it in physics engineering
or they're taking it in biology, right? So, one or the other. And that's more students across the state take the biology test, but they have the choice of taking it within the course they're in um in one of those years. Um, and again we see about the same performance, the same average performance. We're
looking at 75% meeting and exceeding which is which is great data. Um, and our average scale score is 514. Um on the next slide, um when we look at our high needs
students, again, we're seeing a similar kind of trend where the overall performance of our students who are meeting and exceeding in our high needs group is 49%. The average scaled score though is is again like it is in in
others is um at 500. But again, we want to make sure that we um understand that as was identified in both math and ELA, when we look at our students who aren't meeting expectations, in particular, we're talking about 70 of the 73
students districtwide that are not meeting expectations fall within high needs um classification. Um and the rate the comparison between um students not in our high needs category versus our high needs category. There's a large
discrepancy with 88% of students who are not identified as high needs as meeting and exceeding and only 49% of those that are. Okay, next slide. So in this we're looking at just grade
spans and again um you're looking at our you know our ELA, our math and our science next to each other. Um it is broken out by school. Um and what you tend to see
certainly there are are places that one school is a you know their their their overall percentage of students are meeting and exceeding is a little higher or lower than the other. I think it's always important to remember that the size of our schools matter and that they're not equally sized. So you could
be talking about, you know, large larger much larger cohorts of co students versus much smaller cohorts of students. They're demographically they're different. Um but I think what you do see across um grade the grades three through five span again we're seeing you
know really high growth overall when we look at our students. our average performance is high and um you're seeing fairly consistent fairly consistent results across the the schools in ELA and math you see more variable results
across um the schools in science and this is a point to you know just an important point even though you know again scores are are really good our average scores are 71% meaning exceeding with um um 510 being the average score
overall. All again the growth is not reported on science but you know this is actually a place where as we start to think forward in our curriculum review cycle science is up next. We know we have variability in the experiences of science across the eight eight schools
and across grade levels in terms of particularly as we think about the um the at the elementary level where we're trying to kind of think about the totality of the day and ensuring time for u math and ELA that early literacy and mathematics. Um, and there's
different approaches to how how science and social studies instruction is fitting into the course of the day or the course of a week or you know like there's variability about that. So those are conversations that will come up particularly as we start to review our science curriculum next
hopefully um which is where we've identified. Can >> I ask this question? So is what we're seeing in the um in the in are we what we're seeing on this slide does that align with two things? One, the other assessments
the the the data that you have from our district assessments that there's v more variability in science versus math. we have fewer common assessment across schools in because we don't have those like benchmarking like we would in ELA and
math where we've got really got that you know three times a year we're doing the you know we're doing our dibbles or we're taking our star assessment we're looking at that data um science you're really relying on whatever you're seeing in common assessments and if we're not necessarily having exactly the same
experiences or those assessments across schools it's a little bit harder so to know if that's lining so I guess the answer is it's hard to No, >> because we don't it's not necessarily data we collect in in terms of kids science experience at the 3 through five level.
>> And does that the the the numbers that we're seeing or the variability that we're seeing in science by school, does that align with what you might know about the schedule variations from school to school?
>> As I'm still learning about the variation, I just think it's it's a it's a point of interest, right? Like as I look at it again, overall our results are are really good. Our kids are doing well overall in science. Um the variability, I don't I don't know if it's directly
tied to that variation in experience, but we do know that there's variation in experience, right? Like in resources that are being used in units that might being taught, they're all aligned to the standards that we, you know, that of the state, but um been working toward more
commonality in that area. and we don't have as much as we have in say ELA or math. Okay. Okay. Next slide. When we look at the performance of our six through eight students, again, we're seeing increasing numbers of meeting and
exceeding in ELA and math. So, that's that's really good overall. Um and again our percentage of meeting and exceeding in science across the six through eight span um is is overall high. But what I you
know again what we do see is in that you know where there is you know far more consistency across um our eight schools for math and ELA performance in terms of that meeting and exceeding um we do have greater variability across the six through eight. And again, we know we
have a variation in experiences. Um, and we as we unpack that and look at our review and think about what that means next for science instruction. Um, we also, you know, factor into that, we know that they come, they all come to
the high school. And so with those differing experiences and then that, you know, that that imp impacts um kind of, you know, how they're beginning their ninth grade year. So it's an important thing to talk about and consider, right?
