pledge of allegiance I pledge of allegiance >> to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The The Danvers public school mission
statement creating a supportive environment where all learners thrive. This meeting is being broadcast on Danvers Community Access Television. Is there anyone in the audience recording? Please identify yourself.
Thank you. At this time, I'd like to open it up to items of interest, the superintendent, school committee, community, and public comment. Is there anybody who would like to speak? Just please identify yourself, Julie. Hi everyone. Um my name is Julie Bolduc
DeFilippo. I am here to represent the Danvers SEPAC. I just wanted to highlight two um important announcements that we have uh that are occurring before May. Um our board uh chose to create a scholarship um from the Friends of SEPAC. Uh
any eligible senior um going on to college or post-secondary uh career training um or transition programs from 18 to 22 are eligible to apply for the scholarship. It is meant to support any post-second post-high
school needs that students may have um not necessarily related to uh attending uh higher education. We are also um we launched our first annual impact awards. Um there's three categories and
it's meant to honor uh staff within the Danvers Public Schools uh in any role that contribute to special education and the lives of children and people with disabilities within the town of Danvers. And so the uh nominations are due from families by April 15th, which is
Wednesday. Um you can check our website to to check out that form and nominate um you know, anybody that feels like they deserve that recognition for you. So uh we're looking forward to presenting those at the next school committee meeting in May. So thank you.
Thank you, Julie. Anyone else? I see none, I'll close public comment. Moving on, information from the superintendent. Absolutely. Um a lot of recognitions tonight and why don't we go ahead and get started with uh the big recognition,
uh Eric Crane, uh school committee member, 25 years of esteemed service is uh stepping down. This is last term, so um and Mr. Shannon, I know um has a few things. We have a plaque, but we also have two very special guests, State Representative Sally Kerans and State
Senator Joan Lovely that have uh proclamations from the state. So the floor is yours. Good evening. Good evening, everyone. Hello, Danvers Public Schools community. Hello to those Pardon my back. Um it's a big Highlands
night here tonight, too. So um it's always very near and dear to my heart. Hello, Highlands. Oh, so many of you. Um So it is no secret. I've mentioned it different times throughout the years over the past five years when I've been
coming to meetings like this that Eric and I became fast friends at the age of 12 in one of the classrooms along one of these hallways. And it was 1972 and we both were supporters of George McGovern um
over Richard Nixon and that is how we became fast friends. And um he then went on to become involved in town uh as a member of the school committee and I cannot believe that it's been
25 years. Um so it seems a little bit surreal. I'm so glad that your family is here, that all of Papa's peeps are with us tonight for this very special celebration. Um I could have I could go on for a very long time. I shan't.
Um but I do I did have to use a We had to use a smaller font to fit it all, Eric, and I think you're worthy of it. So um do you want to come up or do you want me to read it and then you'll come up? How do you want to do this? I'll read it and then you come up. Oh,
come on up. Okay, great. Or not. >> You should know. You've seen the most of these things, you know, over the years. You have. You I know. Mhm. Hi. Okay, so this says uh be it hereby known to all that the Massachusetts
House of Representatives offers its sincerest congratulations in recognition of your 25 years of service to the town of Danvers as an elected member of the Danvers School Committee, bringing your experience as a Thorpe Tiger
and DHS Class of '78 Falcon and your deep and abiding belief that public education is essential to the well-being of every student, every community, and to the continuation of our democracy. The entire membership extends very best
wishes and expresses the hope for future good fortune and continued success in all endeavors, given this 13th day of April 2026 at the State House, Boston. Signed by Ron Mariano, Speaker of the House, and offered by
your friend and classmate, State Representative Sally Kerans. >> Thank you. Congratulations. That's appreciated. >> [applause] >> And thank you. Thank you for all that you've done. Thank [cheering] you. I appreciate it. Okay, okay. And then is he going to get to make a speech? Do we Is that now or is
that later? Here. No idea. So I too I too have a citation from the Senate and just a a couple of words, Eric. I've been in the Senate now for in my 13th in
my 14th year. Um We'll catch you later. Uh maybe, maybe not. >> [laughter] >> Uh but um you've um just been such a a great partner here in Danvers um when we are supporting our schools and just a great school committee member
with with all of your members uh past and present. I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your years of dedication to this community, to your to the students, to the families. Congratulations to your beautiful family, your grands over there and your
daughters. And I too would like to to read the citation if I might. Official citation, be it known, the Massachusetts Senate hereby extends its congratulations to Eric Crane, Danvers School Committee member, in recognition of
25 years of exemplary and dedicated service to the Danvers School Committee and generations of Danvers students and families. And be it further known that the Massachusetts Senate extends its best wishes for continued success. Let the citation be duly signed by the President of the Senate and attested
attested to and a copy thereof transmitted by our clerk. It is signed by our President Karen Spilka and offered by me, your State Senator Joan Lovely. Thank you and congratulations. >> Thank you, Joan. >> [applause] >> At this moment, I'll just say thank you for what you two do for this district
and uh um everything that you've done to help education in this town is much appreciated and does not go unnoticed. The committee and and Dan and the leadership team couldn't let you leave without giving you something and you
can't have the gavel cuz that's mine. I understood. But after 25 years, you have to take something home. So, um they had this plaque made for you and it states that we recognize you for 25 years of exceptional service. Your dedication, commitment, and
positive influence have made a lasting difference in the lives of students and the community. With sincere sincere gratitude and appreciation. So, thank you. Thank you, Mike. I appreciate it. >> [applause] [applause] [applause] >> I'm only going to take 30 seconds. Um
It was a very exciting day uh in the State House last Wednesday. We passed legislation to uh sorry, kids, everybody. Um we are banning cell phones uh from bell to bell.
Um Now, this has passed the House. The Senate was first. I thought that would get your attention. Um the Senate was first in in and maybe the Senator can say a bit about what their bill did, but
it's to restrict access the use of phone during the school day. The data are very clear. We know that it's distracting. It impedes attention. It affects attention span. Um self-esteem, a whole host. I think everybody in this room just understands why we're doing this. And
then in the House, we also uh are requiring of big tech platforms that they have identification procedures to uh prevent for anyone under the age of 15 14
um without parental permission to establish an account. I think we're on very solid footing given court decisions in New Mexico and Arizona. And I hope to heaven that we succeed in this because nothing nothing short of
our children's mental health and well-being is involved. And so it was it was kind of a big deal bill. And um now it will go to conference because we did some things and the Senate did some things. And so as you all know from civics class,
um that's kind of how the sausage is made. So, kind of a big deal and um just wanted to share that and um thank you all for your attention. And again, congratulations to my friend Eric. Thank you, Sal. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, you may mic.
John Knight, you absolutely may. >> Five minutes or so. Um I hear I think I was telling Josh I wrote out a four-page um speech. And then I realized it's not me. I just I can't I just don't deliver speeches well, but I would like to say
some things uh from the heart. First of all, I have loved this work. I have loved helping our students in Danvers. Um it has been an honor to do so. Um I wanted to thank a lot of people
tonight. The elected officials that I have served with, including these gentlemen here who have made the last several years just a great time. Um and I think we've done some great work. Um but all of the School Committee members, I think Danvers has been very lucky
that in terms of your School Committee, selectmen, library trustees, town meeting members, by and large, everybody who's been elected has been here for the right reasons and trying to do something special for the town. And I see that uh that D Giokos from the selectmen is here
in the back of the room and continues to do great work for the town. So, we thank you, D. Um I could not possibly name everybody, but I will say that two people who inspired me and who I tried to um to to to emulate in some ways, at least
in terms of how I carried myself, um the first town manager I worked with, Wayne Marquis, and former selectman David Mills, who when I wrote a letter as a 20-something-year-old to the Danvers Herald in 1986, um took the time to drop me a card and
tell me how much he liked it. And I never forgot that and through the years, um that inspired me to public service. Um I want to thank all the superintendents I worked with. Um gosh, from Rich Santasanio, Betty Allen, Lisa Dana,
um Mary Warners, and Dan Bauer. Dan, I think um you've done such a wonderful job for this town. It has been my pleasure to um be with you as you have started out here and and I really appreciate what you've done so much. And to all the administrators who I've
worked with over the years, way too many to mention. Building principals, curriculum directors, department heads, um what you do to bring to this district, to make this district work and be successful, um is often underappreciated, but it
doesn't go unnoticed. And uh the teachers. Teachers, you know, I've been on negotiating committees for something like seven years, seven times actually. And we didn't always agree. And there were some moments that were uh
less fun than others, right, Jody? I don't think we'd disagree. Um but I like to think that at the end of the day, we ended with great respect for each other. And I will tell you that personally, I don't think there's anything harder to do
than to be a teacher in today's world. I have seen teaching go from a profession that was just mostly 90% about education. And just in the time I've been on the School Committee, you're still about education, but you're called upon to do
so much more. To be social workers, to counsel parents, to counsel each other, to become data specialists, um in what you do, Danvers is so lucky. And I hope this town knows it and appreciates it because um what you have
done for our students through the years and continue to do can never be appreciated enough. So, I thank you. Um To the citizens of Danvers, thank you for sending me back so many times to give me the chance to do this work that I love.
