Welcome to the Monday, May 19th, 2025 meeting of the Dennis Yarmouth Regional School Committee. May I have a motion to enter executive session? The Dennis Yarmouth Regional School Committee will enter into executive session to return to public session to conduct strategy sessions in preparation
for negotiations with non-UN personnel or contract negotiations with non-UN personnel. Superintendent second. We have a motion and second roll call vote. Mr. Morris, Mr. Martin, Miss Landers, Miss Beis, and I vote I. We will return uh
after following discussion executive session. We'll reopen the meeting. Thank you. Welcome back. Uh, please stand and join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge 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. Thank you. I will pick that up in a second. As we came back from executive session, we
will start with report and discussions. And we're going to start with uh director of finance and operations, Dr. Smith. All right. Thank you. So, I have uh actually I'm going to go up to the podium. Just give me All right. Um, so I have the privilege
uh of introducing uh Dr. uh Susan Gillson to the committee tonight. Um, uh, the committee voted to appoint Dr. Gilson uh at last meeting, the meeting before uh to our director of finance and operations position and uh she's able to
join us tonight uh at the meeting. Uh I didn't sort of hit some of our resume highlights at the last meeting. So I just wanted just to hit a couple resume highlights uh before having her come up, but say a couple words, maybe answer any questions that the committee might have. Uh so uh Dr. Gilson has two bachelor
bachelor degrees, one in um music education and then one in engineering. So uh and as you'll see as a sort of there's a there'll be a theme here of a really a diverse background um that Dr. Gil uh Dr. Gillson brings to to to DY.
Um she's got a graduate degree from uh the University of Harvard uh and then a doctorate uh degree from the University of Connecticut, a PhD. Uh and then from her experience uh and background often, I shouldn't say often, but it's not atypical to get a
person in a director role who's followed a very like finance ccentric background all the way up and through. Uh and while she is currently ser serving as the director of administration and finance uh for the Lunberg public schools, uh Dr. Gillson has also served as an
assistant principal, a principal, she's been a teacher. Uh she's and served as assistant superintendent on the curriculum and instruction side. So in speaking to her references, uh they spoke highly of her un depth of understanding of the finance decisions
that she was making because she has served in all of those roles through an entire school district. So that when she makes decisions from a finance background that she thoroughly understands the impact throughout the entire system because she has served so many different roles inside of a school
uh school system in a school district. So without any further ado, I'd like to welcome uh and introduce Dr. Dr. Go. I want to say it's my pleasure to be here in front of you all tonight. I had
several um outstanding meetings. Um my um Miss Lopez Lopes um chaired the first committee that I interviewed with. Um, and I found an exceptional group of people that I was able to relate to, understand, and they asked some very
thoughtful strategic questions. My second interview was with an outstanding superintendent, and I had a chance uh what he asked me to do for the second interview was prepare a high-level
analysis of the budget based on three years of fiscal data. So, I did that and we had quite a conversation and um I'm looking forward to the future growth of this district and being a part of that
and um I appreciate all of you and thank you very much for the warm welcome and if anybody has any questions please feel free um and uh other than Thank you so much and welcome. Does anyone have any questions? I don't believe so. Seeing none, thank you so much. We look forward
to uh working with you. I do too. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have our student representative report for Miss Deo and Miss P's last day. Hi everybody. Um I just want to say thank you so much for all of your
support and all of the connections I've made over the past two years. This is my last meeting because our next meeting is during prom and I I can't really miss my senior prom to be here unfortunately. But I'm very very grateful and you guys have been such so kind to me and made
this place a real community. So, thank you. Uh speaking on that, we have our prom and senior week coming up because Ava and I both won't be at the next meeting. She's also attending prom. So, we have prom and senior week coming up from the 2nd to the 7th. So prom is
kicking it off on Monday night and then we have all of our senior events. Senior last assembly Friday the 6th and then graduation the 7th. So very very exciting. And as of now we have our mock crash planned for this week on Friday. the um which I think was just confirmed
because last week there was a little problem with it. Our AP psych exam because APs were supposed to end on Friday the 16th, but College Board had like a nationwide issue with their testing and it got moved and initially it was supposed to take place this
Friday. So there was kind of concern about the mock crash, but we were just informed that students now have a choice of taking it either this Wednesday or next Wednesday. So we should be all set with that. And besides that, we just have our spring sports wrapping up and our senior's last day is on the 30th
with finals next week. All right. Um, so it was track, right, for the Yeah. So track got second um at the MSTCA um division five state relays. Um 10th grade uh math MCAST was
going on. Um and then we have civics day, Wednesday the 21st. Civics day. Um it's our second annual one and lots of grades and classes will be um attending and it's the like cap project and what
does that even stand for? It's like the capstone project. So in 8th grade and your junior year you have to do like an overarching project. It's like what Miss Bill like we talked about with Miss Williams project for school committee. Each history class and civics class in eighth grade and 11th grade have to
create a project and then on civic day on Wednesday, everybody will go to the gym at different times and eighth grade will present all their projects and have people come in and talk about them and then the same thing later in the day for the juniors. I don't even know that much about it and I'm doing one. So hopefully that goes
okay. Um all right. And then we've got a college field trip. um college fair at Bridgewater on the 29th. Um we have like a showcase talent show um next Wednesday and then the pops concert as well. That's all. Thank you.
Well, we just we all just wanted to say thank you Isabella for all that you have done. Um it's been an amazing two years. It's so crazy to think about when you first joined us and to see that you're graduating and leaving us already. Um,
time really has flied. We've appreciated your your input, your humor, your smile. Um, you know, so many times we're recognizing uh achievements of the school and you're part of those achievements. So, it's great to to be able to recognize you um during some of
those things. you know, we we look forward uh you know, with those conversations we had about Miss Williams class of you know, continuing um the communication because you know, the communication between all of us and the students is important. Um and we think
that you've done a great job with that and we just look to to see what more we can do to get input from students of all levels. um you know, obviously the the oldest um the ones that are most involved, but to see what we can do. Um so I know all of us have a heart. Wolf,
thank you. And I'll allow anyone else that wanted to speak, Mr. Glenn. Yeah, I just wanted to uh point out two things. uh and I think you're integral in in that communication to the community, but a lot of people don't know, they don't watch town meeting,
whatever, but it's the first time that I've seen when they pointed out the accomplishments when when Tomas and and the superintendent pointed out, I'd never heard an applause at Yarmattown meeting like they got this year. and uh
and because of the communication that comes from you that we get that we can communicate back. They talked about the track team. They talked about the accomplishments. They even mentioned BC. And so I'm going to be rooting us up when they play UMass. I'll be rooting
for the Eagles. So, good luck. Be safe. And uh Boston's my city. So, uh uh you you you'll do well. We know you will. But and then one more thing, please come back. We say that to everybody and sometimes life goes on and and we
understand that. But please come back and let us know how you're doing. Okay. [Applause] go. So, so thank you for all that you've
done. You know, we know that because all of our uh student representatives have all also been in theater and music and sports, it's hard to be here. Um we know with finals, it's hard too and school in general. So, we appreciate your
dedication over the two years and we look forward to next year with you, Ava, and uh next year's representative uh that joins us next year. So, thank you. And next we have a presentation from calmer choice for end of year report and discussion on our
partnership. Just make sure the green light's lit. If you push the push button, the green light. Yes, now it's on. Hi everybody. Thanks for having us. Um we come have come for every year to present on what we've done this year and
um so we just want to just give a little update on our 13-year partnership with DY. Um I'm Stephanie Goalie for those of you who don't know me. Um many of you probably know Calmer Choice. We're a nonprofit here on Cape Cod. We've been
around since 2010 and we've been uh supporting children and adults here on Cape Cod um with mindfulness-based education programs. And it's with great sadness that we share and you pro many of you probably already know that Commerce Choice is closing its
operations as of June 30th this year. Um so that is very sad for all of us in so many ways and we've loved our time here at DY. So, we just wanted to sort of recap and thank you all for letting us be
here. This is a brief history that's not all-encompassing. The words would have gotten way too small for a slide to put everything on here. Um, but we started at Ezra Baker in 2012. Um, they adopted us as part of their innovation school
status. uh that evolved into doing research with Tus and Yale and being in all of the elementary and middle schools at one point. Um I didn't put in the big C word in there. Oh, I did put that COVID was in there. Um that a lot
changed, you know, during COVID. We were able to do some virtual delivery during that time to try things out, but it was a challenge. Um and then uh we also started a course for educators that's been hugely popular and successful and
is one of my personal one of the things that brings me the most joy in this position is um teaching that class to teachers. Um and then we had the mindfulness coach pilot that I uh participated in in 2022 to 2024. Um, so
we've had a really rich history with you all and we just wanted to honor and acknowledge that. So for this year alone, the 2425 school year, we've uh reached 14,450 students in 79 classrooms. Um,
nine educators took the 8-week mindfulness for educators course. 21 educators participated in 8week mindfulness circles. Um, numbers are great, but I always think the words of people really tell the story. Um, so here are some quotes
from uh a few teachers after the 8week classroom program. The calmer choice program has been a really good way to support students in navigating their feelings, focus their attention, and learn about their thoughts and the way their brains work. Our calmer choice lessons help me reset myself and
therefore the classroom climate. reminders to breathe and to check in with myself become second nature as we practice. I don't know what I'm going to do without you, but I know I will continue to practice mindfulness with my students. And this is a program that I
personally believe so strongly and I see the impact on the students and myself. That was a little fast. uh the overall impact. These numbers are estimates trying to go back for 13 years and calculate things. Not exact, but 13
years, 15,000 students and over 825 teachers involved in the programming that we've done together. Here's another great quote we got from a first grade teacher this year. For many students over the years, I've seen a sense of calm and empowerment during lessons. I believe
the messages the kids receive are not typical in their lives. Calmer choice is planting positive self-care skills and messages about how important and valid their feelings are. And we don't want to take up too much time, but I do want to read one
