Good evening everyone. We're going to go ahead and get started. Um, welcome everybody to our 10th regular meeting of the Medford School Committee. Um, please be advised that there will be a regular meeting of the Medford School Committee held at the Howard Alden Memorial Chambers in
Medford City Hall and via remote participation. This meeting is being recorded. The meeting can be re viewed live on Medford Public Schools YouTube channel through Medford Community Media on your local cable channel which is
Comcast 98 or22 and Verizon 4345 and 47. Uh participants can call or log into the Zoom using the Zoom meeting ID 9578902268. Um member Russo, can you please call the role?
Member Graham >> here. >> Member Master Bony >> here. >> Member here. >> Member Parks. >> Member Reinfeld >> present. >> Member Rouso present. Mayor Lgo Curtain is absent. >> Present. >> She's on. >> Oh, she's on sign. Sorry. Okay. >> Hey, thank you. Present.
>> So, seven um present, zero absent. All please rise to salute the flag. >> Oh, and I want to acknowledge our three student reps. Um, >> Elachi, Jaden, and Christine. So, now we'll rise and salute the flag.
>> 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. Um, next up we have our consent agenda
which includes approval of bills and payrolls, approval of budget transfers, um, journal entry 20804 for $13,95967. Journal entry 20820 for $581.60. Journal entry 20821 for $500. Journal
entry 20822 for $4,42.74. Journal entry 20823 for $85.66. Journal entry 2080 20824 for $8,66.88. Also in the consent agenda, we have
approval of a $700 donation PTO donation to the fine arts and music student field trip and approval of the meeting minutes from our regular April 13, 2026 meeting. >> Motion to approve by member Reinfeld. Second. >> Seconded by member Lead. All those in
favor? Oh, wait. We have to do roll call. Sorry. Roll call. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Master Bony. >> Yes. >> Member. >> Yes. >> Member Parks? >> Yes. Member Rinfeld, >> yes. >> Member so yes. Mayor Lingoker, >> yes.
>> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Consent agenda is approved. Um, we don't have any report of subcommittees tonight and I'm going to turn it over to the superintendent to take us through our Mustang moment. Thank you. Good evening, everybody. I
always start by saying this is my favorite um section of the school committee meetings. I love being able to start uh centering our meetings with the voices of our students. And so this evening we are going to start I'm going to welcome up our world language uh
director. She is going to talk through lots of accolades for the world language department as well as once she does some framing you will hear from the voices of some of our world language students um at Medford High School. Is it also the
middle schools? I'm so sorry. Yes. From our secondary students, please come on up. >> Thank you. >> Would you just start with an introduction? >> Yes. Can I do a brief introduction? Very brief. I promise I will try. Good
evening. I'm Katya Martigorena met for world language director and I joined this evening by Chelsea Magnif director of English learning department and some of our world language department members. As we come together in this great celebration, we are passionate about helping students develop not only
language skills but also global awareness and cultural understanding and we are proud to be part of this celebration. It is my pleasure to introduce the world language department and the English learning department. During this most moment, our student have achieved remarkable success this year earning
numerous distinctions including luck bi literacy achievement and the state seal of literacy. This accomplishment reflect not only their proficiency in language but also their deep understanding of culture. I'm especially proud to present a group of our students from different
grade levels who have earned this honors and would share their language learning journeys. They will reflect on two important questions. Why learning a language matter for students in our school and how it is shaping their life now and into their future. Without further ado, at this time I invite our
students to come here to the side and talk one by one. Can I have all the students please? Thank you. In any order, we can just line. We can go back one by one. Pure
Medford Diaani. Uh, hello. My name is Carissa Purefory. I'm a student from Medford High and I've been studying for Italian for about 10 years. So, I believe learning another language is truly one of the most valuable opportunities I've been given in my educational career. It
is extremely important for the students in our school to take part in this opportunity because it truly does give you an upper hand. Not only is it a very strong mental skill to have, but it does open many doors for future job opportunities in our diverse society as well as new travel experiences.
When I began studying Italian 10 years ago in elementary school, I had no idea the huge impact it would have on my life today. Now, as a senior, I've recently had the very unique opportunity to travel and learn in Italy through an exchange program with a high school class from Venice. During this trip, I
learned so much about the culture, language, and geography. Things that I never would have had the opportunity to learn on my own. Yes, you can always take a nice vacation to Italy, but nothing will ever compare to the experience we had living life in this new country with an Italian family and
new friends. It helped me realize I want to return to Italy in the future and continue my studies and possibly life there someday. Through this incredible experience, the new friends we made, laughs we shared, and countless memories, and they're all unforgettable. And it never could have happened without taking this plunge into a second
language in high school. Um, Emma. Um, hi, my name is Emma. I'm also a student at Medford High and I've been learning Spanish for many years. Um, I started learning Spanish in sixth grade. Um, and I'm continuing to study it now.
Um, travel and study abroad in a Spanish-sp speakaking country. And I think that's one of the important things about learning another language is that you get to experience so many different cultures and communities and have so many more opportunities to learn and grow both as a person and learn and grow
with these other communities. My name is Cooper Sue. I've been practicing Spanish at Mefford High for more than seven years. Um, and I was just in uh Madrid a few days ago, actually learning um about global equity and stuff. And all of the people in Madrid were Spanish speakers and I
thought it was really useful and important to use my skills that I had learned from Medford High to make connections with people from across the world. Right? Spanish uh can span into a bit of Italian and French and there are people from all these countries and that's how I built these connections that are going to sustain me for years
to come and I encourage everyone to learn a language Hi everyone, my name is Lina. Ina and I'm also a student in um AP Spanish. And personally, I think that learning a language is important for students in our school because it opens the door to understanding different cultures and
perspectives. As someone originally from Morocco who speaks four languages, um English, Arabic, French, and Spanish, and studied in a French high school, I've seen how language builds connection. My exchange program two years ago in Spain, where I lived for two months, showed me how language can
create real opportunities and confidence. Today, it helps me communicate, adapt, and I know it will shape my future by expanding my academic and career possibilities. Uh, hola, William. Um, so
Um, and um so basically uh languages language classes in Metro High School are very important for the students because they not they teach not only um the language but also the perspective
Um, when you're learning in these classes, you're learning about uh other places and uh the culture from these places. Uh, and um um a story.