Um I've been elected I think six or seven times and uh I just the trust that you put in me means everything. I think that everything I I am in life, I got from this town and it has been my pleasure to give something back.
And uh I'll try and continue to find ways to do that. Um to the students, you're the ones who really inspired me with the the effort you put in, the work that you do, the um help you get from parents, but I've seen so many so many of you graduate
from Danvers High School knowing that you are going to go on and change the world and change the world for the better, and it's one of those things that keeps a lot of us adults going. And, uh, finally, I would thank my family, my daughters, uh,
Victoria and Melanie. One's a teacher, one's a nurse, so they're in the helping profession. My grandchildren, um, the youngest, Tommy, Desmond and Damon, Autumn, Eli. Um, I'm so glad you're here, and I wanted you here especially because I hope that
you'll see that, um, the importance of finding ways to give back in the future. So, I hope you'll do that. And Melanie and Tory, I know that there were times when I was probably out at a meeting sometime when you would have rather had me home.
And, uh, but I know that I could not have done this and and, uh, unless you were willing to share me with the town, and so I love and appreciate you so much for that. And so I leave you with just a couple of things and and Sally, um, referenced
this. If there's a change I saw in 25 years more than anything else, it's what's happening with our students in terms of the anxiety and the needs that they come to the schools with, and I think what you're doing on the social media and the cell phone, Sally and
Joan, makes perfect sense. I applaud you for it. Um, social media is it's hurting adults in this way. It's hurting children in big ways. And it has contributed to the anger
that we feel and as a community and as a country, we need to find ways to come back together again. Not just for ourselves, but for our kids. Because more of them will be left behind if we don't. So,
I leave you with that. I trust that, uh, there'll be great things in the future for this district. I thank you all, and, uh, we'll see you around. Thank you. Thank [applause] you for being so diligent, Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen, can I just say a quick word?
I just wanted to thank Eric. Um, I I thought, you know, I've served with you for the past 4 years, and it's been a pleasure. Um, and I I think you've you've done some great things for our town. Obviously, you've been recognized here, but >> Thank you, Josh. Um, I thought you brought a a historical perspective to us because you've had so many years you were able
to to give us um, almost like a our school committee historian, so to speak, right? That's cuz I'm old. That's right. >> [laughter] >> Uh, but you you offered a a legal lens on things, a Robert's Rules expert, um, and and, you know, I I think you've seen
some really good times here, but also some really not so good times, and and you were able to to help, uh, um, the town end up on the on the right side of things always, so um, just want to thank you. Thank you, Josh. I appreciate it. So, uh, I met Eric at a singing
competition, uh, maybe 12 years ago. He has a pretty good voice. Uh, so I I as much as I enjoy sitting next to you, now I'm going to enjoy going to karaoke night with you. There you go. I look forward to that. Yep, and now if two of us go with you, it's not a quorum anymore. There you go.
>> But, uh, when I decided to run for school committee, I made two phone calls. One to Eric and one to, uh, my friend, um, now I'm going to blank on his name because I'm talking about Eric, but, uh,
uh, Dugan. Uh, or uh, no, Ertugrul. Oh, Ertugrul. Two Erics, that's why I got confused. I'm uh, but Eric is also a school committee member in Lynn where I teach, and you were school committee member here, and the two of you I had nothing but admiration for, and
I appreciate the guidance and the knowledge that made me want to run. So, I appreciate you being there on my side. Thank you, Sean. I appreciate it. Um, I'm being honest with you, we we voted that, uh, we're going to establish a historian's position. So, you'll be expected to be at every meeting moving
forward. I figured something like that was going to happen. >> [laughter] >> Uh, student representatives report. Yes, sir. Take it away, please. Thank you. All right, good evening, everyone. So, our first update is going to be from Nathan. Uh, we had our junior prom, uh, on the 3rd.
>> You look good, by the way. Thank you. We >> [clears throat] >> We had our junior prom on the 3rd of April, and, uh, it was very successful. We had 180 students attend. It was, uh, it was actually right before our winter guard competition, which is
unfortunate. Uh, but that was the prom itself overall was very it was very fun, and it was [snorts] very successful. Uh, and also I can talk about the winter uh, winter guard. >> [clears throat] >> Winter guard
has ended their season officially. Uh, and we sadly we came in last place in our division, even though we got moved up a division. And we had a score of 78, which is fairly high.
I think Yeah, that's that's Yeah, our last competition was on April 4th, which was last Saturday. Um, and then last week the senior class got to go to Fenway Park, and we got to see a Red Sox game. It was so much fun.
Um, our class president, Daylan, she was able to place the bases on the field like when they started to warm up, so that was really cool to get to see her. And the class officers got to like be highlighted on the jumbotron. It was like super fun. They put up like congratulations, class of 2026,
and it was just like such a fun night. I got to take lots of pictures, and it's just like really memorable to be with our class cuz these are the last couple times we're all going to be together. So, that was one of the events that was super special. And then it's hard to believe, but senior finals are this week, and then
the internships will start after vacation on April 27th. So, by now all the seniors have their internships finalized, and they're moving on to those after April vacation and once finals week is over. And the seniors also had spirit week last week. We had like decades day, um, where you're going
like in the future, and anything but a backpack day, which was really fun. Some people got really creative with that, bringing like toy cars and coolers and lots of other like different unique things. And then Mr. Strauss gave us a little parade at the end of the school
day. We got to go around the first floor and just show everyone what we brought for everything but a backpack day, which was really cool and something that was different that we had never done. Um, so that was so much fun. The band just came back from Florida yesterday. We had our Disney trip. Uh,
we left, um, actually we left uh, a week ago. We left we left like 2:00 a.m. It was awful. But we had we had a great time there. We all went to all the parks in Disney World. And the band had
we we had our workshop where we got to um, we we got to uh, record some music takes and had, uh, and it was we got put into a like a slide I don't really slide like a video.
Uh, so we did one from Frozen. We did one song from Frozen, one song from Tangled, and one song from Tarzan, where Mr. Daniels was, uh, the one in charge of making monkey noises. Uh, and we also this Thursday had the
senior citizen prom, uh, and the at Danvers High School in the atrium from I believe it's from 3:30 to 6:00. So, I'm I'm volunteering. I'm very excited. And then like I mentioned, all the
seniors are continuing to get their colleges and their jobs for after graduation finalized. All of them the finalized ones are posted on the school's website, I know, and they're also when you go into like the atrium, we have like pictures. We have like an Instagram, um, that someone from our
class runs, and so when you commit to your college or wherever you're going, um, after you graduate, you get like a little like highlight on Instagram, so you can see your picture and then a baby picture and like where you're going or what you're doing, um, and if you're playing any sports, and those are also being printed out and like posted up in
the atrium for everyone to see, so it's really cool. Everyone is kind of getting there. It's kind of getting all surreal and really emotional for me, but I'm really excited for what is to come and what for all my classmates is to come. And then spring sports have obviously
started up. Um, lacrosse is doing great, softball's doing great. They're all doing great. I don't know the numbers for everything, but I know that they're doing really well so far. DHS Actors before I was preparing to play six about six wives of Henry VIII.