quote. You know, I shared that this educator course is one of the best parts of my job. And seeing how people shift and change during this course is really impactful. And if a person wants to get PDPs or graduate credit from this
course, they have to write a reflection, which is a really great way for me to see what, you know, what they got from the course. A lot of times you don't know, they take a course and then it's over and you don't know how impactful it was. And every single course I would
always tell my colleagues, you have to read this reflection. You have to read this reflection. There's just so much so much in it. So this is a snippet that I I'm using with permission um from a teacher. I pulled out two actually, but I don't want to take too much time. And
this is just part of her reflection, and she gave me permission to use it. Trauma was a really powerful source of emotional and physical blockage for me and the great difficulties and misfortune had altered my thinking and ability to be clear. Practicing mindfulness has proven to be the
greatest source for me to be more resilient in the face of adversity. I believe that this knowing will benefit me as a high school educator for both my own well-being and the well-being of my students. It is a most challenging time for many and warrants an understanding
and sympathetic listener. I do lead by example and create a non-judgmental, comfortable, and kind environment in my classroom. Students seem to really appreciate this vibe and I am reciprocated with much respect, kindness, and positive relationships. I believe this practice and attitude has
helped me to really embrace being a mindful educator and has helped me to use my curriculum, course content as a portal to address and assist myself, students, and even colleagues toward a more peaceful and connected community. So, I thought that was really lovely and
I have tons of these and um they're really special to share and Sarah's going to share a little bit more about our impact. Last slide, it's really quick. Um I'm Sarah Manion, the executive director of Commerce Choice. And I
wanted to finish this out also to just thank Stephanie Goalie. she has invested her heart and soul particularly in DY and the relationships you've she's made here we hear about all the time and so I'm just so grateful to you Steph for all that you've done here and as we
finish and wrap up our time what are the key learnings and takeaways that we've had being [Music] here I think the first learning for us is that selfawareness and self-regulation is foundational to student well-being
And we've also learned that mindfulness supports teacher efficacy. And so it's this relationship between the students being well and also the teachers being able to do the job that they wish to do. And then this third piece that school culture is key to sustainable
integration of mindfulness and I would say vice versa. If the culture is supportive of this kind of work, then mindfulness will be naturally integrated. And if the integration is complete, then the school culture will shift. And we've seen that over and over
and over again in schools that it's worked and schools. It's not worked quite as well. And then the final thing that I want to say is that we truly believe that this is a practice and not a program. And that feels like good news for DY because while the program is no
longer going to be here, the practice that's been established by so many over this time will remain and I'm really excited for that and we will see what happens with the next steps of commerce choice. As Stephanie mentioned, we are closing our operations on June 30th, but
we're retaining our 501c3 status to just explore what might happen in the future. And so on that note, we are having an organizational farewell and a celebration of life. We'd like to invite you all to. It's on Monday, June 9th at
Scargo Cafe from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. It's a public just drop in celebration. Please come if you can. And again, we just want to thank you. um we are going to donate a um a set of our books, curriculum books
to each and every school in DY so that that will remain available in your libraries. So thank you again. Thank you ladies so much. Um you know on behalf of the over 15,000 students and all the teachers I know my son talked
about it every day he was in he had it. Um I remember being in the school earlier uh before it started for some book fairs and hearing the announcement the teachers on their way to the library uh for the mindfulness and just to think about all of the people that you
touched. um with all the things going on in the world world for to be able to you know give another way for teachers to look at how some of the students may be coming from or just giving that student a way to self heal right um giving them
a way and tips and tools to maybe figure it out um themselves rather than acting out in aggression um you know I've seen in you know the six years my kid's been in school what it's done for him and can only imagine over the 13 years.
Um, we know this is goodbye for now and I I know all of us here in in the community, you know, look forward uh to what the future has for you. I don't I don't want to say it's over. I I feel like there's there's opportunity this, you know, so we wish you both best luck
and send a great feel of gratitude and thank you for all that you guys have done for us. Thank you. So, thank you. Yes, Miss Landers. Yeah. Um I sort of have calmer choice to blame for being on the school committee for the last nine years. Um you know I started coming to
school committee meetings when there was controversy over calmer choice being in our district and that's when I started coming to meetings and that's what prompted me to run for school committee. Um so we kept you know and commer choice
in our district and my son had it it started at Ezra Baker in 200 I think 2014 was his first year at Desert Baker. So, you know, and I he's he always talked about it as you know, Tomas was saying his son as well. My son gets
um an IV infusion every six weeks and I remember early on him talking about using five finger breathing um to get through the needle insertion of the IV. So I mean we have you know so much to thank you for personally and as a
district and you know no one wanted to see this end. That was probably one that was such a you know I know nobody's getting that email from you all that morning was so hard and I can't imagine how hard it was for you all to have to send that email.
So, um, I think there are a lot of opportunities to continue your work in our community and I hope we can all have a conversation about that because this is critical work, critical, critical work for our students. So, thank you so much for everything you've done. Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have a 6 to8 ELA curriculum update from Miss Santini. Good evening and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share with you the work completed by the curriculum review
committee for the English language arts in grades 6 through 8. You may recall from previous presentations by myself and my colleague Betsy Pontius that there has been an emphasis from the department of elementary and secondary education that districts are providing all students
with equitable access to highquality standards standards aligned instructional materials. High-quality instructional materials provide a strong foundation for all students, particularly those with from historically underserved groups like students with disabilities and multilingual learners to have access to
content, text, tasks, and practices that enable them to excel at grade level or beyond. These materials support teachers to make learning real world relevant and interactive for their students while also providing datainformed individualized supports through evidence-based practices that are inclusive and culturally and
linguistically linguistically sustaining to cultivate deeper learning. So in order to determine which curricular resources meet the criteria established, Desi created the curate project with the goal of making it easier for schools and districts to lay a foundation of a great of great curricular materials in every
classroom so that teachers can focus on making those materials work for every student. For a program to be considered, a publisher must submit their core curriculum for a robust and rigorous review by curate panel using a rubric divided into three categories. alignment to the Massachusetts standards, supports
for all students, and teacher usability. Once the review is completed, a draft report is assembled and shared with the publisher for an opportunity to submit a rebuttal on any factual inaccuracies and prepare written response. Finally, that report is finalized and released on the DESIE website for districts to use as
part of their curriculum review process. When we hear the word curriculum, we often envision the textbooks that we used to cover with brown paper shopping bags. if you know what I'm talking about. Uh, and lug that we lugged back and forth from school to home, put stickers on them, decorated them, right? These were sometimes
referred to as a basil and had their start in the 1860s when one text was used to teach every student in the class. Education has come a long way in determining what materials and practices should be implemented to teach students. Desi defines curriculum as the sequence of student learning experiences that
teachers facilitate using curricular materials as a foundation, not a script. A highquality curriculum contains both the resources and the learning experiences aligned to content standards organized in a systematic and comprehensive manner and include
scaffolds for all learners to ensure equitable access. So, in an effort to ensure that we selected the highest quality instructional materials that were aligned with district goals and the needs of our students, it was vital that we followed a thoughtful and deliberate process at the superintendent's
suggestion and in alignment with the strategic objective number two, which is to establish consistent district-wide systems to support organizational effectiveness. In this case, to support student learning, I created a formalized curriculum resource adoption process. That complete document can be found on
the district website under the office of instruction tab. This slide provides you with an overview of the steps followed in selecting the curricular resource for English language arts in grades 6 through 8. So since I begin teaching grade 6 in 1992, teachers in grades 4 through 12 relied on a community book
list and those those books were assigned to each grade level and were typically award-winning texts often found on book lists of districts across the country. And over the years that list would be reviewed and revised to provide students with thoughtful exposure to a variety of text types and reflective of the
expectations set forth by the curriculum frameworks. And for many years this seemed to work. Units were built, materials were procured, and students were taught. But as the demands of what proficiency at each grade grade level looked like increased, student achievement began to decline. It had become clear that the learning
experiences our students were having were not aligned with the standards or rigorous enough to meet the expectations at each grade level. A significant change had to be made to ensure that we had the necessary buyin from the stakeholders. A team was assembled to include teachers at each grade level and
administrators. Using the results from the data analysis of MCCAST and MAP growth, the team was able to identify what was of greatest importance to them when considering our middle school literacy program. Using the criteria set, I created a rubric that would be used to evaluate the programs chosen for
review. The team explored available options in both curate and ed reports and narrowed the field down to five potential programs. I invited each publisher to send resource samples and then present them to the committee. Committee members shared the sample resources with their colleagues for feedback. Follow-up questions were asked
of the publishers to provide better clarity, and the pros and cons of each contender were debated until consensus was reached. I'd like to take a moment to thank the committee for their commitment and perseverance in following the process through. Kendra Bennett, principal at DY
High, Mike Bavino, principal of DYM, Stephanie Baloni, the English department chair and eighth grade teacher, Alyssa Martin, grade eight teacher, Karen Pcell, grade seven, Allison Coach in grade six, and Don Trainer, reading teacher at the middle school. Megan
McDonald, the multilingual education coordinator, and Maria Lopes, assistant superintendent of student services and instruction, were also invited to attend the publisher presentations to provide their input and ensure the program chosen was accessible to all learners.