So um all right, next slide. Um and then this is one new test that's in the six through eight span. So this is civ the civics performance assessment that they have or the civics it's it's two parts. There's a performance assessment to it and then there's an end
of course tests and they're both digital. They're all part of the same thing. This is the first year that we have operational data for it. um it was in field test prior to years prior. Our kids are doing really well overall when we think about civics's performance um
with 89% of them meeting and exceeding. And so when we think about what that looks like um this is aligned to the 2018 standards. We have not had a social studies MCCAST other than, you know,
some of my my educators that were were in the classroom or leading schools when MCCAST first became a thing probably remember the original field test for social studies that happened a long time ago. Um I do. I was proctoring it. Um
but this is one where um we have had a shift in our standards in in so in um social studies and you know some of the important um shifts that have happened there have really been in thinking about
an increased focus on civics um developing skills for analyzing sources. So that critical analysis with a focus on using primary sources um in the teaching of social studies and also including financial and media literacy.
So those are some of the shifts that happened if we think about um instructionally and what that means for curriculum. um we have been making some of those shifts even though I think it's been a while since we've done a full review but over time since those um standards have shifted our social
studies um coordinators um both at the middle uh the K K8 and high school level have been working collaboratively to make that happen um over time. So that's an important thing when we talk about the structure of this test. So what you're looking at here is really a
little bit of a different test than the others and it's it's really the way that science is moving in the next couple of years. So um science has also been field testing. So the structure as I said there's a performance assessment and that really is
kind of in the terms of the civics test. It's based on a topic, one of the major topics and it's kind it's really thinking about a problem associated that with that. There is some extended response like an open response part to it, multiple portions to that. And then
there might be some um multiple choice as part of that. And then there's another portion of the test which looks a little bit more traditional with a you know um a multiple choice or you know more standardized. Um, and you'll when we talk about the shifts that will be
coming down the pike or that we know that are coming down the pike in terms of MCCAST testing, particularly at the 3 through eight level, like I said, science is the other one that's been field testing. Um, it's I think still some of those questions were part of the field test for all students last year.
Um, and then versus the opt-in part that happened a couple years ago. Um and it will come on board for all students with those new that new kind of format I think in 2027. Um it's the first time we'll see that. Um all right. So this is
the next slide is our overall high school performance. And so you'll notice that the graphs look a little bit different. And I just want to talk about this because this goes to your question I think Donna about the impact of it no longer being a graduation requirement on the
performance of students. Right. So, we know that last year as a ballot question, MCCAST was removed um as the measure of minimum competency for graduation. That's what it that's what it determined in a in addition to local
graduation requirements like how many of this course type of course you have to take in that type of course. um it was a consistent uh metric for graduation across the state as a minimum competency for all Massachusetts graduates.
With the removal of that, each school district is charged with considering what is now the measure of minimum competency. So we are in the process of that. that our curriculum subcommittee will hear and joint curriculum subcommittee and policy committees will
hear um the proposal for our measure of minimum competency in a couple of weeks. But what we notice here is we know statewide the 10th grade test the scores went down, right? Like so you see that in that lower um line graph and they
they you know they've they've been going down but they certainly dipped last year. Um where anecdotally we saw more students that were um finished really quickly you know like they sat for it they turned it in
quickly. Anecdotally we al also saw you know we know from Desi we saw more students leaving open response or those longer response questions blank. they just didn't answer them. They moved on and they turned turned them in. We saw those are things that we know statewide.