It's an all-female play, uh, that will be amazing. And then over April vacation, 64 of our DECA students are attending ICDC, which is the internationals, which is in Atlanta this year. I'm super excited. I'm one attending, and then we have a
few DECA students over there. Um, so lots of excitement, lots of preparation, but I'm very excited to be in the warm weather, and I've never been to Atlanta before, so excited to experience some of the things there. There's also a trip for, uh, there's a trip leaving for Italy on Wednesday
that's led by, um, Mr. Sheratt, which sounds interesting. I didn't know we had a we had a Italy trip until today. Yes. And then one of our last updates for today is senior Riley McGovern. She was chosen to attend the Massachusetts
Government Day, um which was last Uh I forget the day that it exactly was, um but it was really an exceptional opportunity for her to be at the State House, and lots of praise for her. That's off Obviously an awesome achievement for her. And I also just wanted to personally congratulate you on
25 years. That's really amazing, Mr. Kane. >> Thank you, Olivia. Thank you. That's all the updates that we have for today. Thank you. Well, thank you. Before you go, though, Olivia, that you talked about the colleges and the choices. I'm going to put you on the spot. Heard you have a recent decision? >> Yes, it's the University of Rhode Island
for elementary education. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Thank you, guys. Thank you. I think we're at the student recognition portion. We are um Up I I'd like to call uh athletic director Drew Betts to lead the recognitions. We have several tonight.
Um I will say on my uh as superintendent that uh getting an opportunity to see uh our student athletes in action and and how they take care of themselves and the dedication of not only the the players, but the coaches and the families that support and all the surrounding it just makes our athletic community very
strong, and we have a couple recipients tonight. It doesn't necessarily reflect all, and it it does actually in a lot of ways. Um so, I'm going to turn this over to Mr. Drew Betts, please. Well, thank you, guys, for having us tonight. Um and congratulations again on 25 years to Mr. Kane. Thank you. Um and
thank you to Mr. Bauer for inviting us to be here. We are going to recognize four student athletes um across three athletic teams. Um and again, these four are very very deserving. Um and I also want to, you know, congratulate the parents, their coaches for all the support that they've given them sort of throughout their four
years of high school. Um the two students that we have pictured here tonight are going to be the first two that we're going to recognize. I figure I'll go through all four, and then we'll be having an opportunity. We are going to give them um a pullover, and then we will have a little window to take some pictures at the end. Um but the first two are are Thomas Fish and Ashley
Freitas, who were the captains of the hockey programs for both the girls and boys teams. Um they were recognized as the MIAA Sportsmanship Award winners, which I think is incredibly well deserved. So, that's something that's um one individual from the Northeastern Conference has taken on the girls' side,
and one individual has taken on the boys' side. Um I'm going to quickly read what that, you know, what you know, qualified them for this award, but they showed an exemplary record of compiling both in spirit and letter with the league and MIAA rules and regulations during the season. They demonstrated a
high level of respect for rules and game officials. They demonstrated a conduct on and off the ice that brings honor to themselves, their team, their school, and their community, and a commitment to teamwork by providing all members with recognitions of their talent and opportunity to contribute to the to
their team in the spirit of camaraderie. And they consistently demonstrated respect for their opponents during, before, and after their games. Um and I think nothing is more sort of demonstration of this. For in Ashley's case, um the team faced incredible sort of I'll say a unique set of adversity at
the end of their season in their tournament situation, um bouncing around in different arenas, playing on different days, and losing in a very heartbreaking shootout. But essentially, Ashley never left the ice. Um and because of sort of her leadership, it kept the focus on the game itself and not sort of the outside noise. Um so, I
think she's someone that's a that's a multi-sport athlete and is very very well deserving. So, congratulations to Ashley. >> [applause] >> With Thomas, I think it's it's something that's really hard to do to be a be a captain of a program when you have a lot of other seniors. Um and he's someone
that sort of led by example. Um he's also a multi-sport athlete. Um and he's also a member of our golf team. And I think sort of a highlight for them was, you know, just being a consistent This is 2 years in a row that the team will have earned an MIAA tournament victory this year in an upset fashion out in Westfield, Massachusetts. Um but he is
somebody that that's very much leads by example, whether it's in the hallways or on the ice. So, congratulations to Thomas. >> [applause] >> Um the next student athlete we're going to recognize is Cooper Dunham. Um so, this year, Cooper became the 17th student athlete in Danvers High School
history to reach 100 career points. Um just like I was mentioning with Thomas, he will have accomplished this in the MIAA round of 32. Um and this is something that is a very very impressive win, and essentially, he had an incredible game. Cooper similar is a multi-sport athlete. He will have actually just come off the lacrosse
field about 10 minutes ago. Um and was also a member of the golf team this year. So, it's a very very well deserved recognition um for for him being, just like I said, the 17th student athlete in our, you know, very prestigious hockey program's history. So, congratulations to Cooper.
>> [applause] >> And then the last student um athlete that we're going to recognize is Angie Jocum. So, this year, she will have become just the fourth student athlete um in girls' basketball history to score 1,000 points. Um so, it was an incredible season. Um so, this is something that's similar to a lot of our
other students that we've recognized. Um so, Angie and the rest of her senior class will have helped to guide the team from a 5 and 15 record their freshman year to 7 and 13 to 14 and 7 to finishing with a school record 19 and 2. So, the 19 wins is is the best in school
history. Um Good or bad, that the last basket was actually the one that put her over 1,000 points. I will say they it was in a loss in a very very sort of heartbreaking fashion, so it took away from the moment. Um but I think it's something that is an incredible um testament to
her and her peers and how how much they've helped elevate this program. Um so, congratulations to Angie on just becoming the fourth student athlete. >> [applause] >> So, before we um have them all up here again, I do want to thank all of their coaches for being here tonight and a lot of their teammates and their families um
because as as sort of mentioned, it takes all of them to support for these individuals to have this success. Um so, if we can do one additional round of applause for coaches and teams. >> [applause] >> All right. And then I think if we can do just a group picture of everybody, if we can have those four student athletes come on forward.
>> [applause] >> All right. So, just so everybody can understand who who they are, I will ask them just to kind of raise their hands so we can recognize them. But Thomas Fish is right here on our left. If you want to just give him a a quick kudos. >> [applause] [cheering] >> We have Cooper right in the middle.
>> [applause] >> Ashley's right here. And And last but not least, we have Angie. >> [applause] >> All right. Thank you all very much. Congratulations. >> [applause] >> The next one's yours. They're more than welcome to stay to
learn about the work workings of government, so not that they don't have any studying to do tonight. [clears throat] Thank you and congratulations to all families, coaches, teammates, wonderful winter season, great accomplishments.
All right. Next up, um we would like to introduce um Mr. Anthony Colonino, who will be our Highlands principal starting on July 1. Uh he's here tonight, and I'd like to call him up to the podium, please.
Um and as he's making his way forward, I just want to say uh very special thank you to the Highlands staff who's here tonight and showing support. And they were integral in this whole process, the search process, in terms of looking for the best fit for Highlands Elementary, and there was a lot of work. And I'm so
proud of them for the work that they've put into this search because it's that important. Um as we move forward, I also would like to thank and recognize our elementary principals, along with Julie Pasternak, who are in the back, uh here tonight showing support. And uh also
like to recognize uh Mr. Brian Riley and Ms. Violeta Powers as they co-chaired the search committee. The search committee itself was extensive. Um the process itself the search committee brought forward um five sitting principals for the screening interview,
which uh in my experience is is not common. Usually, you might have an assistant or somebody starting out five sitting. So, I think that says a lot about the interest in in Highlands. Uh went through the screening interview, and then as the finalists were announced, uh had an opportunity to meet the staff, had a public forum, um came
to the district for half day, um met with the administrative team as well. So, it was pretty extensive, a lot of background checks. Um and you know, I know I'll turn this mic go to you, uh Anthony, but certainly uh come to come to us with lots of experience. Currently the elementary
principal at Royalston Athol, um and has served there, but I think this change being maybe an hour and a half closer to your home, to your commute will make it better. So, we're welcome. Uh we're so pleased that you're here. So, why don't you just give a quick introduction? Yeah, thank
you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here. Uh thank you, Dan, for introducing me and thank you for such a warm welcome. It has been a really warm welcome for me from the elementary school principals, like you said, and so many members of the Highlands team here. I really do appreciate the support. I'm uh very much
looking forward to uh beginning here on July 1st. In fact, I'm ready now, but I'll finish out the school year where I am. Um super excited. I've had over 27 years in education as a fifth grade teacher, elementary school principal, a consultant,
um traveled the country for a 10-year period just delivering professional development leadership coaching throughout the country, but I really missed being in school and being with teachers and kids and working with them each and every day and the relationships you get to build uh with them each and
every day. I got into education late. I was a newspaper reporter before I would became an educator. Uh I liked that. I was good at it, but I didn't really feel like I was making a difference. To your point, Mr. Crane, you want to make a difference. Uh that's why we're in education. We get the opportunity each
and every day to make a difference in our kids' lives who come to school each and every day. So, I'm I'm really excited to be here. I'm glad to be here. I'm I'm glad I was chosen. Hearing that there was five sitting principals, I feel pretty good about being the choice. Um so, yeah, thank you so much and I'm
I'm glad to be here. Thank you. Um with all your experience in traveling around, um are you amenable to staying in one place for a little while? Yes, that is the goal currently. I I am I am a little bit older now,
uh and that is my goal is to stay in one more place until I write out the end of my career. Yes. >> Excellent. Yeah, thank you for the question. >> Thanks for being Yeah, thank you. Welcome. You're joining a great district with great people. Yeah, I feel that way. I was just I'm sorry.