Beyond me. Um Um, so basically learning a language is having a very big impact on my life. I'm learning a lot about the world in my classes. Um, I have my phone set to Spanish uh to help me learn these different languages and or learn
Spanish. And while doing this, it's helping me um see through different perspectives. Um, and in the future I would continue I would love I would like to continue learning this language uh to help myself meet new people and uh create new experiences.
I believe a language is important for students because it help us connect and with other people. It go far beyond speaking. It help us with memory and everything. I've learned stuff that I've
never knew that I could do. I didn't even take French seriously until I get here. I see how learning a language is important and that's when I I I started taking my second language more importantly. I am so grateful to be here
in Medford High where they gave us the opportunity to learn a new language and yet I believe it is really important for students to keep learning because everyone at Medford High give us the
opportunity and work through the language with us while while learning right now learning a language is helping me become more confident when I speaking
and interact with other people. I feel more open to meeting new people and understand different perspective. Learning a language helped me see the world differently and I'm thankful that I did that in Medford High. Thank you so
much. My name is Lenn and I'm a student of Spanish 10 honors. Uh Uh I think that it's important to uh learn new languages because if you learn new languages we can understand I guess more about the world and uh of course if you want to travel around the world to
other countries it's important to know a little bit of the languages there. poor in Laser Tempo. facil uh person personally uh I like to uh learn Spanish because I like uh
understanding the origins of words and I want to uh travel around uh the Americas, South America and North America because I think they're like pretty places and uh if I learn Spanish and I know Spanish, I can understand uh and experience have a better experience in those countries than any continent.
And learning a language is important because it opens the door to seeing the world in a new light. There's a quote where if you speak to someone's native language, you don't just speak to their mind, you speak to their heart. And the ability to be able to connect with someone on an intimate
level on not just speaking one language, speaking their language is very powerful. A lot of people speak Haitian Creole and French in my church community for instance. And that ability to be able to not just speak to them in English, but also speak to them in French is integral in our ability to connect because it
shows caring. It shows compassion and that's such a integral part of language. And so that's why I'm so grateful to have been able to study French these past four years and to continue to cultivate this language because it's truly something special. Messi
Hi, my name is Sophia Dur and I'm an eighth grader at Andrews Middle School. I believe learning a second language is important because it's a helpful skill for things like travel and jobs. You also get to connect with people across different cultures. Personally, learning
Spanish has helped me connect more of my culture, and I think it's an important skill that I will keep with me forever. Hello, my name is Amundine Jones and I am an eighth grader at Andrews Middle School. I believe that learning another language can be really important so that
you can travel to new places and learn about a new culture. Um, is more important. for the Um, hi, my name is Noel. I think that learning a language is very important to
open your mindset and learn new perspectives. Uh, once I was uh there was a person, a delivery man who came with the package and I was and they only spoke Spanish. I was and I was
able to understand and answer them because I speak Spanish. >> Hi, I'm Lily Chen from the Andrews Middle School. I feel really honored to be here because I believe learning languages is a really valuable experience for everyone, especially students. Learning a language fosters
values of communication and inclusion. And for me personally, it's helped me appreciate the extraordinary diversity of the world we live in. In the future, I hope my knowledge of Spanish will enable me to help others and learn new things. Thank you. >> Uh, hi, my name is Grace Chen and I'm an
eighth grader from the Andrews. I believe learning another language is both important and beneficial as it helps us connect with others and become more informed about the diverse world around us. Personally, learning Spanish has helped me appreciate the different cultures and backgrounds people come from, and I hope it helps me connect
with people I previously have not been able to. Thank you. >> Hi, I'm Sophie Lavine from the Andrews and through learning about languages, we can have more inclusive school environment and a greater sense of community. Students can learn about and understand new cultures both through
activities and the language itself. Currently, learning a language is a good brain exercise for me. is a very difficult process, but that makes it a very satisfying thing to learn successfully. I also have really enjoyed learning the foundations of language in general that you don't learn with your first language. In the future, knowing more than one language will grant me
better job opportunities, easier travel, and allow me to connect with more people. Hi, my name is Nia. I've been taking French for the last three years. I get to understand the different culture, the different franophhone cultures while taking the language as
well as learning the language. Hi, my name is Ilas Alash and I'm currently a junior at Meford High School. I've been taking French for a few years now, and to me, learning a different language is more than simply learning it for the sake of school or education. Living in the United States, while it is a privilege, often shelters us from other cultures around the world.
Medford's language department provides students with these such experiences and allows for every student who participates in these classes to expand their mind to cultures other than their own. Thank you. And I'd like to thank Medford High. I started learning Italian in my first
year of middle school and I never knew how much of an opportunity I would get. But this year, like my friend Cararissa, we were able to spend a week in Italy. And I knew to an extent what I would see there. I knew I would see some new cities. I knew I would try some new
foods. But speaking Italian and learning for 5 years really gave me an upper hand and I felt like I could really communicate with the people and really immerse myself into culture. I think that learning Italian and learning langu um foreign languages in general is such a great opportunity because you can
really connect with cultures that aren't your own. >> Sorry for the back again. I just want to say thank you. I hope you are as proud as I am of all these students. They are not all the students that won awards, but we will be here until 10 p.m. I don't know if you want that, but thank
you for your time. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you to the support to the students and the department. Some of my staff member are here as well, and I'm super proud of all of them. Thank you again. Are there any questions from the committee before we ask everyone to come
forward and take a picture? Okay, I guess it's picture time. Um, if all the students who spoke to us so eloquently could come into the middle here, you can come around that corner and we'll take a picture. Okay,
we have one more Mustang moment. Very happy and excited to welcome we have third grade students from Brooks Elementary School. Um, Miss Deos, are you doing a little framing before? Okay. Okay. So, Principal Deos is going to do
a little framing about why the a class of third grade students is here for Mustang Moment. And take it away, Principal Demos. >> Excellent. Thank you very much. Um, I'd first like to just extend our heartfelt thank you to um, Miss Laura Britain
Green and her husband Riley who has um, have been working with us at the Brooks for over 10 years now. Um, it's a great accomplishment. They volunteer their time every year to come in with our third graders to work on creative writing. And the song that you're going to hear tonight, Laura and her husband
Riley, um they wrote the song with these students. So, this was um written by themselves with the help of Laura and Riley. So, I just want to let her frame it out just a little bit more for you and then we'll be on with the show with the kiddos.