What I find interesting about our um overall performance when we think that was not the case when we consider all of our students, our performance was actually quite high with 83% of our students meeting and exceeding. So that is at preandemic levels. Um when we
think about our scores um K through eight, you know, like 3 through eight, we're we're almost right there. We're super close, but our high school is at um pre- pandemic performance levels with this test at 83% 84% for math, 86% for
science. um you're looking at scores that are much higher in average scores that are much higher into the the meets category of meeting expectations and beginning to approach exceeding as an average score for our students. Um um
the growth is lower but that you know again if you're it's harder to you're you're kind of compared overall um but those are incredibly impressive results. So when you think about how our students did overall at the high school level and
um it's just an important thing to note now whether that trend to your point like well with this you know what happens with the 10th grade MAST test and how it you know like how will students perform how we still have we still give it we still have students still have to take it um hopefully they
will it you know as long as they are it can be used as a piece of data that we know about students. So even as we looked at this data with department leaders. So sitting with department leaders looking at while we have these incredibly impressive scores overall
thinking about our students who did not meet or exceed our students who are partially meeting in these areas or students that that did not meet expectations. There's always that question around like you have to give the context of the test in there but we have to look at it in the context of who
are those students? what you know what's their overall profile as a a student as a learner. Um and it certainly as we think about intervention we're always at the high school we're always thinking about you know ensuring that our stu all of our
students are are moving toward graduation and and beyond. So like thinking about that. So um how do we ensure our students are we use this in combination with again all of that other data. We don't have things like dibbles happening at the at the high school level, but we have course level data and
we know if they're passing and we know how they're doing at the at the quarter point. We know they're, you know, our information, other information that we collect about attendance and are they attending, are they on time. All of those things become really important particularly when we look at students who might be struggling academically.
>> Do you know what the the number of students was at the high school who took the test? Was it during that >> was it did did more kids stay home I guess on on MCCAST days is >> on personal level I can tell you >> would have happened I I don't I don't know have that number in front of me but
I can find out I did pull it for some of the others I did not pull it for this one so >> my question was going to be similar to Val's I was curious >> not necessarily in this data but is that something how will that skew the data if we're looking at attendance in 10th grade where
>> you know as a parent, you know, I mean, you get the phone call at 7:30 that, you know, in the evening whether or not you're what's what classes you're >> Yeah. how many classes did they miss that day. >> Um, >> yeah, >> but otherwise, you don't know if your child was there or not to take the exam
and and how that I'm just wondering what impact that will have on the data. >> And that's a that's a curious question. Certainly something that we can look at further. Um, so the the last slide is really thinking about some of our overall takeaways. So, you know, what we know about our students is they're
continuing to perform at overall at high levels. Achievement remains well above state averages. Our overall average student growth is above the state average, often at the high moderate level. So, at that, you know, at the higher end of of what you would expect, ordering on high. Um, we're making some
progress in our areas identified by our strategic plan, but we need we continue to have persistent achievement gaps that we need to pay attention to. So, in our strategic plan, we're, you know, calling out our students, you know, like to ensure that we're paying attention to the achievement of our students um who
are black, African-American, and Latinx. But we also have continue to have persistent achievement gaps in our um as we look at our students with high needs as compared to those who are not identified with high needs. So, we need to pay attention to that. Um, part of
that means we need to continue our focus on efforts related to districtwide alignment around around and identification and use of highquality instructional materials. So that is that is a point of equity when we look at
equity for students is is ensuring and that's not about taking away the individualism of a teacher because I value that greatly but ensuring that there is common some commonality in what our students are receiving and we can say that with certainty um and that
we're all working together toward that. Um a need for continued focus on the development of a consistent and cohesive multi-tered system of support. um K prek through 12. So as we're thinking about the needs of our students across our
entire district, not just our you know certainly our youngest, we focus a lot on our youngest learners when we think about that, but really we need to think about it all the way through and that's work we're doing um this year and will continue to do and the need for continued focus on the development I
mean sorry so strong tier one instructional practices. So what is happening in the general ed classroom is really important and it's really important that students aren't missing it. So that tier one means for everyone everyone is is getting tier one instruction um and the use of
researchbased practices and student data to inform our instruction and our intervention. So we when we're we're really using our data, we're building our data l literacy and we're working collaboratively to look at whole child data, you know, as we're making those
decisions. And then the other piece is the need for continued resources and time for ongoing professional learning and collaboration that supports all of our students and supports our efforts towards u meeting the needs of all of our students.