I was just going to say congratulations and welcome. Yeah, thank you. And uh I would also like to say the same. And you might see a lot of me because my daughter is going to She's a third grader now at Highlands. She'll be a fourth grader next year. Excellent. Excellent. I look forward to talking with you at school. Yeah, you'll only see me if there's problems, but so I'm
not seeing that often. Everything's [laughter] Only when I read or when there's problems. You can't give the job back now. You're welcome anytime. Anytime. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> [applause] >> All right. We're going to move on now to the
subcommittee update curriculum and assessment. Our last meeting uh at Julie Passinac and Peter Demarow and Kristen Anderson presented updates. Um and I'll just go through uh the slides relatively quickly. But very pleased with the direction we're headed um
at the elementary level, Julie discussed the curriculum where we're at and I think the good news is that we are all the curriculum is in and now it's the refining process and the professional development that her and her team have put together working with the principals has been outstanding. The reading data
is very promising. Uh we're seeing great results uh particularly early on the cohort. The move of the science of reading is paying off and certainly making a lot of strides. Uh at the middle school, Peter Demarow talked a lot about the content area updates, applied learning, but also there was a
piece that Julie discussed that really is bridging Holten Richmond with the elementary, closing that gap uh that we do see at the fifth grade to sixth grade transition with the uh fish tank curriculum and working with the teachers of Holten Richmond. So, it's really nice to see that vertical alignment
happening. And at the high school, um Peter also reported out on the applied learning through the 180 Foundation that's happening and also the NEASC collaborative conference which sets up our bicentennial or the centennial visit, the um big conference that that occurred which actually a lot of good
feedback, but we're waiting for that report. And then Kristen talked a lot about the portrait of the graduate work that we're doing which dovetails well with the work that's happening at the elementary and high school that really gets into those uh comprehensive skills that will be necessary to show competency, aligning that to the
anticipated change in the um graduation requirements that are upcoming, but but really something that allows all of our students to succeed in today's ever-changing world. So, um I went through that. I have all the slides. I think the good news that Julie said and certainly um I'm very proud of the work
they're doing is that you can see that stage two and three is where our curriculum's at. So, it's moving, it's refining, it's moving. If you look at the elementary reading data, I think the key that you see and she cohort this up and she can explain it much better than I and I'm not going to call her down
um unless she interrupts me, which I know I'm just teasing. But you can see the substantial growth that's taking place when you look at benchmarks from year to year uh particularly at the first, second, and third grade and we know that that's so important that students are able to be a grade level at
those formative ages for success later on. And the work they're doing now at the middle school to bridge the gap, you know, that that fifth grade and fourth grade coming out of COVID, they there were a lot of things that um we're trying to catch up for. Um and the nice thing with the math,
science, world language, and STEM that's happening at the the middle school, uh the math pilot uh that Kristen has helped run with Peter is really taking off the middle school, which is really I think waiting to hopefully come to a final decision at the end of the year which direction we're going with.
But the science, uh the world language, the uh proficiency approach which is so important that's a practical. It's not just the rote memorization, but it's how do you apply that? Um and then certainly talking about discourse and really getting students to communicate, we know the more that
students are able to communicate out what is happening in the class, their processing leads to further deeper learning and the discourse um work is is really picking up. I've seen it in action. Um and then at the high school, the applied learning leadership institute update which is
allowing more of our students, excuse me, our teachers to really become involved with applied learning and really working on real problem solving, which aligns very well with our portrait of the graduate. Um and again, the NEASC conference was great uh in terms of areas, but more importantly showing
areas that we can continue to grow and that we can develop more strategies for further growth. So, a lot of work there. And as we know, the portrait of the graduate work uh which actually segues very well to when we have the DECA updates because that's all that DECA does is problem solving, but seeing it
across our uh district connecting with our strategic plan, feeling really good where we're at on that, knowing there's a lot of work. You can see the five competencies, everything from compassionate citizen, the resilient problem solvers, effective communicators, collaborators, and transformative thinkers. And how can we
drill this down and how can students demonstrate this at all the grade levels um with the goal of when they walk out across the threshold of graduation that they've mastered these key skills to help them wherever their career path takes them. So, a lot of really good
things happening um and really hats off to our curriculum team, our teachers who've done the hard work, our administrators, um and more importantly our teachers and great work by our students. So, I don't know if there's any questions from the committee.
No, I I just have a comment. I mean, I I agree the work is extensive and outstanding, but to see that progress monitoring data with, you know, they're jumping 20 points from beginning of year to to midyear is is fantastic.
We plan on we'll give a wrap-up at the end of the year as we monitor and follow Julie and Peter back again uh for an update at the end of the year, but um great work. Now, uh we have some wonderful guests. We have Meg Boylow, our our esteemed
DECA chapter advisor, um to provide an update uh about our great DECA program. And there's a few slides. Yep, just a few. Not too long. Um there was great celebrations tonight. Um I have two of my officers with me. This is Megan Ryan
and Ben Wilhelm. They are both senior officers um featured in our photo there from our trip to DC um back in November. That was the unofficial kickoff of our year where I take the officers on a power trip, which is all the leadership of all the
DECA chapters throughout the year. So, I'm just going to go through some of the numbers and then they're going to talk in more detail about some of our strong projects that we've had in the community this year. So, um That was my slide. Yeah, oh I love it. You created one for me. This is perfect.
Um we had in the program 260 students across all four grades. Um the greatest part of DECA is that it's open to all students. Um wherever they are, we're ready to meet them. And I do agree, it really does frame a lot of the portrait
of the graduate. We want the kids to be problem solvers. We want them to choose something they're interested in. And this year we've had incredible success all the way along um of those initial students, we had 130 that came with us to Boston at the
waterfront um over three days against 4,500 students from across Massachusetts um and they competed multiple times in a very intense competition. And from there, we had 25 of our projects, over 60 students. A couple are not able to
come with us. We have 59 coming to the international competition all competing, which is by far our highest number. As Eric will remember, I started the first year with 12 students at districts, four students at states, and one student at our international conference and I
remember standing here the first time asking to bring my first student to Dallas, Texas many years ago. So it's come a long way. What I think we're most proud of is the work we're doing in the community and by the time the students become juniors and seniors,
we want them to take the stuff they've learned, their project management skills, their business skills and use it to help the others in the community. Go into the elementary schools, go into the middle schools, find a need and try to help present and solve those
needs. So a couple of the projects this year, so you can kind of skip my first and second one. Yep. Cuz you covered a lot of that. One more is we're taking 59 students, so 25 different projects to compete at Atlanta. There's 26,000
students from across the world that will be going to Atlanta with us at the end of April. Danvers had the second most amount of qualifiers from any chapter in all of Massachusetts, so it's about 150 different schools participate and we had the second most amount of qualifiers.