In order to meet our goal of selecting a high-quality instructional resource for implementation next year, a rigorous timeline was set and the committee worked diligently to meet the goals of each agenda, which allowed us to stay on schedule and complete the process on time. As a part of establishing the
criteria to guide us through the selection process, the committee collaborated on setting a vision for instructional excellence in middle school literacy that would anchor our work. The purpose of our vision statement is to communicate the expectations for teaching and learning, serve as a shared language and
decision-making framework for this significant investment of time and money, and provide a common space for dialogue about what effective instruction looks like. The foundation of our vision for middle school literacy is based on the four categories that our criteria fell under. One, it should have
real world relevance and connections. Two, it should be student centered. Three, it should encourage students to be independent. thinkers, readers, and writers. And finally, it should include responsible skill development and measurable learning outcomes. As I mentioned earlier, the
committee narrowed down the pool of contenders to five programs. Amplify ELA H Hotton Mifflin Hardc Court into literature expeditionary learning education common lit 360 and American reading company core fusion. Each publishing team walked the committee
through the background history and guiding principles of their program. They shared their scope and sequence of units and standards alignment, the elements of lesson design, supports and scaffolds for both students and teachers and the functionality of their program. We were able to view each program both as a student and as a teacher to assess
its usability and engagement factor. The committee was able to see the diverse text students would be reading, the daily opportunities to practice writing in each genre for varying purposes, and how the assessments informed teachers on progress towards proficiency on each standard for every student. After each
presentation, the committee used the rubric to debrief, scoring the program on each criteria. After all of the programs had been reviewed, the committee members were asked to make their recommendation and site specific examples from the program and rubric language to support their choice. They were also asked to go back
into the resources provided and complete a series of tasks, review the year-long scope and sequence, choose one unit to review how it was organized, review two to three lessons in that unit to understand how the lessons are organized and how the curriculum builds knowledge
across lessons towards the unit goals. choose an activity or assessment from one of those lessons to understand the level of rigor expected of our students and review the resources that the that support teacher planning. Recommendations had to be submitted
prior to our May 1st meeting when the results would be shared and the decision-making process would commence. The committee had agreed to consensus as our decision-making approach, meaning that it would be the majority opinion or general agreement. This gave each member the opportunity to
share their reasoning and explain their choice using specific examples from the program as it related to our rubric. Of the six voting members, five chose amplify ELA and there was one vote for Common Lit 360. To ensure that we had indeed reached consensus, we discussed the reasons for having chosen Common Lit
360 and how any reservations that particular grade level may have regarding Amplify ELA would be addressed moving forward so that every stakeholder was heard. This slide summarizes the reasons why the committee chose Amplify ELA to recommend for adoption. And I want to share just a few direct quotes from
their submissions to further support our choice. The various ways Amplify presents the curriculum shows that they understand the middle school child of today. The variety of methods provided to engage students, including the video clips and various skilled-based games, meets our students where they are. The
engagement factor is important in today's classroom. Our re research has shown that multiple modalities of presenting information cast a wide net to include all learners who may be struggling with new concepts. Through the use of videos, learning quest and the vocabulary app, students will have
multiple entry points to learn and show their knowledge. It enhances the capacity for students to view concepts, issues, and events from other perspectives of diverse groups including race, race, ethnicity, language, and ability. The EL ELA standards are addressed in a
way that builds within the unit within multiple lessons that increase rigor as the students progress towards demonstrating mastery of each standard. Uses a mix of fiction texts along with non-fiction excerpts, primary documents, and other investigations to teach students how to analyze
information critically, which will help them in the real world. And finally, uses closed reading activities to analyze text, independent reading to use taught skills, an app that reinfor reinforces vocabulary acquisition, and access to a fluent reader voice to help
students improve their reading skills. So, news of the selection was announced to educators connected to grades six, seven, and eight on May 1st. Tonight, I am sharing our recommendation for adoption in the hopes that the school committee will approve our request for a five-year contract with Amplify. Upon the committee's approval,
the materials will be ordered. Then, through the Partnership for Reading Success, otherwise referred to as Prism, a grant is available to support literacy achievement in grades 4 through 12. The grant provides funding for the purchase, launch, and implementation of highquality instructional materials in
ELA literacy so that students experience relevant real world literacy learning aligned with high expectations. If we are awarded the grant, funds may be used to pay for 50% of the cost of the materials, leadership, coaching, and consultation from a Desi approved curriculum and instruction coach to
support implementation, professional learning to support evidence-based, inclusive, and culturally and linguistically sustaining implementation of the new curriculum materials, and stipens for the Prism curriculum council members who will work together with the instruction coach to
coordinate and enact the multi-year work of implementation. Finally, and hopefully with the help of an instruction coach, I will work with the Prism Curriculum Council to create a three-year implementation plan. Questions? Thank you. Any questions from
the committee? It's on. Okay. I understand the process and you met the goal all of you collectively. this was a commitment when you presented to us in December and you met it. So I I thank you for that and I I see the process. I'm wondering uh one
of the other things that was mentioned in your December presentation was uh sort of attention or recognition of writing prompts and instruction around uh uh writing examples. Does this provide any of this or would you still
be It does. It does. Yeah, it does. The the other question I have uh maybe this would be sort of your September October report but you know if you have the materials it's also one has to consider the transition and and
skillful adaptation by all this would be grades six seven and eight. So that's a lot of faces that need to get comfortable with it. So how might sort of literary coaches be used? Are you going to So that'll be part of the implementation planning. If we are
awarded the grant, we'll be partnered with um uh a provider that comes in and works with myself, principles, coaches around that implementation plan and then follows can be up to three years of implementation. The amplify itself also
does provide um support. So this there'd be PD full day PD for the teachers in grades six, seven, and eight. A half day of PD for administrators and this is all before school starts. And then the October PD
day would be used for a strengthening PD session. Amplify themselves also provide coaching. So they they do some coaching which in which involves um classroom observations. So we go on a some learning walks and then we build the PD based on um evidence that we've
collected feedback we collect during their professional learning communities. Um so we have a a rough draft of a plan. It kind of depends on approval of the curriculum award getting the grant um and then being able to assemble uh the
prism curriculum council to do the work of imple of making the implementation plan. Does that answer your question? Miss Landers, what if anything is the trickle down impact of a new
curriculum at 678 on lower grades. Um, you know, because now it's a whole new transition, right, from what what teachers were previously doing between grades five. It had always
been different. what happened in K5 looked different than what happened in six, seven, and eight, right? Um, so I don't know that there's a trickle down. We're also the K5 I have a K5 committee meeting right now that fingers crossed we'll have a a have made a
decision this Thursday on what we'd like to pilot for next year. there's there's no way to funding to to do a to do K to8 like that's a lot of money and it's a and it's a huge um investment not just of um money but of resources human
resources within the district to do it well it's not something you want to rush through um so the K5 is in the process the same exact process that six through eight but a bigger committee does amplify have a K to five they do and we they did look at it okay just you know
anything we can I'm always interested in anything we can do that sort of um reduces the number of transitions between different programs and you know I like who knows if they'll choose amplify or not for K to 5 they look very different reading especially in the K
to2 reading foundational skills what the K2 35 and 68 the um the goals that exist within those spans are different you K2 Right. So you're teaching. So what what it looks
like in K2 is very different than what it looks like even. I mean more sort of logistically in terms of what our teachers have for materials and resources and working with the same the same company, the same website, the same material. You know, I know that
the substance is very different, but um if there's Yeah. Okay. It's it's it's somebody like me that has to will be working with multiple if they if K5 chooses something else. I'll be managing multiple platforms as a teacher. They'd
have that one and they what 68 uses they wouldn't be involved in because they'd have their own ca they have their own platform at their grade level. Does that make sense? It does. I I guess this comes from a feeling of feeling like we've
been very disjointed in in curriculum and I I'm just look I'm I'm hopeful for you know we use the example K5 math 68 math they're they're different programs.