>> Thank you, Bob. Oh, this is reminiscent of budget time getting a little when the meetings start getting later. >> So, Dr. Benoy, um it's it's truly impressive that you've been here for a couple of months and you come here with
this incredibly comprehensive report um demonstrating some real insight into the system and the issues. So, I just want to appreciate that and thank you for the comprehensiveness and for your understanding of our system so quickly. Um, it's impressive. Um, I have one
question. You disagregated the data um with high need students. What was missing is racial, Hispanic, African-American, etc. We usually see that. >> Um, and you noted in the conclusion
there that there are gaps obviously. Um, but can we can we see the actual scores the average scores of those groups? >> So, she had it combined, Bob, but I think you're going to pull it out, right? So that we can see and that's certainly something Suzanne, it's something that we could dive a little
deeper to in curriculum subcommittee, >> you know, because that's always a big issue. >> Yeah. To be able to talk about that what I, you know, and it was a decision that I made in the presentation knowing that was long and just trying to think about, you know, it is important. It is it is
data that we look at um on the school side but trying to think about the story of our data and the you know the overall like the the bigger picture of our like not that it's not part of the big picture the big picture of our data. Um so that was part of the in the decision
I made in the in the presentation. So but we can get that and talk about it in curriculum subcommittee. >> Thanks Jesse. Uh yeah, just a technical question maybe. Um do the for say the math test um do the third graders see the same
test as the third graders from the year before or does it get rewritten every year and hit the same sort of >> it standard? It always hits the same standards and you might see some questions that are similar from year to year but it's not like a an exact replica. Okay. >> Um so when they do release questions
each year they only release some questions. So that that is one of the tools that teachers have when they're reviewing data is they can actually look at some of the questions and see and we can get down to an item analysis for students and we can see what some of those questions that maybe um students did really well on or didn't do really
well like as a group. Um and so it isn't exactly the same but it's always toward the same standards >> but the teachers don't see any of those questions before the test is given. No, you only see you can look for old you can look at old questions and there are practice >> like there are practice um tests
available which I always think is a good thing for kids to see. I don't really believe in like >> personally as an educator lots of like oh we're but I think they need to know the platform they need to know like okay this is going to be test this is how you maneuver the platform and in that regard
being able to access that digital practice test is really helpful for kids. Thank you, Carolyn. >> Thanks. And thanks, Robin. Um, I noticed when you were going through on the science and I don't know if it's possible with any ease to go back to
that slide and I don't remember I must it was either which grade, Carolyn, what grade band I don't remember. >> Was it the overall or at a grade? >> The overall um Yeah. Wait, which Oh,
>> that one >> previous slide that you showed the one that shows math science math science. >> Oh, for the grade bands. The ones with the grade bands. >> Keep going.
>> Keep going. >> It was just up here. >> No, it's to the back to end. Sorry, Betsy. >> Other way, Betsy. >> Betsie's in the difficult position to having. She's got a bunch of backseat drivers right now. >> Sorry, Betsy. >> Okay, this one.
>> Thank you. >> Yep. >> So, science. >> Y >> um >> were you can you repeat what you said? I thought that we have a new approach to science or science curriculum or at least sort of methodology.
Um, >> so, oh, okay. Sorry. >> And I thought I heard you say that that was being piloted, but my understanding was like that's just how math is being taught now. or maybe that was middle school. This sort of like inquire first
like students try and figure it out and then the teacher teaches the lecture or whatever the content I don't know what grades exact. Maybe that's only middle school but I wonder if you could just say a tiny bit
more about whether that's being piloted or that is now our approach. I can say um what I can say to you is that the the the science technology and engineering standards shifted in 2016
>> and part of that was a focus on um thinking about the practices of science. So that's when you're when you're talking about that inquiry piece that being able to communicate your thinking that being able to like think critically um in science those are all part of that
there where was there's a focus on that alongside the content that students are learning and that that the practices become really critically important so they're experiencing science they're not just like learning science facts for instance um and what I would say is we
have in speaking with Emily Speck our um K8 um science coordinator in particular. So I think that's probably what you're referring to most is the 3 through8 and the 6 through8 experience um >> work that she has been doing over the last number of years to really we
haven't had a a full science review. We don't don't necessarily have one consistent like science curriculum that we're using and not even necessarily um that the units of study while they may be focused on the same con you know the
same standards at each grade level don't exactly look the same like in all you know fourth grade classrooms let's say or all sixth grade classrooms. there's some variability um and you know teacher discretion uh that's that's happened alongside that
there has been you know this move of trying to you know change our science practices to ensure that they're aligned to the state um framework and the national expectation with the NGSS what we're thinking about nationally about how science should be taught um but our
that what I'm saying uh what I think what maybe what you're referring to is our next review. If we think about our curriculum review cycle is really thinking about science. So, we want to um be able to review our curriculum, not just K through 8, but also 9 through 12.