>> Good evening everybody. Thank you so much for having us tonight. Um, as Miss Demo said, my name is Laura Breton. I'm a local singer, songwriter, teacher, musician, and my husband and I have been doing the third grade songwriting project for about 10 years. We started
when our son, who is now about to graduate from Medford High, we started when he was in third grade. Um, and we piloted the program at the Brooks because that's where our school community was. That's where our kids went to school. Over the years, we actually have done it at the Misatuck
twice and at the Roberts as well. And we had uh scheduled to be at the McGlin Elementary literally the day everything shut down in 2020. So, we haven't been able to get there. Hopefully down the road we will, but our goal was to try to do this with every third grade in all of
the the district. And as Miss Demo said, um we come in um we work with the students to write an original song. um we try to tie it in somehow to the curriculum and this year uh the kids actually have a really creative and
interesting song topic. It's called Medford Past, Present, and Future. And so each verse describes how school child would get to school depending on what part of history they were in. So the
first verse is sort of talking what what it was like in colonial times and then the second verse is about current day and then the third verse is sort of imagining what it might be like to get to school in the future and how students would arrive to school and what they
might see on their ride to school. Um and these are some lovely third graders that uh are going to join us. If you can give me just a second, I'm going to set up the music because we have some music that they're going to sing along to. Again, thank you so much for having us and thank you for acknowledging the work
that we're doing. Appreciate it. And just for a quick um while we wait for Laura to set that up, I just want to say thank you to all the third grade students who've worked so hard and for the families who made tonight um possible. And bringing them in means a lot. So, thank you. One thing I forgot to mention that we're
sort of proud of is that we managed to that a disco beat regga ton and reggae in this song which is kind of unheard of. Weekday mornings we walk hand in hand along the dirt path
over the river and through the woods. We see folks on astipyards fly all around, present and future. No matter how we get to school, we'll always find our way. Past, present, and
future is something we create. Medford is our heart and home, and we are here to stay. >> We go to school. We hop in our car for a ride.
We look out the window and see our town. All the scenery go by the community away. Past, future. No matter how we get to school, we'll
always find our way. Past, present, and future is something we create. Our hearts, we go to school. We take a ride on our floating
on top. The robot driver sings with us. We hover over high street. Pedestrians walk below. Lots of new buildings and businesses.
The future is brightly full of hope. Past, present, and future wheels like today. No matter how we get to school, we'll always find our way. Past, present, and future is something we
create. Medford is our heart and home and we are here to stay. Past, present, and future. No matter how we get to school, we'll always find our way. Past, present, and
future is something we create. Medford is our heart and home and we are here to stay. Medford is our heart and home and we are here to stay. is our heart and home and we are here to
stay. Thank you to these wonderful singers. I also wanted to mention that the ultimate um project is actually a video that we make, a music video. So when that's completed, I'll be happy to send it to all of you and it will hopefully put a smile on your face. Thanks again for
having us. Are there any questions from the committee before we ask our um soon to be famous singers to come forward for a picture? Do we have a question over there? I see a question.
Did you have a question? No, you did. Come on up. Hold on just one second while they turn on your microphone. >> Hello. Um, I'm going to answer it. And I'm a former Brooks alumni, so it's delightful to see these third graders
that work so hard on this song. I just have a question. How long have they been working on this? Ryan, that's a great question. So, we started to work on this in early March and it took us about three weeks coming into the schools on various days to
write the song and then do sort of a general recording of it. And then when uh once we finished all of that, um my husband Raleigh, who I'm sorry he couldn't be here tonight, but he puts it all together into a video in our um home studio and then we're hoping it'll be
ready in the next few weeks to be final project. >> Yes. Um it's always wonderful to see the Brooks thriving and because it is such an awesome school, the Brooks, we have so many memories of it and it's just an
awesome school. It's so inclusive. I went by there the other day and there were so many like be kind, like respect everyone, love everyone. It's so inclusive and the teachers are so
um so passionate about their job and it's just I think one of the best schools the city could have and I'm so thankful for the principal Miss Deos for the new assistant principal and for all the uh teachers and the wonderful students
that go there. Thank you, Ryan. Okay. Next up on our agenda, we have um an afterchool update with um BASIC, who is a organization that's been working with us on improving access to afterchool programs here in Medford. Um,
uh, the presentation will be by Andrew Mountford, Michael Clark, Annie Gladfeltter, and Vivana Sanchez. But I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Gusy first. >> Thank you so much. I'm really excited for this presentation this evening. Um, in case anyone is joining or listening
to this presentation, I just want to do a small bit of framing. Um, the fabulous team from Basic is also going to do a little bit, but I just wanted to ground people a little bit. It's been a year from now. So, our first presentation to
the Medford community was in May of 2025 where Medford has historically faced uh high demand for after school programming and it was consistently outpacing the availability that we were able to provide. And so, we were not able to
service a lot of our Medford families with proper after-school care. And so there were some previous attempts to mitigate this situation, but sadly it didn't really yield much of the benefits and was not successful at all. And so to
address a lot of these systemic issues that we were hearing from the community, um there are two pieces I just wanted to quickly frame. One was we started a task force, an afterchool task force that was community rooted and a lot of caregivers