So we're really proud of the projects we're bringing this year. I think the if anybody and I know some of our administrators have walked by and saw the kids practicing their presentations, you'll know that these are a labor of love for the students. They've put so much time and effort into it and they're
so excited to go to this next level and really show them what they've done. So a couple of the projects we want to highlight. So at Oh, this is some major accomplishments at states. We had five of these projects finished first, two in second, three in third, five in fourth,
two in fifth, three in sixth, two in seventh and we had three of our eighth grade projects that earned a way to compete as well. We also had an additional nine teams, which is a lot of our younger students also qualified in the top 12 making the finals and are ready to go next year. What I love is
that as soon as students um are not moving on, they're already thinking about next year. They're already emailing me, coming after school with ideas for new projects ready to start next year. So it's a never-ending cycle of excitement to keep going. Two of the projects that you've probably
heard a lot about. I'm going to have Megan speak about Be Kind Legacy in a minute because a year ago she was in front of you guys asking for permission to start this and I'm excited for her to talk about. Another one I want to highlight is called Hometown Salute. Um
Last spring I reached out to Mr. Doherty, had some ideas about a project that we really wanted to work with the veterans. He suggested that we reach out to town hall and work with the veterans office, which we've been doing all year. They've now raised $9,000. They have a beautiful mural that's already been
created by our art national honor society students that's by the gym, but there will be a new monument being built outside of the town hall for Purple Heart and this was this group is a group of juniors and they're very excited about the work that they've done and it was a project near
and dear to their heart. And again, it had a lot of community support. We worked with a lot of the the veterans organizations. They put on a jazz concert, which was kind of a new outside of the box idea, which was great back in the fall and they've done a lot of legwork to get this great monument. So
I'm going to have Megan talk about Be Kind Legacy. Hi, you might remember, but like she said, back in April we came and we asked for permission to begin fundraising to rename the Danvers High School library to the Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial
Library and create a mural that really just takes in her kindness and a wraps around the Danvers library. Me and my project managers, we successfully raised $31,449 to create this installation and we're
super excited. We are going to have a ceremony hopefully soon sometime in May where we will invite some of our stakeholders and then we will also invite the We will invite the community to be able to see this incredible mural. So if you want to flip one more forward,
we're going to talk about a few more of the projects that we worked with throughout the season. So I'm going to first mention She Counts. This was just from last week where we had a assembly for the junior class and the focus on this is about financial
empowerment and the becoming aware of financial abuse and making people understand now the things that they can do to start building their credit and learning about finance so that they never get into a financially abusive situation where they don't have the means to
get out and it was really powerful. It was student-led. There was a lot of research behind it. She worked closely with a couple domestic violence agencies locally and it was a really powerful um project all around. One of the projects I would like to
highlight is Connect to Career. As you may know, Danvers High School has an internship program for all graduating seniors for their all their fourth quarter or most of it depending on how many AP courses they take. Instead of just going to normal school, they're able to intern
at a place of potential future interest for work or another internship during college. However, a lot of times seniors like myself were very busy and also because the internship period is so short, it can sometimes be difficult to find companies who are willing to take on interns for that time.
However, Connect to Career identified that problem and at the end of our Credit for Life simulation, they brought together the senior class and they also brought in about I would say like 50 different businesses into the room and kind of just ran a kind of like forum
for us and connected us with different internship opportunities. And in fact, I actually landed my internship from that event. So it was a huge help to me and my senior class. Additionally, the Shark Academy program. This is a program that's been running for a number of years now within the Danvers. This year it expanded to all five
elementary schools. I myself worked with the Riverside kids. And so basically what they did is they helped teach the elementary school kids about different financial things from budgeting to planning to marketing all through their creation of a product. So
it started out in week one just coming up with an idea. And throughout the course of nine weeks, it turned into from an idea to an actual product to how we're going to market this and finally to a presentation that they presented to the entire grade or the entire Yeah, the entire school.
From there, two projects from each school moved on to the district finale and a couple winners were picked. Projects were hugely successful. I believe 100% of parents said they would re-enter their kids in the project. So yeah, lots of very important for financial
learning even at a young age such as like fourth and fifth graders. And I think Mr. Bauer had first-hand experience how well the students did cuz we put him in a tough position to judge. And it's tough. Those kids did a really nice job from all the schools.
And the final project I'd like to touch on is Morgan's Message. Morgan's Message is a national program that was started after a student athlete named Morgan tragically committed suicide because of mental health problems. The mission is to promote, as it says there, the human over the athlete and
help create awareness that as student athletes, you're more than just your sport. So there are a few student athletes from our school that recognized this problem and wanted to bring it to our school. So they did things like handing out wristbands and attending various sporting events to try and support this message. I think it's been widely
successful at our school. So thank you. Thank you. Some more of our projects are Mission Money where we had one of our DECA members go and teach financial literacy in a kid-friendly way to some of our elementary student elementary grade students throughout the town.
We also have Boss Babies, which is one of our continuing projects that we've had throughout the past years. It is very successful in introducing future jobs to younger students. And next is Griffin's Gift where we have two
girls who in They've been working throughout the year to prepare for the Griffin's Gift. They went into some of the elementary schools. They did a chalk the walk with the elementary schools. So they've been working to promote the organization to build up to our event coming up in June,
the big Griffin's Gift annual event, but they've been doing a lot of the promotions leading up to that working with the organization. And lastly, we have STEM Packed where we had some kids go and teach key STEM facts to the Riverside Elementary School
students. So they spent an entire day in October going through stations with the students where they did a science and a technology and we had the students that ran it, our project managers as well as a team of other DECA students that helped. So this is just a little preview into what some of our older students are
doing within the community, which we think is so important to our the legacy of our future DECA students that we're reaching right now. That hopefully these kids will come to high school and have an idea. I already know that I have a Endicott Park has reached out for us to
begin working with them and I have a group of incoming freshmen that have eagerly wanted to do it. I will tell you cuz one of them lives in my house and has come to me with ideas every single day about what she wants to do for the Endicott Park project, but she's seen it leading up and before she's even stepped
foot in a classroom at Danvers High School, she's ready to start her project and give back. So we're very excited. Excellent. Um Are we bringing home glass? Yes, we are. Yes, we are.
>> Let's just get to it. >> I know. I have a good feeling about this year. Um yep, there's going to be We're going to have to get an extra seat on the plane in order to bring back By the way, my my my son went to Atlanta Yeah. with her nephew.
Just be careful. >> [laughter] >> I would tell you, Meg, nothing has um been more amazing than what you and your students have accomplished in taking this program from where it started to where it is right now. And uh
you deserve a lot of credit for that. I know you'll spread that credit around to the students who you've worked with. But um it has taken leadership to to get where you are, and I know your students look up to you and appreciate what you do, and so do we. Thank you.
Yeah, same thing. I think I think what you've done how how you built that what you say 12 students or something you started and now, you know, upwards of over a couple hundred. Um it's impressive and and also, I mean, just to highlight some of these leadership projects that they're doing in the community as well is just, you know, outside from the regular
competition part of this is is amazing, so. Yeah, nice nice job, Meg. Thank you. I think back to when we were in high school and DECA had a whole different meaning >> [laughter] >> uh back in the early uh early '90s, and to see the growth not just in the high
school program, but it's spilling all the way down to the elementary school kids, and they know exactly what's going on. You know, that's that's you. That's not anybody else. Um in the leader I shouldn't say that. You know what I mean, though. It's you were the the vision, and you had a great team
behind you to to push that division forward, and I appreciate everything you've ever done for this, so. Uh and I do appreciate them as well, but you're standing in front of me. And I know the effort you've been putting in, so. Thank you. And guys, thank you for everything you guys do in you know, with the kids as well as with
your academic success, so thank you. Good luck next week to everybody. Thank you. As we transition, I just want to take this time just to thank Meg for her leadership, and when I talk with other superintendents or other DECA, they say we have the best. We're very proud of
that, but also what she's brought with her team of teachers that she's grown that group, uh and anytime the students interact and just they're just so professional and um it's just it's just wonderful and and what's really nice about this is it cuts across all students. Mhm. So, it it's
just wonderful, and good luck in Atlanta. Hope to bring home the glasses, as Mr. Shannon said, so. >> Thank you. We'd like to transition now, if possible, chair uh for the the new business, if that's okay. Um and the DECA field trip request um
as this is an overnight out-of-state trip. So, bringing this up. Take away, please. So, our our trip is scheduled to leave April 24th, which is the Friday of April break, um and we return the following Wednesday. Um throughout that time, the
students will be we will have an opening and closing session and all awards in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, um and they'll be competing in the convention center. We also do have some fun activities planned, such as Six Flags and a Braves game, um but the students
will compete while we're there, like I said, with 26,000 people from across the globe. So, um and the awards on the Tuesday, the 28th, are live-streamed, so I sent it out in a link, but if you go to deca.org/icdc,
you can see the morning live stream to find out who makes the finals, and then the final class winners, hopefully our students are holding it up on April 28th in the evening. Any questions about the trip? Is everyone that we approved on going? I
just everyone who wanted to go is going. Absolutely, yep. There was a lot of support from the community and from within our school as well to help any students that had financial difficulties. Great. And DEEP provides a lot of support, too, right? DEEP has been incredible to us for years. DEEP
has actually just gave us another grant where we're expanding out our school store with some new machinery, so we have an embroidery machine and a couple new things to make round to put decals on cups and some new things coming, so coming next fall, you'll see even more
merchandise based on the support we have from DEEP continuously. I'm moving that we approve the DECA field trip to Atlanta at this point. Second. Any other comments or discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor, please
say aye. Aye. Opposed? The motion passes. Thank you. Have a great time. Thank you. You want to find out if all the payments Yes, sir. Pam, I think you're up. Good evening.