They are. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Thank you. we go down the line I think Mr. Martin and then we'll go down Mr. Morris in um
when the criteria uh considering which um which program you were going to uh adopt um does amplify allow I guess how how strictly regimented is
it? Yeah. I mean does it allow teachers to be teachers? Does it allow personalities to show that teachers be able to be create, you know, to use creativity and be able to present lessons in a way to further engage the students? It's available. It's making
sure implementation is key. The resource can be fivestar stellar. If it's not implemented the way it's intended, you won't get the results that you're hoping for. So while there's flexibility um within the lessons, there's an
expectation that they will the scope and sequence will be followed. It's built for a reason. The lessons build on one another. Sure. So the units go in the order they go in. It's there's switching them around, but using your own language that you Yes. Yeah. But we don't we don't necessarily we're not hiring
automatons to stand there, you know, and read out the book. It's just, you know, we want, you know, we want teachers to be teachers and be comfortable teaching. So we we want them to, you know, Yes. we want their personality there, you know. Um and you've mentioned the um the the
grant. Um you know, if we get the grant, if we get the grant, what if we don't get the grant? What u aside from the money? You know, how how does that affect the implementation planning will still occur on our work with Amplify? Because they have a team that does that as well. This is additional support from
from the Department of Ed. um the vendor that we're looking um that we've been working with um they could be somebody that we partner as well with. I mean, it's an additional cost and it's not it's significant. Um so that's a decision
that would have to be made moving forward if we didn't get the grant. We get the grant, Dusty will pay for it. And I'll let Dr. Smith comment as well. I know I know when we did our budget we did approve in our columns for other stuff but I know may have specific feedback budget wise.
Perfect. Okay. Um and my train of thought derailed so I'm going to Mr. Morris. Perhaps I can provide a caboose on your train of thought. Thank you. Uh it seems
to me that you've outlined a way of organizing the prompts. So the distractions and disassociation that comes with some at least in my day
traditional lecturing type of educ teaching which is not really teaching because it doesn't have the spark of creativity. You've outlined something that looks like it's going to be an
answer to the soup of con consent that is given to children as an adult writer. I wish I had had more structure
and therefore I support the idea of the work you're doing. Thank you, Mr. Afternoon. Thank you. So the K5 group is aware of what the 68
group has decided and are they now basing their decision upon that decision? They're basing their decision on what's best for their students. And what level of thought or consideration has been given to the sequencing K through eight?
I mean, are they are they thinking about it's the same thing as fall they're fall the all the curriculums we're looking at are aligned to the standards the grade level standards that's our that's our um focus is being sure it's aligned vertically how it's presented can vary
from publisher to publisher um but it's that it's standards aligned um that it measures student progress so there's elements in there like in K2 making sure that they're reading foundational skills the phonics um is clearly laid out. It's
systematic. Um it's not something you see in 35 are certainly not six through eight. So there's a different lens because what they're what the students are learning at those grade levels are different. Is it common to have if if potentially the the K5 group elects to go with a different program? Is it
common uh for two different programs to be utilized in that in that manner? When I've surveyed districts around the Cape, often K5 or K6, depending on how their schools are aligned have a different pro resource or program than the upper
grades. Sometimes K2 is one, three, five can be I mean it can be as separated as you need it to be based on the needs identified with the uh 6A program that is selected. what what assessments do they have
during the course of the year to uh give the opportunity to reflect upon uh the skill sets that the students have achieved by at particular points in the year. There's a variety of assessments. There's built-in exit tickets for many of the lessons. There's end of unit
projects. There's um some diagnostic benchmarks along the way. There's a variety of assessments that are all standards aligned and report out progress for each student um on all of those standards so that teacher at a glance administrators at a glance can
see where the kids are at, what standards need to be reinforced, what standards have been met and they're and they're already proficient at. So it's um it's nicely align. It's it's clear to see without any guessing. it it does a
lot of that work for them, there's an AI component for the um writing piece. So when students um write say it's an essay, the there's an AI component that will give them immediate feedback based on the rubric points for them to
consider in their editing and revising and then the teacher can go in make comments and then the final grading would happen by the teacher. Okay. Thank you Mr. Glenn. So, I don't understand the process. Um, and I look at things as
the macro view. I'm I'm not a professional or a former professional teacher. I I leave it up to the professionals. I would like to see from the macro view down from the assistant superintendent for curriculum. would like to hear those ideas, but I'm so
uncomfortable like I don't even feel qualified to make a vote on this. Um because you know that my my old concern would be lessons learned from things that were unsuccessful and that's why we're moving this way. Um the the
rationale that the proof is in the pudding. That's not uh obuscating the fact that our job is student achievement. I just don't feel qualified to be the one to to make the decision, but I would like to hear the rationale
and and maybe Miss Lopes and the superintendent can comment on their support. I want to be supportive. I just uh I want to see the rationale. Dr. Smith. All right. I got a bunch of notes here.
If I missed somebody's, please uh let me know. Sorry. So, actually just I'll pick up where Mr. Glenn left off. So, just pulling the policy. So, just to clarify what the committee is voting on specifically. So, just paraphrasing the policy. Um the school committee will
rely on the professional staff to design and implement instructional programs and course of study and will forward the educational goals to the district. The superintendent will have the authority to approve new programs and courses of study blah blah blah blah blah. So, what the committee is actually voting on tonight is the five-year contract. We
can't enter into a contract with Amplify because it's um entering into a five-year contract with the company to provide us with the materials, online licensing, etc. That's ultimately what the committee's the curricular decision
is the superintendent and my design. Right? So just to clarify sort of what the the differentiation between and if you look the motion is ultimately into enter into a contract with the company. Um and then so to look at some of the
other things that were discussed. So and only just because this is my area of expertise in my previous job. So, it is not uncommon to have some breaking point um around curricular material and it is what we're talking about here is a
resource um and it's a fine line and I actually had Miss Santini just pull that slide. I probably shouldn't have had you pull that slide um because I was trying to keep it I was trying to keep it um uh succinct. Uh but the difference between
a resource and your curriculum is a fine distinction. Um but it is an important distinction in that your curriculum is the alignment of uh the the topics and the ideas that you're covering over a course of a year and the resource is the thing that you're using to deliver that.