really got together to try to figure out on their own a lot of problem solving, a lot of groundwork to try and help the situation for that was happening in Medford for um the lack of afterchool care. This task force showed a lot of
what true partnership and community service can do. Um the task force met frequently. Uh we had regular meetings. Uh I really want to spend a minute to thank the task force. We have some
members from from the task force, but I think it's very important to note that this task force was comprised of caregivers, Medford administration, uh we had two school leaders. We also had representation from the afterchool
staff um as well as for some of our meetings the basic team. So it was a true um and we had a school committee member um so it was a true representation. this afterchool task force is was completely committed to expanding afterchool care. Um they
worked on their own time so their dedication was just paramount. Uh we have people on the task force that don't even have children in currently in afterchool programming um and just made a huge impact on the community. So I do
want to take a moment um to recognize caregivers Adaging, Ellen Rushman, Sarah Wides, Michelle Barkson, Christina Mastrobone, um Anika Hansen Verma, and Jessica
Parks, who had two hats during this task force, during the task force meetings. Uh and for employees, we had the site coordinator at the McGlin Elementary School, Kathy Hunt. We had the site coordinator for the Roberts Elementary School, Kathleen. Oh my goodness, I'm
drawing a blank. Thank you, Egan. Thank you. I'm so sorry. Um, principal of the missuck, Nancy Sherman Hudson, principal of the Brooks, Shannon Deemos. Uh, Will Pipeelli, the communications director, myself, and for some of the meetings
also um Megan Fidlerary who was the program um the director of family and community engagement also oversaw the program. Megan will be stepping down and so we are searching for new leadership. But the members of the task force uh really
kind of lived the it takes a village u mentality and so I just wanted to make sure that I thank them. And then the second part of of the work has been this partnership with basic which stands for Belmont afterchool enrichment collaborative. And so we began our partnership with
them about a year ago and they have just been tremendous and really the when you think of the word partnership I feel like that has just encapsulated our work together. They've been very thorough but they've
also been very honest, very transparent, uh very supportive and very accommodating. And so that doesn't always help always happen when you're working with consultants or auditors. And so I just wanted to make sure that I thanked them very much for their work.
Um and with all that I welcome the basic team um to come up. They are going to present their findings of their review of the Medford Public Schools um afterchool programming and they also are going to give us their recommendations
uh and next steps for us to increase capacity and enrichment in our afterchool programming. >> Thank you. >> I leave it to you Andrew. >> I appreciate it. Thank you for the introduction. That was wonderful. Um I uh I'm Andrew Montford. um um the first time speaking tonight. We'll popcorn
back and forth uh with each of us sharing different elements of um this presentation to you and um each of the folks will uh introduce themselves when they come up. I'm the executive director of the Belmont after school enrichment collaborative. Um this um I want to signal at first this has been a
wonderful experience for us. Um we have as as Dr. Lucy said began this partnership uh a year ago and it's been um tremendous to um really build relationships with Dr. Guzy and her team, the staff at the programs um
different um faculty members of each of the of the schools and um even individual parents both uh serving on the task force of course but also folks that um just cared to talk to us in each one of the programs. Uh I also want to take a moment to thank Dr. Lucy and her
team uh all the stakeholders who were played a role in this process. They are tremendous collaborators. um it is uh a difficult project to increase uh capacity of a program uh much less for
programs and I think um the it's not apprec fully appreciated how new the field of out of school time programming really is um even when compared to what is still a relatively young uh public school system that we have in this
country. So it's um it's not uh it's not a small task to take on and it does require a number of people to um really go all in on uh the changes that need to be made. So thank you for being a wonderful collaborator to work with. Um, I want to also flag that professionally,
uh, as folks who have really dedicated our careers to out of schooltime programming, um, there's something that I'm really grateful for in being able to create a model, um, for Medford uh, public schools that we know works based on our own experience and to share that
with the idea that it's going to benefit children and families. Um, personally, I have I previously lived in Medford for 11 years, actually very very close to this building. So, it's kind of personally gratifying to be part of a process where we're improving that
experience for for children and families. Um, finally, uh, I'd like to just say that as part of our, um, report tonight, we are of course going to be focusing on details that need to be changed, uh, about the programs. But before we get started, I just want to
say that the experience that we saw when visiting programs and talking to families really showed us how many warm, caring individuals there are working with the children in Medford. Um and and and ch children are engaged in programming each day and for the most
part all of the um systems that are in place are working. Um they're just working for a smaller level than what Bedford needs. And so, yes, we're going to be focusing on the changes that need to be made, but but please remember that there is a lot of good work to be done. And even though, as I flagged, this is a
difficult uh not a difficult, but a uh a big challenge to to take on. Um the fact that we have so many caring people working on this gives me a lot of hope that this is going to be something that we put in place with a lot of success next year and growing success for years to come. Uh with that, I'm going to turn
things over to my colleague, Michael. >> Hi, everyone. We can hear me, right? Yes. Okay. Thank you. Uh so, um just gonna frame us a little bit for the rest of our presentation here. Um in a moment, we're going to talk about our uh phase one.