Good evening. Uh I'm not sure whether to start or finish with this, but I Eric, I want to say um thank you very much for the years of service as a Danvers resident and uh parent and now employee. Um have appreciated the
job that you've done on behalf of all of us, and in this role, your support of me has also been very much appreciated over the last four years. It's been my pleasure, you've done a great job, Pam. Thank you. Uh so, I'm here this evening to provide
an update on where we are with the FY26 budget. Uh a lot of the challenges that are articulated on this first slide are familiar themes from previous budget updates. Um we are facing a deficit this year,
and these are the three big drivers of that deficit. Um we have out-of-district tuition continues to be a challenge. Even as we transition toward building in-district specialized programming, we um still have students that require out-of-district placements, and the
tuitions at those schools have continued to rise. Um we also have had uh tight budget years several years in a row now, where there isn't really the play the space in the budget for what we might consider a placeholder for just-in-case. So, we
have some mid-year referrals, some post-budget placements, some students who move into the town and require these placements, and we don't have a just-in-case sort of line for that. Um we also have had some unexpected or
unbudgeted um residential placements um necessitated by evaluations that got updated and and the highest level of support needed for some of our students. Um so, we all In other areas of the budget, we have IA positions that we've talked about over the last couple of
years. As we build up our programs, as the staffing levels were um analyzed through audits and by our student services team to make sure that we were meeting all of the students' needs as they're articulated in their IEPs, we have had to bring on some
additional instructional assistants. And then finally, our contracted services lines. This is partly to do with um providing direct support to students. Part of it is building up of programs
and um making sure that we have the the right uh structures and the right level of staffing and the training for our staff to make sure that we're providing the services correctly. Um so, those three things are the large
drivers. We have other things um having to do with other parts of our budget, but these are the three main things that are driving the issue this year. Uh the team administrative team has been working closely with the town and each other and with the school. The entire
school community has kind of come together to talk about how how we're um going to close out this year. What are the solutions that are going to help us um navigate the year end. Um obviously, we are hugely appreciative of the support of the town and their
collaboration, and so far through the town administrators, um the town manager and the finance director, and now also the select board, we are moving through with a $1 million free cash warrant article to support uh these
these costs for us. There is a special ed stabilization fund that was created uh four or five years ago that currently has $1.25 million in it. We will be requesting um
$750,000 of those funds to address the out-of-district placements, particularly the residential ones, I think. Uh the district did receive some emergency assistance funds over the last
two years, um and those were, you know, eligible to be carried over beyond the year in which they were appropriated, so we we were able to retain some of those, and that is how um the additional instructional assistant positions will their salaries
will be covered in large part. Extraordinary relief is a term that um we learned about I learned about a few years ago um because Danvers Public Schools actually qualified for extraordinary relief a few years ago. Uh the circuit breaker reimbursement
that comes from the state for eligible tuition and transportation costs, when those tuition costs in particular exceed the prior year's claim by more than 25% then that is considered extraordinary
and the state has a process by which you can apply for that extraordinary relief where they essentially give you some of they give you some funds to help you close out the current year. Typically circuit breaker reimbursement only comes
in the year following you have had to pay those expenses. Extraordinary relief gives you the funds in the year you're incurring the expenses so that you can meet those obligations and close out the fiscal year. So we have applied for extraordinary relief and are there it's not settled yet.
We haven't definitively qualified. We haven't gotten a number yet. But it looks um very very likely that we will qualify for some relief and the amount that we'll receive will depend not only on what we've submitted but what the state has
uh set aside or allocated for that uh bucket statewide. So it kind of depends on what everybody else asks for as well and how far that bucket spreads. Um when we qualified a few years ago, I believe Danvers received about $326,000.
So it's substantial. It matters. And then the other thing we have to work with to help close the gap in our budget this year is circuit breaker again. Um last you may recall that we reported earlier that the reimbursement that was
coming in this year based on last year's expenses covered all of the tuition reimbursement that the state had pledged but couldn't quite meet the need that was submitted for the transportation side of that claim. I believe there is something moving
through the legislation legislature to make that transportation portion of the reimbursement whole and that would be a $219,000 difference for Danvers. So if that money comes in, that's going to go a long way toward also helping us to close our gap.
And then finally we just we sort of approach circuit breaker usage in as conservative way as we can which means that the deficit that is um identified is money that we had hoped to not it
reflects the money we had hoped we didn't need to spend in the sense that we do have some additional circuit breaker that will be carried over into FY27 and if we need to use some of that money before we get to FY27, it's available for us to do so.
I do want to also share some good news because there actually is a little bit of good news that we can share. Um we are in our third year of a contract for our bus transportation service which means that we went out to bid on that service um in February or March.
The last time we did that, we had budgeted for what we thought was a nice healthy increase and it came back almost double what we had budgeted for. It was not good news. This time around we have better news which is that the bids um are still being reviewed but
they were much more favorable than we had hoped had dared to hope. Um with the out of district transportation, that's been another thing that's um gone up a lot over the last few years since COVID um with all the trans the inflationary pressures and
hiring and everything else. Um we are in our wrapping up our first year with this transportation contract through the consortium. Um it didn't produce the savings that we had quite hoped that it would this year in its first year but I think there's a
lot of acknowledgement that that is some of the growing pains or the implementation pains of it being in its first year. So they have some routing software that was not in place in August when we launched that will be in place going into FY27
and they are also they've solicited a lot of feedback about what can make this work more efficiently for the member districts and that may involve including some non-member districts um in order to uh increase some route sharing so that we have fewer singletons
of just one student going from point A to point B without picking up anybody in between. The IA positions uh that are causing the budget stress right now, those have been brought into our FY27 budget for next year. And then finally a few smaller notes. Um
we are you know, hopeful about the possibility of being able to tuition out of students from outside Danvers in for some of the in-district programs that we are building. We shouldn't need to rely as heavily on
contracted services as we did as we build the programs up with you know, that that should taper off. The fact that we've been able to bring a team chairman at the high school is going to um improve service delivery overall at the secondary level.
And the state has had a process to request consideration for earmarks and again it's not definite yet but it is
looking better likely than not maybe that um our school technology earmark for $150,000 um may be approved. So we're hopeful. Any questions? Okay.
I to the chair if I could. Um and I think I think Pam underscores the work that the team is really doing and and the collaboration with the town has been outstanding. Um you know, the we talk about this a lot although right now we're in the deficit piece but we
have a plan to get out of that, right? But we also know that I believe we are better than we were 3 years ago in terms of structures and set up because we are as we're building programming right? We have contracted services that are building right? So we're still navigating that
and the placements of rates that have gone up but those contracted services going to go away because they're at a point where they're going to start stepping away which that piece is going to help us quite a bit. The second part of it too is having structures can't underscore enough of having those team chairs into place
because that that is really allowing us and they were instrumental in a lot of the work uh with Christina's team to basically dig into the extraordinary relief. So having that that available um I think is is going a long way so um and and I think too when Joan was
here and Sally, they've done a lot of work in terms of the um the piece of closing the circuit breaker gap in terms of transportation uh through the supplemental budget and they they're big staunch advocates for helping us there. Mr. Chairman, I I think that um
every town or most towns are finding this a challenging budget year for any number of reasons, special ed increases special ed transportation, cuts in federal grants and programs. Um my sense is that you've really put
together the best plan you could as a group, Dan and Pam and uh you know, just um we'll get through it. We'll get through it. It's going to be a challenging few years I think but we'll get there. Thank you for what you do. Thank you.