And so, that's work that um I'm beginning with both Emily Spec and Briana Brown to envision what that process would look like and how we might approach that in the coming year. So again so >> and how well aligned do you think the
these sort of newer practices are with the expectations in the MCCAST? >> Um, >> and I'm not suggesting like teaching to the test, although >> no, >> I'm curious. Yeah. Like how well do we
like the MCCAST >> as a measure of that >> in terms of everything that you in the in through the lens of everything you just said? I mean you I'm not asking you to say like I guess I'm asking how well it might be aligned. >> Might it be aligned? So the MCCAST has
shifted >> um since those new standards came out. It did it did shift. It's had one shift already. >> Um and to a a more aligned test um and that shift took place over time. First
at the middle school level, the fifth grade and the eighth grade. Um, I think we saw the first NE nextgen test for high school come on board. I believe it was just 2021 maybe. I think it was right after the pandemic was when we saw
the first version. That's why you don't really compare the science scores at high school >> to pre- pandemic necessarily because it's not the same test. >> Um, 2019 to 2021. Um, but what I think what you also heard me say, so that high
school test is kind of where it's at now. That's had a the most recent shift. And then over the last few years, the state has been piloting yet another shift in the MCCAST test >> for grades five and eight. that is more
a line that does have that that piece of performance assessment, performance task associated with it which really in a digital format is really in the form of like a simulation that students have with a number of questions that they have to think critically through and um so those will
be embedded in in a newer version of the test that will come online in 2027. >> Wow, interesting. Thank you so much, Robin. >> Thank you. >> Thank you for this presentation, Rob. Oh, sorry, Donna. Go ahead. >> I know, Robin. It's so late and so
>> late. >> Um, and I know you've had a really long day. I'm just I'm wondering and you can I mean, you can also say like pass. I'll come back to this but um
how will in the takeaway slide um what what are you envisioning for next steps like how do you translate some of those takeaways um the need for continued focus through tier one instructional practice p practices and researchbased practices like how do you
translate that into the classroom over the next year? Can you talk is are there any specifics that you have in mind? >> Yes. So, um there are budget implications for that. So, as we think about the budget, we want to ensure that we're um where
there's a need for professional learning, whether that's the need for professional learning that comes to us or teachers go to or that we are working, you know, release time in collaboration, like all of those things affect our when we think about collaboration, you know, our
professional learning. um related to um our M related to MTSS. So thinking about that system whether that's how do we use data, how do we think about intervention related to the need, all of those things. Um and it's not that those
things aren't happening. It's about having a consistent system of it and really um ensuring that everybody's kind of working toward that and that um across all of our schools. So when I think about MTSS in specifically, we've
been doing work over the last couple of years and that will continue this year. We do have an MTSS team that has been kind of leading that work overall. And um we have some incubator spaces. We're not think it's not really a pilot, but kind of
thinking about how we tune protocols and practice and how do we schedule it and how do we ensure we have time for educators to be together and have those really critical conversations about students. Um so I see that that work continuing and kind of spreading and
making time for that. And then I also think about um when we think about researchbased practices, it's you know, we're in the middle of an implementation of a literacy curriculum, which is a really big deal, right? Like that's a really big deal. And again, the time
that teachers need to unpack that and work together and fine-tune their practice relative to new, you know, a new new approach to instruction in some cases um is really important. That also comes into play when we think about when
I talked about that collaboration. So, if you think back to the beginning of our meeting and we talked about our professional development day and the importance of that time for K5 educators to be able to meet in grade level spans across the eight schools, that's really
um that's precious time and that and the idea that they're coming together with EL teachers and our special educators. So then we're thinking holistically not just about what's happening for general ed teachers, but how do we all work together to support kids? Again, that's
time, that's sometimes resources. Um, and so having a plan, you like a cohesive plan for how that happens. So, you know, as we think forward for a professional learning plan or how we're kind of rolling out those things. And it's also about, you know, returning us
to a regular curriculum cycle that's predictable for teachers. That's, you know, that and for budgeting purposes and all of that, but also for engaging teachers. And we're not alone in being kind of off our curriculum review cycle. A lot of things happened to impact that.