Oh, Michael Clark, I'm sorry. I'm the site director for uh Ma Basics Maynard programs. That's at the Fowler Middle School in the Green Metal Elementary School. Thank you. Um, so we're going to start this evening by talking about our methodology to collect data to inform our recommendations and then I'll turn
it over to my colleague Annie who will give a high level overview of that data. Um, we'll then move into the observed challenges that that kind of emerged out of that data collection and then give specific actionable recommendations to address each of those those um challenge
areas. Uh we'll then move into the specific capacity increases that we're uh recommending for the district and then give a sample schedule about how to accommodate the the increase in those student numbers. And then last we'll present um uh tuition rates for you all
to to approve today. Um that's for afterchool programming and then potential full day programming like February and April vacation camps, potential PD coverage as well. Uh and then Angela will wrap us up and then if there's any questions from the committee, we're happy to answer. Um go
ahead and go to the next slide. Um so we prioritized four main areas of data collection. The first was site visits. We conducted 13 site visits overall primarily focused at the Brooks and the Roberts as the two schools with the highest weight lists for after school programming. Uh we did 20
stakeholder interviews and that was with administrators, staff, with families with uh kiddos in the program and without kids in the program. um as uh as well as some members of the task force that um Dr. Gluci mentioned earlier. We launched a community survey
with which had just under 400 respondents to really get a picture of the needs from the community in after school programming as well as their hopes for after school. Um and then we had several data collection meetings with other administrators such as the human resource director, financial
director to really get a full picture of what after school operations look like as as is. Um, nice. Um, I'm gonna turn it over to Annie. Uh, introduce yourself. >> Hi, good evening. My name is Annie Gladfelter. I'm the director of impact
for the organization. I do actually a lot of program consulting for the organization specifically about uh programming. Um, so uh you'll be hearing me feeling hearing from me a bit later today as I speak to that. Um but in speaking about our data summary, we did a much thorough um presentation about
our data for the task force. Um but right now for tonight, we're just going to focus on a generalization about what the data came back from all the um the methodology that we used. Um as Michael just said, um we really focused on interviews, observations, and a landscape survey to really give um a to
inform our recommendations that you're going to hear about tonight. Um and in our summary, we comprise this into kind of four categories. uh the family experience, program experience, a student experience, and a staff experience. Um from the family experience, we really um you know, we
took from interviews and the survey and really found out overall that the biggest thing that we heard back from our families was that uh the capacity issue was their biggest um complaint um or the issue most facing um the community. Um and that o also that uh
there was also um a desire to have better transparency about weight lists and better overall communication. Uh for our internal families who we interviewed, um we did hear that they were really satisfied with the programming that their children were receiving. um what they were reporting
about was that they had children that were happy um and that were coming home, you know, satisfied with their day and for them really kind of hitting the mark about being supervised and well cared for. And for the external families that we spoke to, um most of what they spoke about was just the lack of transparency
about the process and they just wanted a better view into the procedures and understanding better about, you know, how weight lists happen, how the registration process happens. Um and so just kind of having a better system for that. Um as far as program experience, this really was informed by our observation.
Um we really saw that uh there was enough spaces actually for an expansion of capacity at our schools. Um but what we noted was that the spaces could be better utilized. Um and so part of what you're going to hear in our recommendations tonight is how to use those spaces better to accommodate for
more students. And also what we found out from our interviews is that there's the school administration is really supportive of any structural changes that need to occur to um support that those capacity expansions. Um as for this student experience, we didn't interview any students and all this was
informed just by observations. Um and that what we found was that again students were happy, well behaved, um you know, seemed interactive, but overall we found that students um were uh that there was a little bit of a lack
of student engagement. Um the quality of the activities that students were engaged in was a little bit on the lower level. Um, and so part of what you're going to hear tonight is some of our programmatic recommendations because we do worry a little bit about what expansion of the programs could look like as far as um, the program quality
and student experience. Um, and as for our staff experience, again, we heard from staff that were really satisfied. They love their jobs reporting really great experiences with the uh, stu students and their families, having great working relationships with their
colleagues. Um but overall um what we did find which was concerning for us um and you'll hear a bit more about this tonight um was a lack of prep and planning time and that um because of the hours in which they work um there is actually no time built into their schedules to plan and often staff
reported that they had to plan outside of work hours often on evenings and weekends and that time wasn't compensated for um which was reflected again back into the programmatic experience of students. um and that um against staff reporting that they had a really great experience and they most
reporting great relationships with their site coordinators. Um however um noting that again because of limited time um there was very little limited uh formal feedback or structure for that. Um and that was really what we kind of took and that will be informing as you hear as we
go forward in our recommendations um uh to be addressed tonight. Thank you. Uh so um as we took a look at the data um kind of five key challenge areas emerged um and so as we go forward we'll address kind of define each of these
challenge areas and then give our specific recommendations for them. I'd also just make a pitch here that we've uh uh sent in our full report which has some additional recommendations. So this presentation is just going to highlight a few that we feel like are the most important and I'll turn over to Andrew who's going to discuss the first one
strategic vision. Thanks, Michael. Um, as we uh mentioned at the beginning, we were really tasked with developing a model for uh Medford public schools. But the and the most important first step in developing that model is to create a position, a
leadership position with whom this model um will uh be defined, will grow and develop and will be communicated over time. Um, so you know, we're we're we're talking about a person who um who can really own that vision and and and and
carry it forward for Medford Public Schools. um uh to to create that vision, we you know, as as part of that process, we have identified, you know, as as Michael Michael flagged, some payroll discrepancies, communication and weightless management issues, um some
inconsistencies in executive leadership. Um these issues call cause a real shortfall in the uh district's ability to cra to craft that strategic plan, that strategic vision um for afterchool. And we see that in the communication, we
see that in the uh professional relationships and kind of the downstream effects that it has on the on the program staff. So these uh these pieces need to be the the first steps that we take. Um as Michael flagged as well, we've got four action steps here. There
are more in our report, but uh I want to communicate these four priorities to you. Again, these are the first steps that MPS takes uh in this process. So the first is to define and adopt a district-wide programming philosophy um
through this uh through a process that is using our model and having every stakeholder in after school understand and adopt that vision to guide them in for Medford public schools uh after school programming. We need to then
establish a single accountable leader in whom that vision is going to reside and as the program grows and needs change uh that person uses that vision to make those changes to inform the the decisions that they make uh that are needed for the programs. Um and and
they're also as I said before tasked with communicating that effectively uh to to the community. The good news about this step is that a lot of these uh those first two steps a lot of this work has been done already. You know the first uh piece is our model um from
which we'll draw that vision and the second piece um a a job description for this accountable leader is one that we drafted for Dr. Galooi. It's what we call the managing director of programs and there's already some work involved in finding that person and getting them
in this role. Next, we have uh developing a a and continuing to revise a registration and weight list process and communicating that strategy out to the community. Now, of course, um in a
lot of these roles that we're a lot of these uh tasks and responsibilities that we're going to talk about, um that responsibility will fall to this managing director over time. But again the good news is with the help of the task force with the communications director we've already taken steps
toward that as well. So drafting that language understanding what the vision is how we can communicate this effectively so families understand that work is being done and they'll see big steps next year to start uh making this uh not a problem for so many folks in