Yeah, that thank you for the clarity in your explanation. Appreciate it. We do have one more piece that we just wanted to get out in front. Uh this does relate to financial update because the district one-to-one program is changing. As you do know, we did not renew the
Chromebook lease uh which was a substantial savings that helped us. Um and I know that Jim Sullivan could not be here tonight. He's out of town at a conference but he's provided information where um they've sent out surveys, they've been listening to teachers, staff in terms of
like which should the direction be of our one-to-one program. Uh as we know that, you know, coming out in 2016, 10 years later things have changed dramatically with technology. So the preliminary these are preliminary recommendations. He'll be back in May to give a more detailed. I just want to get this out here now because uh there will
be communication coming out. But we we did feel with the elementary the K through two, just really creating small class sets, not the full sets because there is limited technology in grades K through two. And three through five is leaving them as the one-to-one classroom sets. So those devices are already
there. No no real substance chance uh changes except for uh fewer devices for K2 but that that is appropriate. The middle school though, development of carts with each grade level has allowed the devices to stay at school so that's taken a lot of pressure off of us. Uh we
started last year with grade six with the earmarks that will allow us to complete grade seven and eight which I think is outstanding. Then at the high school, we know that we need a more updated device as the needs have changed and um you know, needs a more professional device. So we know a grade nine will be
the lease to own MacBook Neo. Um and we'll we'll get more detail on that. We're very excited about that and obviously through any of this process uh financial waivers are always available and that's starting grade nine but we are looking at options to open up beyond this grade nine. Um
and we'll provide more detail once we have that out but I wanted to get this out there now because information's going to be coming out cuz families need to start preparing. Particularly at the high school level. And our staff too, they've done a great job with feedback. Mr. Chairman, one quick question for Mr. Barr. Just uh in the middle school, so
that's going to be a change in uh policy, right? So that sounds like the devices come back and forth right now. Is that correct? So, if I may. Um at 6th grade they already have the carts where they stay. Unless there was extraordinary circumstances they did not
have technology at home. We were able to sign those out. But grade 7 and 8 they take them home. Right. So, we started that piece of grade 6 so we're just going to continue that 7 and 8. So, we have to explain that to parents. Because we did a survey a year ago in terms of what is available at home and we found that a high percentage did have
technology available at home to utilize. But we want to ensure that those that do not they have the technology to take home with them. Got it. Okay. So, but as far as make doing assignments and things like that is that going to be a fact I'm just wondering how that No, um and that's a great question uh
Josh. That will not change that piece. Okay. Cuz we're using the grade 6 it's been successful. I'll tell you the success of grade 6. Uh we got the MCAS there there were plenty devices available and the actual wear and tear on the devices cuz that is a large part of the expenditures.
Um we found that was more favorable with the cart model. Um so, um this shift at the 7 and 8 should help us. To hopefully get out of the the insurance for the uh grade 7 and 8. Got it. Thank you. Thank you. We've we've talked about
getting away from devices as far as being so dependent on on them for learning. And this just positions us you know, it teaches in the classroom to make that move a little bit easier. Yes, and today although we're in a budget freeze I did approve a small
purchase for the old traditional blue books for the high school where you know, you do your final exams or high level piece where they're writing which they need to. And studies show that the processing piece of writing down is a larger retention. I know you we all know
that. All right. Special education stabilization withdrawal approved. Yes, um I would like to make the request uh requires a vote from the school committee and this is the first uh in a two-part process
for to access the stabilization fund we're requesting $750,000 from that fund. So, the first step is for school committee approval then it would go to the select board which I believe is May 7th. Um this was discussed at the warrant article review. Uh Jill Rodney uh
explained this will happen with the select board but the bottom line it's already been stated um with with Pam and and Christina's talked about there were a number of uh placements that weren't reflected in the budget because there was changes uh along the way um and certainly with
the timing of the placements many of them came outside of the budgetary piece. Um so, this uh stabilization fund will help us uh with the rest of the year budget. So, the request is for the school committee to approve uh withdrawal of $750,000
from the stabilization fund. I'll entertain the motion if you're so inclined. Uh motion to approve the uh $750,000 for the special education stabilization fund. Second. Any discussion? Comments?
Just one quick comment. I mean it just sounds like it's hard to you know, we could we could budget as as much as we want but we'll have these variable costs that push us over the edge and unfortunately then we have to make those these types of decisions. So, yeah I I these things come up and these things happen. So, I would imagine that you
know, we we really don't have an option on this one. So, I think this makes a lot of sense. No, and the and the town went to great lengths to collaborate with with Dan and Dan with them and um you know, it was just a everyone understands those those things
happen. That's why the the fund exists. Anything else? Then all those in favor please say aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? It passes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Central office reorganization.
Okay. Thank you very much. Um as you do know um through the budget process and uh just review there is a reduction in a central office position the uh assistant superintendent position has been reduced. Um
along with other cuts across the board that we we have. So, uh what I'm coming tonight to ask uh school committee approval is the reorganization. So, we've worked really hard at what how what can we do to reorganize central office? Essentially, you know, we have
one less person but really try to look at how can we utilize our talent the best that we have. Um and we found that two main areas of reorganization utilizing our existing staff. One is student facing operations
uh which would oversee and support areas that impact student achievement, right? So, it's a broader broader role as opposed to just curriculum and instruction or what have you. And then also the not facing student but most very important is district operations. Right? To support the district mission,
to support students, staff and families. So, we really went with that lens um which we which makes sense to me. Um when we look at the the recommendation will be to um shift uh one of the roles to assistant superintendent. Uh that would be the
student operations and the key responsibilities go from everything from strategic leadership working with curriculum instructions, student services operations, resources, compliance and policy and community engagement. Um it's it's a big job um
but I think we have a very strong support team below. So, that would be the recommendation is to make that shift to add not add but just reassign uh one of the directors to the assistant superintendent role. And then the director of technology and district operations which is the back
facing piece which really gets into leadership and strategy, technology infrastructure safety and operations, procurement, finance, legal compliance and partnerships. Um so, with those recommendations um the recommendation
that I will make is for uh Christina Ryan to take the um the piece of the student facing for the assistant superintendent. And then for the director of technology and district operations the recommendation will be for uh Jim Sullivan to take that piece. He's doing all that um part.
So, moving forward there are other pieces of the organization that's important. So, our student services we're very blessed with a very very strong leadership team with elementary and secondary directors. Excuse me, their their current roles are assistant directors at elementary and secondary.
So, my recommendation because they will need to do more day-to-day operations is to just to create an elementary director and a secondary director of student services. Also, the out of district coordinator uh shift that to an assistant director position and that just makes a lot of sense because it
goes more than just out of district coordinator. It's also building programs to help students stay in district. Also, the curriculum leadership we have a really strong team there, right? Peter and Julia are outstanding in the work that they do. Um so, I'm reviewing their responsibilities but I'm also careful
we're careful not to you know, uh beyond capacity, right? And we also have other support with the curriculum team. But in terms of grants, professional development, evaluations and data review uh we're working on fine-tuning um those particular pieces. And then in
technology um because you know, the elevation the request the recommendation to elevate Jim is that having that day-to-day oversight of the technology is important. He has members of his team um that would be able to really take this on. And I think this really says a
lot about us as a district where we want to really grow our talent from inside. We have some outstanding outstanding people in our district. And uh to provide opportunities to extend their leadership the hope to keep them in district longer in many ways I think makes a lot of sense.