We had a pandemic that certainly impacted that for lots of people. But even when we think about the introduction of new research or new um standards statewide, the timing of some of those kind of shifted. It might have been time for science to review, but
literacy, our focus shifted to literacy. We have new information. We really need to act on it. So those sometimes throw things off. So, we're in a space where we need to start to get back to our review cycle so it becomes predictable for our educators and we can plan for that and work together on it. So, those
are just some of the things that are on at the front of my mind. Um, and again, having tools like open architect, I think we mentioned we talked about that in curriculum subcommittee. Again, that's part of our budget process, but it's also a critical tool that we're
beginning to use because it is a really flexible and easy way to visualize data. Um, particularly when we're thinking about, you know, a le a school leader being able to look at their school data and then again drill down into subgroups
really easily um by, you know, and flexibly and then also at the teacher level and those teacher team levels as they're looking at student data. So that's a critical resource and there, you know, it's a budget implication. It's part of we have it now and we we should probably consider to continue to
have it. So we want to know that that's a valuable resource for our teachers >> as we think about student progress. >> Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Um so at the suggestion of our superintendent and if there is no objection, uh we're going to
defer 5D to our meeting next week on the 13th. We are meeting next week on the 13th. >> That works for Susan. No objection. Okay. Um, so we are moving on to 6A which is the FY27 budget guidelines discussion and possible vote. Is this
Mariah or Susan or both? >> I think it's me because this is our document. >> Okay. >> Um, can you pull it up? Um, Betsy, I think it's the first tab. So, while it's coming up, I'll just say
that if you recall last time we had voted um I think consensus on everything except section six. And um there was Bella and I worked together on
um section six to streamline it um some and that is the proposed wording at this point. >> That looks beautiful, Mariah. >> Great. I've like reached the end of my
this meeting has has this is much later than I thought this was. >> Meeting so long. Um and so um I think if people are on board with
this wording then we can just take a vote to a consolidated omnibus vote on the whole document. >> Okay. Any >> of course if people have questions >> Jesse has a question. >> Oh you want to move it. Okay. Jesse moves it. >> Okay. Hold on.
>> We voted the rest of it last time. Not that you can't change it, but just like we don't have to revisit it since we already >> Right. So, Jesse's moving that we adopt number six as uh outlined in the document and on the on the screen. I second that. >> Do Do we need to Can we vote to move the
whole document at this point? >> We could the whole document. Yes. I thought we had already adopted one through five. So, we'll >> just give us a clean vote at this point that sort of ties it all up. Is that okay, Jesse? As a friendly amendment, >> Jesse moves. I second. We're good. Um,
Mariah, how do you vote? >> Yes, please. >> Carolyn, we'll come back to her. Donna, >> come back. >> Sure. Suzanne, >> yes. >> Andy, >> yes. >> Jesse, >> yes. >> Bob, >> yes.
>> Carolyn, Donna, >> yes. >> Donna votes yes. And the chair votes yes. Um, thank you for all of the Carolyn is uh I don't believe is there any longer or is not responding. >> Okay, gotcha.
>> Um, >> okay. Thank you so much. Thanks to the committee for all the work to get us there. >> Yeah. >> What? >> Sorry, Mariah. What did you say? >> This overtime. >> I just wanted to say thanks to everyone,
both committee members and staff for all the contributions. Yes, this is this is um a lot of work. Thanks everybody for putting this together who worked on it. Um all right, so next on the agenda is my my favorite item of the evening, I
think. Um, so back in July, uh, when we, uh, hired this fabulous woman to my right, um, I never thought that we'd convince her to potentially stay with us for any longer than the exact 365 days
that she signed up for. Um, but it sounds like she might be willing to to stick with us for um, a bit longer. So, um, in all seriousness, as we face things like a potential override, um, some serious budget decisions, some
serious operational decisions, uh, and collective bargaining, uh, it is, um, my honor and my privilege to, um, move that, uh, we, um, oh, I guess I, I can
move to authorize myself to, amend the current MOA and to uh execute a four-year contract uh with Bella Wong to be our fearless leader um through that period and leading us through these
um very uh substantial times for uh the students of Brooklyn and the community. >> Bob seconds. Um is there commentary? I know Bob wants to sing something or another. >> You guys want to sing?