the community. Um, finally, uh, our last p the last piece in this, uh, category that I want mention tonight is we're making the recommendation to transition each of what was previously known as a site coordinator for each of the programs into a site director role and
those folks would um, report directly to the managing director. This is very important because uh, it is uh, and this is segue into what Michael's going to talk about in the mo in the moment. One of the biggest pieces that we need to establish for afterchool is increased
capacity for leadership, increased capacity for managing and increased capacity for administration. So a lot of that is not happening um while program is happening and you know to the um expense of other things that uh folks should be uh focused on in the moment
when working with with with children. Turns over to Michael next. >> Yes. Um so our kind of next uh area of challenge that has to be addressed is this management and administrative capacity. And really the key highlight in this area is that as it stands
leaders don't have structured time to to manage their teams and to build the kind of processes the kind of systems that's going to uh support growth as we look toward the next year. Um, so in addition to changing that title from site coordinator to site director, we want to
make this a full-time position. And that's going to really give that structured time for this individual to to to manage their teams, right? To have the time available to to think ahead, anticipate problems, work with their staff and and build and grow. It's also going to give the managing director uh a
team for themselves, right? They're going to have other individuals that they can delegate to as they're owning this vision. And for building staff themselves, principles, uh, for the facilities team, teachers, there's a key person in each building who has has the time to field questions, to build
relationships, to understand the priorities of each individual school and make sure that they're carried over into the after school day. Um, second, we recommending that we want to uh standardize the onboarding and orientation process. We really want to
make sure that as we go into this next year that everyone on the afterchool team has a clear understanding of that shared mission. Um an orientation an orientation where we're all together establishing those expectations is going to be the best tool for us to really hit
the ground running. Um last we're recommending that each individual site implement a daily staff meeting with as many individuals as possible. A lot of folks that work for the afterchool team are pair of professionals or have other responsibilities during the school day which is going to make that very
difficult. Our own teams in our organization as basic. We experience this problem as well. But making sure there's some structured time each day for as many staff as possible to uh to work on the dayto-day and really give our site director the recommended site
director the space to to to manage their staff, right? to bring staff together and work together each day. Um, this leads into our our our next category, which is staff accountability and continuous improvement. So, we've
implemented some tools to uh um bring us together. We've given ourselves that capacity. Now, we have to make sure we're holding our individual staff accountable um not just to their performance, but to their own personal continued growth and the program's growth. Um and so from our observations,
from our site visits and things, we didn't really see a clear unifying structure for staff accountability. So the first thing we want to do is we want to implement a calendar of professional developments that occurs annually annually for all staff to to participate
in. Um in our report, we we've outlined some specific trainings that we think are are really key. Um, so you can dive into that literature as well, but each staff member should have, you know, a that shared vision of of how we're going to approach programming and that should be equalized, so to speak, across all
sites, right? And we're we're we're doing that work at the beginning of the year. Uh, next, we want to launch a coaching and evaluation system um for each individual staff member. And so site directors would take the responsibility of uh meeting with their team and using several different tools
like one-on-one meetings, like observations, performance reviews, and really here we want to give that director the the tools necessary to be providing sufficient feedback, but also spaces for staff to be giving feedback
up, right? And that's another uh the daily staff meeting connects to that as well, right? So there I have the time as an individual staff member to give feedback in a one-on-one to my director and they have time to give that to me. I have a space each day. Something happened to me after school that I need
to bring up or I not even sure I need to bring up, I can do that at the staff meeting. And so we're these standardized structured times for us for any staff member to do that. Um this really builds toward the overall goal here of promoting a culture of initiative.
Right? So all of these things blend together and we really want to give staff clear expectations about how they can grow and what areas that they should be focusing on, focusing their energy on. Um, next Anniey's going to talk a little bit about program quality and
kind of our specific recommendations there. >> Sorry. Thank you. Um so yes um our biggest recommendations around program C quality really stem from the concept that um if these programs are going to grow um really we
need to give substantive um experiences for students. Um, a big kind of dilemma that I think programs face is that if students aren't engaged, even though, uh, children are having a good enough experience, um, and that they're well behaved right now, um, one thing that we
can predict is that, um, we will see a spike in student behaviors, um, and that it will be get harder to actually keep kids engaged. And so, um, the programs as they are are fine enough. Um, but we do need to make a higher investment into the overall quality. Um, and part of
what we're recommending is some structural changes to the program. Um, and part of that being that right now, if you're not aware, currently students move um by grade groups from space to space and engage in specific activities led by their group leaders um who are
then required to plan each one of those activities. Um part of what we found is that again because of a lack of planning time a lot of the activities um were lacking as far as quality um a little bit disjointed um and they weren't always um um and have what weren't
always engaging students to the highest level. Um and that um in sometimes they almost felt like time fillers because staff didn't have enough time to prep and plan. Um, and we also found that because of the grade groups that kids were really limited in their peer
interactions and that um, especially as students got older, they really felt confined to those peer groups. Um, so what we're going to kind of below is what I'm going to kind of offer to you as some recommendations as what we think would help improve um, the programs, especially um, more generally, but especially for those that as they grow
in size. Um, our big recommendation and again we also heard this from surveying of parents of interest is we really want to prioritize time outside. um it's really going to help for high capacity numbers. Um but also it is um what we know to be best practice for children as far as giving them opportunities to
solve real world problems um with their peers. Um so really trying to find a a program um programmatic model that prioritizes that time outside. Um, we also really want to emphasize higher quality uh, lesson planning um, activities that are really pro thematic
and project-based um, and are have um, kind of longer term goals in mind and are really driven by student interests. Um, and with that um, kind of this idea of creating um, three two to three new full-time positions um, which are we're actually terming specialists. Uh, these
would be lead educators in the curriculum planning and implementation. Um some sites were recommending two, some were recommending three again based on the size and you'll hear a little bit more about that. Um but these would be a specialist um in the um specialties of
uh sports, steam, and kindergarten. And again, they would have the main priority of planning in their specialty field and being receiving students um to kind of have uh to engage in those lessons and activities at that higher level. Um and with that um we would be actually
adjusting the program structure um to move away from the idea of grade groups and um group sort of uh movement and have multi-age grouping and allow much more student choice uh based programming. Um and so what you're going to be able to see a little bit more
tonight is about kind of what that student schedule looks like. So how do you be able to offer multiple ages um a variety of options um with that um and then with those also curriculum specialists this idea that we would be training them on how to do highlevel implementation um and again the big
emphasis being here is that we want to make sure that we're creating a lot of great uh learning experiences that students are opting into are driven to want to participate in having that choice um and that they're um individuals who have that planning time and that interest to really drive that
learning. Thank you. >> Uh so our last challenge area is all about the day-to-day operations of each individual site. So our recommendations here are about you know more detailed on the ground uh things that we observed. Um so the first thing we we're
recommending is to delegate to a different staff member um the responsibility of dismissal and managing student movement throughout the day. And the reason behind that is we really want to free up these site the recommended site directors from that responsibility.