And then we can't forget the administrative support shift, right? We know that in the curriculum office we're going from two to one admin assistant. So, we're realigning that responsibility. But we also know that we have other administrative assistants that you know, may need to shift um
particularly the the the administrative assistant to the current superintendent assistant superintendent that will have to shift and hopefully provide more to the business office which quite frankly has been understaffed. Um and and Priscilla does an outstanding job with what she does but also keeps an eye with
some of the professional development piece but also looking at some of the key areas within our student services administrative support team which I'll be meeting with them very shortly as well. So, there's a lot of pieces here that still aren't quite resolved but I
want to get that out there where we have the major pieces and it's just refining that further. Um And in terms of of the part that's important just coming to the school committee um you know, to be able to reshape and re
reconfigure some of our positions the best leverage I think it number one is efficient. Number two, I think again it allows further leadership opportunity within some of our very talented uh administrators. Um and we're looking for the long haul
at this, too. So, it was a substantive reduction, no question but um I believe we have the people in place to to continue moving our district forward. So, my recommendation is to um to move forward with the reorganization
of central office. I have a motion. Uh I move that we uh vote on the reorganization of the central office. Second. Any discussion or questions? I I did have one, Mr. Chair. Are we with the
additional responsibilities, is there going to be any additional financial uh compensation given to the people that are going to be taking on a little bit more? Yes, there will be, but no knowing that there are within uh some of the management reserve, we always have extra there, but also there's some overage
from the shifting out of positions that hasn't been fully expended towards uh the budget. So, we're keeping all that in mind to balance that out. So, um obviously we have to to do that part, but also mindful that we are in some reductions as well. So, it's trying to
thread that needle as best we can. Yeah, I I would just I think it's important and anytime people are taking on it sounds like sizable amount that we are going to give them some sort of a a compensation on that one. Yes, and in the management reserve does does allow us that piece
for those unexpected changes as well. Great. Thank you. I understand the uh the reasons why and um I think what you're doing is the right thing, but we have never been, at least in my
view, really administratively top heavy. So, I don't think it's um I think the public should know we're not just um hey, this isn't easy cut and it's not going to affect anything that we do and and no, people are going to have to take on more um you won't have quite the
amount of support that you did with the full-time um assistant superintendent. So, I understand why you're doing it. I hope in the future you'll be able to restore the position when the time is right. If I may, Mr. Chair. I think also
what coincides with this is our development of team chairs. Um so, that really allows us to particularly those um you know, they all mentioned secondary director as well as the assistant director proposed, that allows them to really step back cuz that was the
intent. We brought them aboard is to eventually get to the point where we have team chairs that do the day-to-day and they can really continue to build the programs and fine-tune the programs. I think it's especially critical now that we are pulling back contracted services. Hopefully attracting a few tuition and students, hopefully, but
more importantly ensuring that the quality services we provide are where they need to be. And again, having Peter and Julie, they're just unbelievable. So, having them and the the hard work that they do, um and Jim has a great team in technology. So, um and again, I can't
say enough about our administrative assistants as well. So, I you know, it yeah. I mean and obviously with Kristen going out, she has a tremendous skill set, you know, um but at the end of the day, we are fortunate that we we've brought together some really talented
individuals um and you know, they're committed to the work um and I'm also committed on my end to ensure that they have the support they need to be successful and um continue the mission. I appreciate the your solution focus when this came up and
I also like your commitment to distributive leadership. I think that's important. Um with that said, have have you spoken to these people? Are they aware of your vision and are they in agreement to being a part of
this? Great great question, Mr. Shannon. Yes, uh we've had individual meetings uh with student services. We were a little late today with with the curriculum team, technology we've had discussions. Um I I do need a few more discussions in terms
of the administrative support assistants, but um it's it's been a lot trying to balance that um because I think that I wanted to be in front with that and I have communicated out to the administrative uh council today or our leadership team that we'd make this proposal. Then obviously once it
settles, I owe it to the um the staff to share this information because I think one of the concerns would always be how will this impact, you know, the way that I interact with students and how do I support students and certainly families and I want to reassure them uh with this piece. So, I want to be
able to provide communication, you know, once once we clear this these um these pieces up, but that was a big part and these discussions started in with the um caveat that they will continue till we finalize specific job descriptions and and settle on any
additional salary that may be required. Anything else? Seeing none, all those in favor, please say I. I. I. Opposed? The reorganization motion passes. Thank you and I'm happy to bring an update once um the final details are
worked out with everybody and again, thank you for your support and I thank you to our team as well as to our staff and families for their support to make this transition. Last day of school? Last day of school, so uh typically um at this time of year, we try to
proclaim the last day of school. We've utilized four snow days um at this point. So, um we've got past that April 1 time when you know, it seems the weather is moving, the boilers are being turned off in our schools. So, uh with that, the request would be
to officially vote in the last day of school as June 23rd and the last day of school is a half day for all schools on June 23rd. So moved. So moved. Second. Any questions on the last day of school?
I know Mr. Daros is upset because that's way sooner than his last day of school. We get we get out on June 29th. If there were no discussion, all those in favor, please say I. I. Opposed? Last day of school is June 23rd.
And what do we have? Minutes. Minutes. Mr. Chairman, I move that uh we approve and release the minutes from the March 9th, 2026 regular school committee meeting. Second. Any discussion? Comments?
All those in favor, please say I. I. I. Opposed? Consent agenda. Motion to approve the personnel memo, stipend, chaperone stipends, school donation and fundraising
requests. Second. Any discussion? I just made that motion. Any discussion? By the way, I found out the chair can make a motion. I did not know that. Yes, people think you can't. That's why I jumped in. That's my understanding. The chair holds all the power.
Congratulations, by the way. Thank you. Good for you. If you say so, Mr. Chair. I ask the questions, so it tells the turn. All those in favor, please say I. I. I. Opposed? Communications, any communications? We have the
legislation. People here? We did. Do we have any other communication? Uh no, but the the legislative update uh as you know, we've advocated um for the increase for the supplemental budget uh earmarked. So, and again, uh Senator Lovely and uh
Representative Kearns, we've we've been appreciative of their efforts. Anything else from any of the subcommittees? I do have uh something for the Danvers kids. Um they sent their their update. Um Danvers Pride celebration is scheduled
for Saturday, June 13th. Um Family Resource Center is hosting a parent a parenting journey class on Tuesday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. uh on May 12th to July 18th.
So, it will run every Tuesday. Uh What else impacts us? Oh, yes, we it was stated earlier, but I think it's deserving to be stated again. The first Danvers senior citizen prom, Forever Young, is being held this Thursday
in the atrium of DHS from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. We've all been invited. It's in my calendar, I'm going. Um it sounds like a great event, a lot of students are supporting it. And I we had a number of How many seniors were attending too?
Like 40 or 50? It's it's closer to 60. Closer to 60. So, it's it sounded like it's really taking a great shape. So, it sounds like a great event. And through the chair, I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir, but um I I got report that there were some of the seniors coming that did not even attend their own prom. So, this
will be their actual first prom. Nice. Uh Light the Night Purple, uh the 10th annual event is um coming up. When is it scheduled for? Oh, it doesn't have a date. I'll find that date out. We'll we'll put
that out there. And if anyone wants to attend Danvers kids, the next meeting is May 4th. It's 9:00 It's 9:15 in the morning. It is a virtual meeting. Anything else? Yes, to the chair. >> Yep. May? Uh in terms of the safety committee, we met um
earlier or late last month, talked a lot about our reunification policy and and actually planning, uh which is um some good work happening there and our district threat assessment team provided updates and that's moving well. From the NEC, the North Shore Education uh
consortium, which is our partner uh with 17 other districts, um their budget actually was a little less than projected. It was projected at 10% and came in at 9.4%, which is great. Um and then there's also work being done to move the space for North Shore Recovery
High School uh to the Coming Center, and then the rebranding of of that, um which is very important, a very a very important piece. Um and then I just want to add one more thing uh in terms of the um the the budget piece, too, is the we we
did receive some some information about the uh the IDA grant. This year was lower because of some enrollment issues we talked about, so we look forward to that being at a level that's where it should be, but also Title I, although as a state will be less as a pool, we did
receive news from our needs that will have a a broader uh a higher number is anticipated, so those are things that help us provide needed supports in classrooms and such in the support teachers and students. Thank you. And uh I did find the Day for Light the Night Purple. For those of you
that uh don't know, it's to raise awareness about substance abuse um disorders. Uh substance use disorders, reduce stigma, and recognize the impacts on individuals, families, and the community. And that is tentatively scheduled for a May 20th
at the library, 6:30 at the library. If there's nothing else, our next meeting is May 11th, 2026. You won't be here? No, no, we have the historian seat, so you will be here. Oh, there you go. And um
if there's nothing else, I'd like to uh We're before FinCom this Wednesday, right? We are in front of FinCom this Wednesday, yes. So, with that, Mr. Chairman, I move to adjourn. Do we have a second? Second. All those in favor?
Aye. Aye. Aye. Good night, gentlemen.