So what we're determining here is the resource which we're going to use and these resources are aligned to the standards and the standards are very important. So if we make a decision ultimately and by we I mean the team I'm not a part of the team so it's um I
shouldn't use the wei if they ultimately make a decision to uh make a different K to5 decision and there are plenty of good reasons to make a K to five different K to 5 decision some Miss Santini already outlined some of it is
better um because there's the old um expression right jack of all trades master of none I in my experience I have not found a good curriculum resource provider who's really really good K to2, right? Some of them are really good in
early programming. Some of them are really good at post because that's where they started and now a lot of them expanded into the market. You know, they start their first thing that they developed was a high school program and now they've started to expand downwards or they first started in the early spaces whether they're early literacy
folks or they were early math folks and then they built up but they had an area that they started and that was really their jam for lack of a better expression. Um so understanding their area of expertise and where they're really good um and then they kind of fade. And then other things you have to
consider too um like pro like scheduling right a high school middle school schedule and the amount of time you actually have to get through a full curriculum piece um you know it's roughly 60 minutes at the high school 60 minutes at the middle school for a full period of math and ELA much longer
chunks of time at the elementary spaces again depending on whether intermediates a little bit different than the um K3s or pre-K3s but all that has to be considered when you're selecting and what is it designed for? So, if it's not designed, I remember having this in my last district. We were looking at
originally a K5 implementation, but what we needed and and our our school district broke at fourth grade. It became middle school at fifth grade. Middle school schedule ran very much like our middle school schedule ran. They needed 90 minutes to run the lessons. We had 60 minutes in the
schedule. We weren't redesigning the whole middle school schedule. So we instead implemented that curriculum at K to 4 and had to make a different decision from five up. Um so these these things are realities that become part of
the curriculum implementation. And then also sort of going to both what uh uh Mr. Martin and Miss Landers were talking about it's a fine line between so we need where we really need
the consistency is horizont or vertically and also horizontally when we don't have a consistent curriculum resource that we're using and you have individual dis teachers making decisions
that they have to be making because they're all professionals. They're all making professional decisions. I saw a a piece of research one time that said if you taught all the standards in the depth in which they're supposed to be taught, you would need it's something like 410 days to teach
them, right? So what happens is teachers make decisions. They have to they're every year they're making decisions on what to emphasize and what to cut. And if they're individually making those individual decisions in their individual classrooms, then you know, if we're all
teaching fourth grade and we're individually making those decisions in fourth grade, then we have how many what do we got? Seven people sitting on this side of the table. We got seven people making seven different decisions. And all those kids then move up to fifth grade and they get reshuffled. and
they've got fifth grade classrooms that have kids that have been shuffled that all the fourth grade teachers made different decisions. A unified curriculum, a unified set of curriculum resources allows for for different or allows for similar experiences for our kids. Now, do do individuals bring their
personality? That's the art of teaching. But the idea of a unified curriculum is that I show up on Monday with the spine of my curriculum already decided for me. I don't have to decide how am I going to teach I don't know
uh adverbs not a great example because they've given me that. What I have to figure out is how am I going to make this work for the 20 kids that are sitting in front of me or actually really the couple of unique learners that are sitting in front of me. How do I adjust this for those couple of unique learners or how do I bring my personality to it? And the conversations
we're having now that we're in like the third, second or third year depending upon the school in math is if a teacher is making a decision that's outside the curriculum or making purposeful decisions within it because oftentimes even within the curriculum resources more in there that the teacher
can use, right? They provide you with these resources are so rich now they provide you with all these great questions and you can't use them all. So then you're making decisions on which question am I going to ask? which um one of these activities am I going to choose? Which of these warm-up
activities am I going to use? And so now when our principles are and assistant principles are going in to do observations and the principles can and assistant principles can pull up the teachers manual just the same as the teacher, then they're having purposeful conversations with the teachers around,
well, why did you make that decision? And if you didn't choose the question that's a higher order thinking question in the that's in the resource, well then why did you make that decision? And and the question that you substituted for did it maintain the same level of thinking rigor that we want for the kid
in the question, right? So that's the purpose of having a consistent set of uh high quality resources. Um and oh and then the grant question. So the grant is one funding source which we're hoping and it's going to pay for a good chunk of it plus it comes with all
the implementation resources and um the district has a revolving account um which will fund the entire project um which we can tap into if we need to. Uh it's left over from a so the district
used to be a reading recovery district. We stopped reading recovery going into this year. Um, going back and I had to do a little bit of digging sort of into the history here, but the district was largely uh I guess the simplest way to say it is
like we were like the fiscal agent for a regional group of reading recovery school districts, right? So, um, when reading recovery was really, really big, it's been, I think, I'm not sure if there's any other reading recovery district, especially since the governor cut it. I know we were one of the last
ones. There might still be another one out there somewhere, but um, there definitely aren't a lot left. Um, the but when reading recovery was really big, there were like these I don't know, they had a name like the the groups, right? We were uh I don't know, whatever. I'm getting stuck on the wrong
detail. Uh there were these these groups and we had a lead teacher that was uh that not only provided professional development for our teachers but also provided professional development for teachers from other school districts and and so we those districts would uh pay
their grant money to us. We would hold their grant money and we would run professional development etc etc. Anyways, so over the years, uh, DY didn't spend down all their portions of the money and that account has grown and grown and grown and it's a revolving
account, so the money can sit in there, right? And so there over the life of this revolving account, it is sat there. So instead of last year when I knew we were going to end read and recovery heading into this year, instead of spending that account all the way down, I knew we were going to be in this boat.
So I didn't um I sat on it and waited for this moment. And so now we have if the state comes through with a grant, it's can pay up to 50% of the implementation costs. So some of this is going to be used anyways. And then we'll have more to support either the K5
implementation or years two and three of the implementation of this. Um but we do have another funding source if the grant doesn't come through. There's enough in here to cover the entire cost. I think that answers everybody's stuff. If I missed
something, please let me know. Um, not seeing anybody with any other questions, I'd like to make a motion. Um, I move to enter into a 5-year license agreement with Amplify for the provision of a grades 6 through 8 ELA curriculum.
We have a motion and a second. Do we have any other further questions? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Any abstained? I'm going to abstain. So, we have six yeses and one, one
abstain. Okay. Uh, next we have uh discussion on Station Avenue Elementary School Gymnasium dedication. All right. Um, just give me one second for a sip of water.
Okay. Um, so I had sent the committee this Friday, last Friday. Um, the com the policy which you do have a a copy of in your packet as well as this policy then also has the procedures as a
separate um attachment to it. Uh, tonight is as I have understood and interpreted the policy, it sort of looks like to me it has to be a three-phase uh, approach. So, this would be the first read. So, for a little background
for the public, sorry. Um, a group from Station Avenue Elementary School would like to dedicate the gymnasium to uh Patricia Watson, a former educator or in the name of Patricia Wat Watson, a former educator um at the Station Avenue
Elementary School. And uh so the that group of educators has formed a small little committee and they have submitted which the the committee has in their packet uh information which follows the guidelines in the which largely just
follows the structure of the um I guess for lack of a better word sort of the qualifications for what somebody needs to uh meet in order for a naming. Um they've used that as a structure for submitting to the committee. So tonight is a first read.
Uh and then uh what would need to happen next is the committee would need to set a date for a public for the public to be able to come and comment on this. So it would be a time to invite the folks who put this together to come and speak to it. Anybody who thought it was maybe a
bad idea to come and speak to it. But anyways, it' be sort of like a public hearing to the naming. And then the third meeting uh would be then when the uh we would put a motion for you. I'm supposed to recommend a motion and then the committee uh takes a vote about
whether or not they want to uh move the naming forward of the gymnasium in this particular case or not. Um so sort of as a timeline perspective that would be your first meeting in June potentially would be when you could have the public hearing and then the second meeting in
June would be when you'd have the motion for a vote. And that is what I got on this and happy to answer any questions. Any questions from the Q&A? Mr. Glenn, did the um policy committee have we
updated this recently or when was the last time we reviewed this? I don't know if there's a date on this policy, but it has not been reviewed in a couple years. Okay. Thank you.
Any other questions? Miss So just just to make sure I understand. So you know at this point we've all got this information. This will be on an agenda at an upcoming meeting for public and particip whoever put this together and
public to come and comment on this. And at that point we can also provide our input on it. And then depending on the outcome of that there would be a motion at another meeting. So, I think I think if I understand the policy correctly, I think I would need a motion tonight for
you to put it on the next and I didn't write you one, so I apologize, but I would need somebody to move for the ne for your next meeting for there to be a public um hearing on this on this uh proposal. Yeah, it says at a
time determined by the school committee, members of the school district community and the public will be invited to appear before the school committee to speak on the All right. So, I'd like to make a motion that this be placed on an upcoming agenda for uh for comment.
I'll second that. We have a motion and second. Any further questions? Seeing none, all those in favor say I. I. I. Any opposed? Any abstain? So, I will get together and we
will add this to our to our upcoming agenda for a public hearing and we'll make sure appropriate announcements are made for that. Thank you. I turned my page. Next on the agenda is a superintendent valuation. So the superintendent valuation has been
submitted uh to all of the committee. Um typically for those in the public who are unaware um the superintendent has goals each year. Um they are presented to the committee. The committee approves those goals and throughout the year uh the superintendent provides
documentation or evidence of uh status of those goals and and at the end of the year and throughout the year uh the committee has a uh evaluation that we individually do. Um the individual
evaluations are submitted to the chair uh and the secretary of the school committee of the uh recording secretary and then um a cumulative evaluation report is provided. Um this report
that's here is an end of cycle summative evaluation report. This includes uh the goals that are meant, what the ratings were and um comments uh the of from the committee. So how it worked was all of
the scores were given a a numerical number um for each of the questions. The numerical number was then divided divided by the seven members and that's how the scores for each of the um levels were met. Um all of the comments were
then submitted as well and then a cumulative uh story was written based on the comments uh from all of the members. Um so what we have in front of us uh Dr. Smith is the the summitative evaluation report for the superintendent. Um we'll
go through um you know won't read every single thing but we'll read um the scores and review some of the comments. Um on step one, it assesses the progress towards the goals. Um the first one was the professional
practice goal. The options are did not meet some progress, significant process, met or exceeded. Um and you received a score of met. For student learning goals, um the same criteria, you also received uh a
goal of met. And then district improvement goals. You also received um the the grade of met on asset. Step two assesses performance on standards. Um the things that were rated here were
unsatisfactory, needs improvement, proficient or exemplary. On standard one for instructional leadership, uh you receive the score proficient. For standard two, management and operations, you received the score of
proficient. For the standard three, family and community engagement, you received the score of exemplary. And standard four, professional culture, receive the score of proficient. On step three, it discusses the overall summit summitative
performance based on steps one and two. Um the options are unsatisfactory, needs improvement, proficient or exemplary. Uh and you receive the score of proficient. Um these are just some of the comments um that were shared
throughout the committee. Uh Dr. Smith is recognized as a highly effective data-driven leader who has made substantial progress across several key areas of the district leadership. He has used data strategically through learning walks, surveys, and professional learning communities to improve
instructional leadership and student outcomes. His guidance is is empowered administrators implement standardsbased instruction aligned with state and local exceptions leading to visible improvements particularly in the K to5 curriculum. He sets high expectations of
teachers quality, promotes inclusive evidence uh evidence-based instructional practices, and continually monitors progress while supporting staff development. Um it goes on to discuss some of the tools you've used and um you
know, things that you've done to enhance our uh district. On the next page, again, discuss performance goals. The first one uh professional practice goals that we rated were your fiscal systems and your managing conflict. Um and these are in
reference to utilizing information gathered during the entry process. Um on this page the things that were scored were did not meet strong some progress significant progress met or exceeded you met again for student learning. These are all the ones that
are on the front page right so we've already this is the backup. Sorry, this is the backup to the first two pages. Um, on page four, it also discusses the same guidance on there. Right, these are the individual
scores on each focus indicator. And then once you take that data from the focus and put it all and color it all together, that's how you get the score on page one. So, right, this is the backup that So, I'm reading the same thing twice. the first the first the first two pages are cumulative of all
the back. I'm sure Mark won't mind if we keep reading good things about him, but um but we don't have to. I will uh I will allow Mark to read all the individualized comments, but um the first two pages um you know explain all the backup that's followed.