Um we want them on the floor. We want them embedded in programming observing staff and not tied to to parent pickup. Um, second, and Annie touched on this, really you using spaces differently. And what I'd like to add to this is how
you're organizing your staff to that space. So rather than having them follow each, uh, follow a designated group of students, but tying them to a space um, and allowing students to move in and out of that space. Um, this helps really
motivate staff too because they can pursue their own interests instead of having to be part of a STEM project when I'm, you know, personally that's not, that's not my bag, but, uh, I can pursue my interest. I can, you know, try to put together art projects. I can move down that career path. Uh, if I'm more of a
sport person, I can be put in the gym, placed in the gym, and students can come move in in and out of that space throughout the day as opposed to me following them. Um last, we want to implement some specific tools to really make sure that as we make this kind of
schedule change, um that uh we're ensuring we're that we're prioritizing safety. So, some key details there would be making sure that each site and every staff member has a radio on them to be communicating about student movement, but also implementing some tracking tools like an activity log. This is
something we use in our own programs where students are responsible for signing into this space and then that front desk individual gets a live update about where that student is. If they're deciding to leave, they're signing out, signing into wherever they're landing. Um, so these are some kind of the first
steps to really make sure that we're executing on programs safely. Um, I'm going to turn it over to Andrew who's going to talk about the capacity increases. Thanks, Michael. Um so our first uh our goal in in coming up with a capacity
increase for next year uh in speaking to do Dr. Galooi and talking and and working with the uh with the task force is to take the most aggressive approach possible but to make sure that's limited by what is achievable in the small amount of time that we have between this
year and next year and then in turn is also financially viable one year to the next. Um, from that kind of north star guiding us, we looked at the first priority of making sure that no folks who are currently working on the programs are going to lose their jobs.
Uh, we don't want to be scaling back, you know, before we've actually put a new model in place. So, taking that current staff that we have in each of the programs and thinking again about that specialist position that Annie talked about, adding two or three specialists at each site. Uh, and I'll
just quickly kind of break that down for everybody. At each of the four all of four of these sites serve students between kindergarten and fifth grade. So, one of the positions that we h that we recommend uh is is a first hire what's called a kindergart what we call a kindergarten specialist. So, this is a
manager for that kindergarten room. It's developmentally appropriate to have them separate from the from the greater grade. Oops, excuse me. Um, and the uh other uh two positions. So that's that's true for all four of the schools. Uh for the other positions, we would like uh
folks each site to start with what we call a sports specialist. Uh so for our purposes uh in understanding how we can serve the most number of students, again to think about capacity as being our driving force here, how can we make sure we're serving the highest number of students in spaces that are equipped to
serve a large number? uh and to appeal to a broad group, making sure there's someone on the staff who's planning and implementing a sports curriculum. And when I say sports, that ranges from what uh you'd really look at at the younger grades from being a a PE um uh
experience for most of the younger levels and kind of graduating into a little bit more of what you might find in rec sports by fourth and fifth grade. um for any program that already can meet that need with an individual uh staff member, that priority could be shifted.
Uh our number two um uh recommendation is for a steam specialist position. So for those who don't not um uh used to the term steam, it's combining the science, technology, engineering, and math with an arts piece. So that person is designing and implementing curriculum
in that uh domain every single day. uh Annie flagged uh for us that we we don't feel that the uh size of the uh of the groups at each of the four schools because of the large difference between McGlin and Matuck on at at the 100 uh
level which is really going to meet the full need that we uh feel that there is at those schools based on our landscape analysis compared with you know the Roberts at 150 and the Brooks at 195 uh those weren't having that extra specialist you know it's it's It's it's it's a matter of making sure that you
have space for all the students and something um that can hold their interest and sustain their attention uh for that large larger group. So uh that's the uh kindergarten and sports specialists um as at McGlin and Missuck kindergarten sports and steam specialist
at Roberts and Brooks. Uh from there we uh from that level of of staff investment um we layered on uh the operational pieces that Michael talked about to say like okay what programmatic and and and uh kind of space changes can
we make um and after kind of analyzing each of those we're very comfortable with an increase next year uh up to the levels that you see on this slide. Um this I want to flag that this isn't from what we understand you know the need to be uh based mostly on the survey but
also uh other information that we gathered through this process. This isn't the full need in Medford. This would be a multifphased increase over time but again we don't want to uh set up a situation that's going to you know not be achievable in the first year. Um
so you know making this uh jump again from 120 to to 70 to 195 a 75 student uh increase at the Brooks alone uh is substantial uh and we play that AC across the other programs. We we're adding a number of seats um to our to
our programs for next year. Um I'm switch uh slides. Actually I'm going to uh I'm going to pass off to Andy for the next one. my slides. Um, I know the picture for the sample schedule is a little bit uh small, so
bear with me, but I hope you can follow along. Um, this is an example schedule that we wanted to share with you. Um, specifically trying to highlight what a multi-age programming model would look like. Um, I do want to highlight that we actually do have kindergarten separated and as Andrew referenced of kindergarten
specialists um, who would have the responsibility of really owning that kindergarten experience in many ways like the way a kindergarten teacher would. Um, and so because um, we think developmentally kindergartens really still need that kind of small uh, classroom model experience, need to kind
of be with their own group, really with a teacher that really understands that age group. um they will continue to have a classroom experience um a designated room where they get to have activities that are geared towards kindergarten and they will go to certain spaces as a kindergarten group um to have that again
that kindergarten experience. However, if you kind of uh pan over and look through the first through fifth grade, um they're slightly grade group, but generally the concept is that first through fifth grade is all together. And if you look at the space column, you can actually get a sense um from how the uh