Yeah, >> raise your hand if you want to sing a little song. >> I don't want to sing, but my hand is up. >> Oh, Mariah. >> Um, I just wanted to say how um appreciative I am. I know that the the
district um benefits from the stability that you you'll be able to offer us and I'm really excited um to be able to continue to work with you, Superintendent Wong. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mariah. Oh, we're going to pass the mic and I I think somebody's
going to sing. I'm not quite sure. >> I was going to lead us in Bella Jo how beautiful this day is. But no, you know, we won't do that. Okay. So, I just want to I just want to um take a quotation
from the pizza box at Penino's Pizza. And what it says on the Pino's Pizza takeout pizza box is end the quest when you've got when you found the best. And I think that applies to Bella Wong.
>> Any other comments before we vote? >> I just >> Suzanne, sorry I didn't see you. >> Yeah, I just went to say that, you know, I'm thrilled Bella that that we were able to come to this, but that we did do a thorough search that Bob uh in fact led that search. There are 22 members on
the search. Um we were looking at interim because um Bella was retired at some point and so there were some things we had to work through and we've been able to do that with this extension and this MOA. So I am thrilled that we've been able to do
that and um I am certainly going to vote yes on this. Thank you. >> Oh, Bob would like a second bite of the apple. >> I just want to build on what Suzanne says. Um and Val and I were leading the search for the interim superintendent. Um people were skeptical about how many
candidates we would have. We attracted 20 something candidates, very strong candidates. Um we had 22 members of our community serving on the search team. Um and ultimately the school committee voted 90 to hire Bella Wong as the
interim superintendent. So you know if there are questions about well you know why don't you do another search I think um all of us can agree I think that we did a pretty comprehensive search had strong candidates Bella was obvious obviously the best candidate and she's
proven uh to us that she was the right choice so I'm as you probably know I'm incredibly excited that Bella Wong is is going to be here she's an intellectually powerful human and I have to give credit to
Brooklyn High School for much of that intellectual power um among her other educational experiences. So, I'm excited and I think this is amazing amazing time for the Brooklyn public schools. So, let's go.
>> Okay. Um before we vote, Superintendent Wong, do you want to say anything? >> Um >> to your fans at home, >> I extend my appreciation to the school committee. um and and this community for the support in extending my tenure. I am
truly humbled and honored to be chosen to to um lead in this more permanent capacity. Your decision makes me very happy and I am looking forward to working with
all of you, the schools, our families, members of the community and my colleagues. um in the town as we look to the future. >> Thank you. >> So, this is your your last shot to run
out of the room before we vote. >> Don't remind her. >> Okay. Bob, how do you vote? >> It's late. Bob, >> I'm going to I'm going to pass for a moment. >> Seriously, just do it. >> No, not seriously. Enthusiastic. Yes.
>> Okay, there we go. Jesse, >> yes. Welcome to PSB more permanently. >> Thank you. >> Andy, >> yes. >> Suzanne, >> yes. >> Donna, >> I say yes and thank you. Bella >> Mariah, >> sorry. Yes. Yes. Yes.
>> Is Carolyn there or is Carolyn? Okay. Um, I vote the most enthusiastic. Yes, I am so thrilled to um continue my time with you. Um thank you, Superintendent Wong. >> Are there any burning uh leazison
reports before we adjourn? >> None. >> Well, can I do a really quick one on negotiations? >> Sure. So as I as all of you know right all of our CBAs with the BEu bargaining units are up for renegotiation. So we
have scheduled now our first two meetings uh with the BEu for December 3rd and December 16th. Um bargaining team for the school committee is Suzanne and me. Um and these will actually be the first uh in-person negotiations um since before the pandemic. So the
date >> December 3rd and December 16th. You can only go if you're on negotiations. >> So, >> um, >> that's it. >> Okay. Any other liaison reports? Any new business?
>> Donna, >> I I don't know. I don't know if I do new business. I was wondering if policy might consider um might consider an AI thinking about an AI policy. >> Um, I would >> I don't know if that goes in this new
business. Well, I I also think that it might be uh something for the the superintendent perhaps to look at with um the with high school. I mean, I I I don't when we heard something, but I'm not sure that we know what's actually happening. Like, there might be one at
the high school, right? I don't I don't know. >> I think >> but we can put on the radar to get more information on. Does that make sense? >> Okay. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Okay. >> Um that we can do and see where we are. Mhm.
>> I move to adjourn. >> Suzanne moves to adjourn. And I think everybody enthusiastically uh not quite as enthusiastically as for Bella, but okay. Yes. Okay. Um have a good night everybody. We are a little punchy.