Yeah. Something to highlight, you know, the the area that we uh marked you as exemplary. Um there's some great discussion about um Dr. Smith has mo made notable strides in improving district communication and community engagement. A key achievement which we've definitely seen a great thing uh
was your decision to create the communications and community resource coordinator co coordinator role. A forward thinking move aimed at streamlining and centralizing communication with families by the broader community. um definitely in line with our goals and definitely with bringing everything from the
communication side to us to the communication side to the public. Um from adjusting how we look at social media um and continuing our our goal um the district is now better positioned to share its success and foster stronger
relationship with the community. the whole idea that we talked about last year of us telling the story rather than other people telling the story. Make sure there's nothing else. And I just talked about the ways that you communicated um that you
communicated a variety of different ways uh to a variety of different stakeholder groups, whether it was weekly bulletins, your super uh attendance superintendence message. Um, your regular emails significantly enhanced the district's ability to share its story and maintain its transparency. Um, doing the, you
know, conversations you had in multiple languages, having options for people, um, overall showed showed how how you're a highly effective communicator, um, whose ongoing efforts to keep staff, families, and school committee members informed, aligned, and
engaged. Open it up to the committee for any other feedback or Oh, I was just going to move that we approve. We can move to approve that we could do question the superintendent's report as written. Second. A motion to second. Any other questions or feedback?
Seeing none. Uh, do we need a roll call vote for this? No. So, all those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Any abstain? So, thank you Dr. Smith for a a wonderful year. Um we look forward to
continuing the success of the district um and sharing our story. So thank you. Give you a few minutes to comment as well. Uh I appreciate it. Uh I appreciate the feedback. Um I look forward to taking some time and reading
this in in some detail and uh looking for opportunities to grow them. I continue I I believe I think I know I've shared a couple different um times that one of my core values is centered around growth. So I look forward to looking for opportunities in here to grow. I saw a
couple of areas already um and I've already started thinking about next year's goals. I actually was meeting with Leela to think about some other ways to extend community engagement. uh did a lot of listening last year and this year was more centered around
acting and now need to get back sort of into a listening phase again next year or at least having listening be a better part of what I'm doing next year. So anyways, starting to think about goals for next year. So this and this will be helpful in driving goals for next year as well. Um so I very much appreciate
the feedback and look forward to spending some time and and I've uh when I was sitting with um with Dr. Gilson while you all were in executive session just mentioning how great of a committee you all are to work with. You know, I'm in I don't talk about it as much anymore because I'm in the second year of it,
but still in the new superintendent induction program. And so just listening to other superintendents and trying to think about a sanitary word to use, the consternation that some of them have um with their committees um
and just the the trust that you all put uh in me, the the support that you provide the district uh and the way that you all work together as a committee. um you um I know you you all it's just the
way that you operate. So I think sometimes I don't know I don't want to speak for any of you but I think sometimes it's taken for granted a little bit. Um because I again I I hear other superintendents talk about just like infighting within their committees
that the and it's not that you don't dis not all you don't it's not like you're all um don't disagree on different topics. that's supposed to be. You're a committee of seven. You're supposed to see things differently. Um but the way you disagree and the way that you move
forward as a united um group is um not universal across the state. I will just say um and as a superintendent, I very much appreciate that. I say I have seven seven bosses that I that I know I have support of and uh they support me and moving the work forward. So I very
much appreciate it. And I know I put it at the end of each of my messages, but continue to reach out whenever you have questions. Call, email, text. Um, I will answer. That's it. Thank you, Mr. Martin.
Um, I feel like I' I'd be remiss if I just didn't point out a couple of things that really kind of stood out to me. First of all, was the budget season. um the fact that we lost a key member of the the the who was involved in creating the meat and potatoes of that budget and
uh and you essentially had to take on that role plus your own role and continue to um and we we came out with you know uh we came out with a very smooth budget season in relation to previous years. So you know that so
kudos to you. We never saw you sweat. you know, it was yeah, it was it was a good time to be had by all. So, um so that was that was great. Um, and the fact that uh, and I've said this before, the atmosphere between the DY
school system, the town of Dennis and the town of Yarmouth, the communication that you had, how early you started the communication and you kind of had you had a plan in place and you followed the road map of your plan and you were able to kind of get more people on board. You
got open the communication lines. you got them to there was no surprises on their part. So there was no push back, you know, really on their part. So you like, okay, this is this, this is that, these are the numbers, this is what we're anticipating. And then so it it it was um it wasn't as big a bite for them
to swallow. So I feel like it was more easily accepted. Um and that goes a long way to speaking to your um your communication skills and your transparency with the with the towns. um leading over also into uh thinking about
having the um the the communication director. I don't remember the you know thing but um and kind of how we're we're transitioning and all lines of communication go through and we're going to tell our own story and you know I mean there's been a lot of initiatives
on your part that you've mentioned that you brought up that are um that I don't think we would have thought about quite frankly you know so I mean I think it's you it's very much a fresh perspective um I think you've done you know very well and I you
know and we haven't seen I mean, we haven't really seen you laid an egg yet. So, you know, we'll we'll wait and you know, we'll wait and see because it's going to happen eventually, but you know, it's how you handle that. Well, that'll that'll come out smelling like a rose, too. So, um so congratulations. Thank you so much for being here and
being a part of our community and um and I'm I'm waiting to see what happens next year. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Glenn. Yeah, Glenn took a a couple of things out, but those were actually, you know, in our goals that that communication and
and hiring that uh communications director was key, but it was it was part of our goals, part of your goals and our goals, which meshed very nicely. Um, but one of the things that I was hot on that was part of our goals was the school
security and uh um the the safety and I felt all along that I didn't have to say anything because you were doing it that the progress was going there and it was like
I don't have to think that is he going in in the direction that I envisioned or that we envisioned that I could hear it before you I even had to ask and I and I I kind of was came up with just a a quick you know AAA all of your goals and
and practices were ambitious they were actionable and they were achievable and I think if you didn't some of them are incomplete because they were they were very ambitious um but that's what we were looking for so I appreciate it I
look for more things to come and and you know we're always looking for improvement we uh rest on our laurels and we want to go forward. So, but thank you very much. Thank you, Miss Pumis. I guess for me it's um you
know that abstract of thinking uh after the first year you publish your findings and that that abstract of what do you mean dolphins aren't all swimming in the same pod? So I I now can see the direction and how we're beginning to
move. Uh you know, I see it among your leadership team. I see it in these presentations. I see how that theory is going into sort of a culture or a practice that ultimately is going to benefit all of our students and for that
work and that journey. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. And I can't then that's an important piece, right? So I so much of what you represented here is like the work of o others, right? I'm I have a
leadership job, but I can't do it if other people aren't doing their parts of it. And we just had a large meet meeting. I meet with the entire team once a once a month and I just did a little like whip around
like what is everybody grateful for like in the middle of the meeting and and I had to tell them all that like I'm grateful for them because we are we have come a really long way. I have to pause every now and then because I'm I'm always like and it's it's a ambition's good and sometimes I'm so
forward thinking that I don't like it's a flaw from a leadership standpoint that I don't pause to like thank people for everything that we've always done or that we've already done. So I have to pause and be like okay so what h what have we accomplished? We have accomplished a lot and by we I mean like
they've done a lot and and so uh you know a lot of this stuff here I it's not me it's we right so a lot of it has been um yes maybe I said hey we need to get this thing done but then other people are really responsible for
executing my job and it's it been a shift my job isn't really the doer job my job is the is the thinker job is the supporter job it's the um the strategy job and it's the leader job, but other
people then have to execute things in order for it to ultimately come to be. So, I have a lot of support from a great team. Um, and my job is, to your point, to get them all moving in the same direction. Um, but then other people have to then get those things done and I have a great team that helps me get all
those things done. Miss Landers echo a lot of the comments and sentiments you've already heard. I think that um two of the things that I'm most
appreciative of is one of them is your use of data and research um in your decision-m and that's through you'll read that throughout I think the the evaluation and that's one of the things that from the beginning I felt you
brought to this job and you've continued to show that um you know you've got the you've got the information and the evidence to back things up and the attorney in me always appreciates that. So, um gosh, the other and the other
thing is that I ask a lot of hard questions, which also may be, you know, but um I try not to cross-examine people too much, but I know it happens. I ask you a lot of hard questions in meetings and in emails and text messages, and you
always give me an answer that answers my question. And it may not be what I hoped or what I wanted. And there may be, you know, a lot of work still to be done, but I really appreciate always getting an answer to my question and not just being sort of, you know, things being
brushed under. So, um, those are in addition to everything else, I would wanted to highlight those two things. Mr. Morris, you're good. Keep it up. Never I've never been I've never been so
grateful for a short Phil Morris speech. I was going to say Phil that is the shortest conversation I've ever had with He must be He must be hungry or waiting for a ride. So I'm going to take that and continue. Uh he's looking at the clock. He's waiting for a ride. So we'll
continue. Uh school subcommittee representatives uh leazison report school committee leazison. So select board I know in the town of Dennis we had an election. Welcome back, Jenny. Uh, and then the town of Yarmouth has its annual town election tomorrow. Polls
are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Um, anything else from the town relating to the schools, Mr. Glenn? Well, that's probably most important. There's other there's a an override for uh on the ballot, not anything to do with us, but
um it is on the ballot, so it is important to vote. Um, there's a school committee position. I won't say who it is. Um, and there's uh a housing authority and uh uh three candidates for two positions on the select board. So,
get out and vote. Uh, towns are small towns are very important and town elections are very important. Town meetings are very important. Um, if you want your voice heard, that's the only way that it that's the the best way to make it heard
is by going out and vote. Um, Mr. Glenn reminds me last election was 13% of at the polls. Um, and I'm sure there was 97% people complaining about something. Um, so if we can get more people out to vote, uh, then your voice is heard. Um,
that's the strongest way. So, thank you. Uh, next superintendent report. All right. Thank you very much. Uh, let's start with donations and acknowledgements. So, first uh donation want to uh just a big thank you to the Andrea Holden Foundation uh that
made generous donation of 15 gift cards, $100 gift cards to Shaw's super supermarket to uh the Emmy Small uh community. This is I meant to go back and look it up. This is either the third or the fourth donation by the Andrea uh
Andrea Holden Foundation to of of similar uh to our schools. I know um at least station a and Ezra Baker I've seen similar donations. I just can't remember if there's one also to this school. So just you know I've said it before, I'll continue to say it. Our community is
super generous to our our schools. This is just another example uh of of that u just giving in a way to be able to support our schools, what they do, be able to support our families. uh and just just super thankful for our community and the in the way that they
give to us above and beyond. Next uh for acknowledgements. Um so next meeting we'll be it'll be our annual meeting for honoring our district's retirees. Uh it's an opportunity for us to celebrate
those who've given so much to DY. So there'll be a reception um prior to starting at 6:00. So there'll be some light refreshments served and then um we'll start with a formal recognition at the beginning. It'll be early on the
agenda um for at the beginning of the meeting. So just just for planning purposes at the next meeting um an important acknowledgement. And then I also wanted just to acknowledge one of our staff members, one one of the members of our leadership team, uh Miss Kristen Dwire. And I lost my email. Oh,
here it is. Um, she w she and some other nurse directors, leaders from across the Cape were responsible for organizing a professional development uh a few days ago, actually last week um on Munchhousen by proxy and how it presents
in schools. Um, and I've got some feedback from different staff members on just how impactful and important it was for staff to be able to participate in this and really how high quality it was. And so again, just want to was not, you
know, nothing that I directed. She was completely selfinitiated on her own again with her her nursing colleagues and it's getting really great positive feedback. So, I just wanted to acknowledge that work um being again being done by a member of our leadership team.
Um, all right. Next, the DY field update. I just drove by there on my way here just to check on the progress. But, um, if you do drive by, you will notice, uh, they the project work has started. It started last week. Um, and we're in the phase of their you'll see them if
you go by. The big rolls of the uh, turf field are coming up. Uh and so that work will be ongoing for pretty much from now until the uh the end of school. So, they'll continue to roll up the old turf, remove the old turf, they'll take
off, take out the under pads, um, and do a lot of work around the edges, uh, and in that process or in that during those phases, there also will be testing done, testing done by our by our current designer, by the, um, I just lost the
word by our engineer that we hired to do the third party testing. Uh this is all sort of connected to our uh complaint around the original design and then once school is out then we're full boore with all the heavy equipment. Uh, and that's
purposeful. Uh, so that the real heavy movement of all the trucks, and I, they keep telling me the number, and I it's probably because it's such a big number that I just don't want to hold on to it, but the amount of truck loads that have to come in and come out. Um, and they're and they're like really big trucks, I guess. Like, they're not like the normal
um, 18-wheelers, I don't know. Again, I'm not a I'm not a heavy I I'm not a, you know, was a jack of all trades, master of none. I'm definitely not a master in heavy equipment. So, um, but the big excavators will be in and they'll be moving out, uh, because they have to take out all the subbase
material and then they have to bring in all new subbase material. So, that'll start and and they're purposefully waiting until and they're going to do all every get everything ready until so after June 17th after the last day of school, then they'll start that because they just don't want all that even though they're coming in through the high school and all that, they just
don't want to inter know it's best not to do that while school's in session. Yeah. Oh, sorry. Through the chair. Um, do you know what happens to the turf that they're cutting up and rolling up and taking away? I don't know exactly
what happens. I know some outside group asquired about a piece of it, but yeah, a lot of people have asked me like, can I buy a piece of turf? So, we don't own it. It's part of the RAD owns it as part of the project. So, I I know one person
has has contacted us. I've given them Rad's contact information. It's from what I understand like super heavy because it has all of the um Oh, all the the material in it as they roll it up. So, like it's like
forklift he like if you see the machinery that they're moving around with is like super heavy in the rolls. But again, it we don't own it anymore. Once they So, if someone was interested, they would have they'd have to talk to RAD about it. Okay. Yeah. They could contact Rad Sports. And again, we can
give them the contact information, but it's Yeah, we as part of the the whole scope of the project, all the demo material RAD owns. Uh Mr. Glidden. Oh, sorry. So, um, are we going to get I I know
you're going to update us as it goes along, but is PMA is the building committee still like reviewing that stuff? Are they meeting? So, it's with the TPC. So, the the the building committee
uh and I'd have to go it was before my time moved everything to a small group. So, there's a couple of members from the building committee that approve um any decisions blah blah blah. So, the school committee had to make the motion to go
back out to bid. The school committee had to approve RAD, but now the project sits back with the TPC. So, there's a couple of members from um from the original building committee that sit on the TPC. It's my there's a couple me
members from the public, myself um you know the our facilities director, John um our P our um um our OPM trying to remember who else is on there now the then it's the well they're not part of
the TPC but then the other people who are at those meetings because now we have weekly meetings on this. So then there's the contractor RAD and then OPM and um who am I forgetting? Oh, the designer. Oh, and our um our uh our
design uh the engineer. Yeah, why am I stuck on that word? Uh are all attend these weekly meetings on Zoom every every week. Um but anyways, yeah, that group is that would be if we had to do a change order. Right now, we haven't made any changes, but if we had to do that
would be the group that would approve it. Any more questions on that? All right, moving along. Uh, so then the last item I have is school committee reorganization. So, uh, at the next meeting, we'll have finished all the elections. So, by the regional
agreement, the next meeting will have to be for school committee reorganization. So, I'll open the meeting um and then just to get us through the election of the chair. Then once the chair takes over, then um
the meeting runs. Yeah. resumes, the chair takes back over and and the meeting resumes as normal. Um, what I'd like the committee to consider and think about is specifically the treasurer position. Um, at the last meeting, the school committee voted to approve the
adoption of the job description, which we will get posted. And I'm hoping by the second meeting in June to be able to present uh a candidate uh for you to appoint to that position and at the same time also give you a a motion to move
the position effective July 1 to that position and i.e. that new person. So what we really will have is a window from June 2nd until June 30th where we need the school committee to hold on to
the treasurer position. That position has to be bonded. There's a whole bunch of paperwork that goes with it to really change to have go through a whole another and and we've been we've quite frankly we've trained Miss Landers on a process um which is getting us through
where we are right now to to for from a just a management standpoint on this on the leadership side to try to reconider all that for 28 days um to make sure all our bills gets paid, payroll gets made, like all that stuff. I'm I'm asking if
the committee can consider and and there are options you know depending upon you know if it's it's fine if if you want to be chair I think I will consider I will be the treasurer for an as long as everyone elects me I will be the treasurer for an additional
30 days or whatever is needed you got to wait till next time you got to wait till next time but that's fine it's fine nobody else should have the stress of transferring $1.5 million on their phone. So that so at the next meeting we will have a reorganization. Whoever is elected chair um will run the meeting
and again um anything can happen but yes Mr. Glenn uh just a a point of order or I don't know what it is but um the is there a rule against like if we wanted to appoint Jenny can she be the
treasurer and another position? She could she could have two roles. Yes. Okay. Sorry. So that possible for appointment. Yes. Okay. That's that's it for me. Thank you. Okay. So now we have school committee business policy subcommittee. Looks like we have two policies for a
second reading and vote. Okay. So this is the second reading of these two policies which we presented at the last meeting. Um starting off with policy uh JR A-R student records. Um this is the
second reading. We essentially as a reminder we just uh we the first um the the initial uh um wording of it was very convoluted. Uh made references had you know it was just it was very
difficult read. So um in an effort to uh try to uh kind of streamline it you know we condensed some wording we changed some wording we made it you know a lot more user friendly um as far as language and um as far as the layout of it so you know to make it more digest easily
digestible. Okay. I move that we approve policy J-R student records. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Any further discussion? All those in favor say I. I. Any
opposed? Any abstained? Okay. Motion carries 70. Next one. Next policy is uh policy KDB, the uh public's right to know. Uh the top half of the page is the current policy. The way it's written, uh
you'll see that the um there was a spot that is highlighted in yellow. That is the major change. Um the updated wording of the policy is the lower half of your page um outlined in bold. Move to approve a motion and a
second. Any questions? All those in favor for policy KDB say I. I. Any opposed? Any abstain? That also carries 70. Thank you. Um, next is school committee meetings. As we
see our crowd shrink, as we s see Phil Morris only had three words to say, um, one of the things that I wanted to bring up was the discussion of our start time of our meetings. Uh, we've been at 6:30 for I don't know how long. You could probably tell me. Um, we do know that
the one town meets at 4 p.m. One town usually meets at 5:30. Um I wanted the opportunity to open the discussion to the committee about discussion about possibly moving the meeting to six o'clock um and get some feedback and discussion on our start time. So that's the purpose
of that first part. So I open it up to the any discussion. This would in obviously be in started in September but go ahead Mr. New I'm in favor.
I Landers. I like the 630. Um, I work three jobs and I parent a teenager and have two dogs and a household and like not to tell you my Saab story, but to get
everybody where they need to be um, and all the work done and people fed and all the things like sometimes it's challenging to get here even at 6:30. So I mean I can try to come earlier from time to time and you know I do make it happen for executive session and things
like that but um it would be tough for me just you know yeah part of unless someone wants to feed Jake dinner. Yeah. Part of the other discussion came into the administrative staff, the team, the students. Um, you know, they the high
school starts at 7:00 a.m. Um, as most of our lives do, but being in on property from 7:00 a.m. to possibly 9:00 p.m. Um, and it's possible we could look at a specific agendas um, and maybe adjust it, it's just hard to be inconsistent of what our start time was.
You know, I've seen other committees that change their times, you know, and caught people off guard and it can cause some trouble. I don't think our specific organization with the majority, right? No, I'm I'm just giving some feedback also of the discussion of the time. It wasn't because I felt it works for me.
It was because um I think it's important to discuss things. Um you know, just because it is doesn't mean it should be. So that's why there's seven of us here to discuss it. Mr. Martin, um I too have people to feed. Um I
usually uh I usually don't get out until like 4:30. Um, and then travel time, making the, you know, making food, you know, tending to the kids, you know, I I have two dogs as well. Um, and, uh, you know, it it there's a there's a lot to
do in a short period of time. Uh, uh, and so I I would, um, I would be in favor of keeping it at 6:30 unless we're going into executive session and and as long as, you know, it doesn't happen that often. So, I mean, I can I can make an exception and beg and plead for, you
know, coverage, but um but yeah, I would I would be in favor of staying at 6:30. Okay, Mr. Glenn. Um I really empathize with them because I just got to feed me and uh and that's
a tough job. Uh but uh but I do a good job at as you can see. Um but um I don't know if it helps if it's you know 15 minutes one way of anybody. I I'm totally neutral on on it and I empathize
with with those people having to do that. So um but the other thing is I know in the summertime we do move the meetings back, right? So um you know I think we do that practice.
We wouldn't obviously do those any earlier. Um, but I just want to throw out maybe 15 minutes works and maybe 15 minutes doesn't make a difference to them, you know, because they're already cutting it tight. So, any comments or any other comments or
feedback? Miss Beus, I really can go either way. Um, but I do feel for the students and we're trying to increase student participate participation. Um, it's 8:30 and I do feel that we have more
staff attending our meetings and doing presentations. So whether we really think about the agenda to make sure that it's early and upfront or consider another time maybe this summer we can all collectively think about that.
Miss Landers. Yeah. And I think, you know, if we've got a long agenda, you know, if during budget season or, you know, when we have a lot of presentations, you know, from time to time if the meeting is moved to six, I know that's a little tough because it's inconsistent for the public, but
I don't know that that's a major issue. Is it okay for you? Right. You know, you know, if it's a long agenda, we need an extra half an hour, you know, we can make it work. But, um, okay. Okay. I don't I don't see any, you
know, huge consensus either way. Um I think this is something maybe we can revisit um and continue to look at agendas um and and make, you know, mindful changes if necessary ahead of time. Mr. Glenn, I'm sorry. Just when on
the topic of agendas, this is something that I've thought about that selectmen do. they actually have an agenda review, you know, during their consent agenda or before or after they talk about those upcoming topics. And I think
that might help us condens this if we know what we're going to talk about or we can plan out. we do an agenda review one that that gets everybody um invested in what our future topics are going to be um as opposed to the chairman and the
superintendent, you know, just putting it we we have a discussion and the superintendent and the chairman might say, "Yeah, I I was thinking about that too, but just to have the topic of an agenda review previous to upcoming
meetings." Just an idea. Thank you. And um I'll put that on Dr. Smith to discuss with whoever the possible next chair is. Perfect. So we'll we'll table that. We can be discussed again. Um but and
the second part uh as Mr. Glenn alluded to was our summer workshop dates. When we looked at the calendar, we did the first Mondays of the month uh which falls on Monday, July 7th and Monday, August 4th. Um, Marilyn did remind me that some people may be going away for
the July 4th weekend or week. Um, I work on Cape Cod, so I don't get time off in July. It was uh Monday, July 7th and Monday, August 4th. Um, and typically with workshops, we start at 5:00 p.m. Um, and they're here in the conference
room. So, just looking for some feedback um either way. So, we could book those dates. Mr. I agree with Marilyn. Um, you know, people go away and a lot happens. So, I
I would recommend the August uh we're looking for one per month. Um, so it seems like the August 4th date might work and maybe we'll have to visit the August 7th date. Um, is that what you're stating? Yeah. July 7th. Anyone else about the August the July 4th date? I'm
not going away in July. So, I mean both dates work for me. I have no conflict as well. So, so seeing none, um we'll we'll go we'll continue with the Monday, July 7th and Monday, August 4th at 5:00 pm. Um those topics will be worked upon with
the superintendent and uh I know we've looked at a couple. Do you want one? I think last year one was a workshop and one was a business meeting if I remember correctly. Yeah. Well, because because one of them
we did with Massie as a business meeting to discuss superintendent evaluation how we I think that was the July meeting if I remember correctly and the August meeting was a business meeting get ready for the start of the year. I mean I guess it depends what business we actually have if there's any regular business we need to take care of. But
yeah, we think we worked on our our vision statement and our goals. I think there was approving my goals in the August meeting. Our goals. Yeah. um which I I'll have ready again because it it helped to support the then the leadership team getting their goals ready etc. So I'd like to keep that
practice moving forward. I think doing a July workshop in a Monday u August business meeting I think we can work on that practice. If we have to change it for any reason we can. Okay. So that's the guidance from there. Okay. Thanks.
Uh declare surplus. I have a memo from Mr. Ferris, interim assistant superintendent finance operations. We have five vehicles that have outlived their usefulness pursuant to school committee policy. These vehicles should be declared surplus so they can be sold or otherwise disposed
of. Uh we have three uh special education transportation vehicles. Uh we have one maintenance Ford Tcon van. We have one technology Ford Transit van. So I move that the above vehicles are declared surplus and disposed of by sale
or appropriate means. Second. So all those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Any abstained. I don't know if John needed to make that motion but I made it for him. So thank you
John. Uh consent agenda which we have the gift certificates that were donated from Andrew Holden Foundation. Um and then the minutes from May 5th.
Move the consent agenda. Second. Motion in a second. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? Any abstain? Bills requisition and payrolls are here. Calendars as we discussed. We have Memorial Day holiday
on the 26th which is next Monday. We have junior prom. We were on June 2nd. We have a retire c retiree celebration at our next meeting at 6 p.m. Uh the Dennis John Regional High School graduation is Saturday the 7th at 10
a.m. And then the last day of school is a half day on Tuesday, June 17th. Anyone looking to speak to public comment? Seeing none. Motion to adjurnn. A motion and a
second. And all those in favor say I.