the activities in that space column are listed. Um what we've sort of done here is tried to visualize um different activities that could be occurring over the course of the day. Um and the various spaces that would be utilized to make um to have those uh activities
happening um in a first through fifth grade experience. Um oftent times those uh students would be intermixed. Um but specifically on activities where um the idea of a you know six or sevenyear-old being with a 10-year-old would make sense where it would be things like
playing outside on the playground or playing in the cafeteria um for board games or for coloring and things like that. Um but then having specific times in the day when grade grouping does make sense because of developmental um needs,
things like homework support um or things like the a group uh gym game. Oftentimes we don't want a six-year-old playing a the same gym game with a 10-year-old. And so knowing that there would be certain times in the day where we would be separating those groups. But overall over the course of the day all
um um many of the activities are opened up for those um grades and they're intermixed having a lot of choice. The real emphasis being here is that um there are teachers stationed at all these different spaces where all these different activities are occurring and that students are being able to opt in
and out throughout the day of those spaces and activities really being driven by uh their individual interests knowing that if I want to spend time outside with my friends that's great but if I really want to then go into the art room and do the steam project 20 minutes later that's available to me. Um and I
have that I have that option. um and that if I have homework to do, I have a set time in my schedule where I'm supposed to get my homework done. Um so again, this idea drives this idea of how do you do intermixed um or multi-age programming um and be able to have student choice um be facilitated well.
Um and we do believe based off of staffing and spaces that this is very doable for all the programs. Uh the only other thing I would like to highlight for everyone because this came up as um observational data and even with our recommendations we know that this is still going to be sta um tight staffing.
Um if you look at the first 15 minutes 15 20 minutes of the day um you can really see that um there's only one space available um and that is and then the outside there it's the cafeteria for snack and meeting and then outside um because of the contract with parah
professionals or the the contracts that paras have um no matter what we do foresee that there is still going to be um a very t tight staffing um and very tight student to staff ratios during that time until paras are able to join the program. And so having a one central
location for check-in where students have a very low-level activity where it's something like snack and meeting and then going outside is where you're going to be able to have um the safest opportunity to be able to supervise those children until more adults um appear. Um and so that was a very
strategic choice in the schedule that we do also recommend for programs going forward. Thank you. So, I want to talk next about um the kind of financial implications um of of this model. Um, of course, this is the when we're talking about hiring
full-time staff members, we're talk about um increasing site coordinators to full-time levels um or to uh like a F to FTE role. Uh that does take a f uh a financial investment and because you working with with with Metro Medford
public schools on this is much like um you know how we go about budgeting for our own programs. You're working through the revolving account. The programs need to be able to fund themselves. Um, but we also wanted to make sure that we are we're again approaching this with a
level that we're not making a huge uh ask of the community with with very with with with very very large tuition increases. Um, so the rates that you see here are the afterchool um uh annual and monthly rates. Uh, and we um also scoped
out uh uh camp. Again, that's February and April camp tuition as well as professional development days. There are two of them per year. um uh tuition rates um for for MPS. Um I want to um point out that again the surplus that
you see there does appear large $376,000 surplus. Um so from that perspective that news looks great. Uh but I want to flag for all of you that there are a couple of gaps that are not included uh in that. Uh the first noteworthy gap is
that that uh number does not uh account for the sliding tuition scale based on uh household income that Meford Public Schools currently uses and would like to prioritize continuing to use. Uh the impact of those unrealized tuition
dollars is not something that we have uh to to kind of bake into our financial model. So we wanted to make sure we were leaving enough space uh to be able to fund that that very high priority. The second um piece which is a much smaller
uh you know impact overall on budget is that although we did uh make a substantial increase to the uh number of dollars that are spent per pupil uh participating pupil on things like supplies and equipment. Um a much higher
investment than is currently being made. Um, we would, if uh, the budget allowed in that first year, recommend that that managing director be able to make some decisions about one-time in uh, investments in capital that would uh, help with uh, equipment to run programs
going forward. Again, not as high priority as making sure the access is there for families that need it, but that is a second priority that we that that we would look at. Um, with that, uh, we can switch slides.
Um, so I wanted to again take a a moment to to thank all of you. Uh, actually I I want to say one more thing. I I I neglected a point. Um, uh, throughout all of this, uh, process before I before I conclude, uh, again, the model we flagged, uh, is an area for you all to
to gain more information, uh, about the programs. Uh, particularly for the financial piece. Uh, there is a a financial tool that we prepared um, for um, Dr. Lucy and and for the uh new managing director when that person is hired so that we're not just providing a
static model that will fit next year and next year only. But that uh financial tool as well as the entire vision is built so that as changes are needed. So as that when that second phase of expansion comes around when um there are
priorities within the school district that need to also be aligned at after school um there are tools in place to be able to make those changes in an informed way and to be able to play out how those changes will affect programming both financially and programmatically.
Um apologies for kind of skipping to the conclusion before I before I mention that point. Um again I wanted to uh um thank all of you uh to be part of this. This was a a wonderful collaboration um from our end. You know, we learned a lot and and really um valued working with um
a group of people that care so deeply about the out of school time experience um for the families and children. Um as Suzanne and I said about a year ago um you know when when we started talking about this issue uh I said I mean this is this is yes we run very very large
programs at basic. uh we have a a program that serves 400 students at one school. Um but by and large um and this isn't just in areas of the country that really don't have the resources. This is in you know the most affluent you know
area in the world almost you know greater Boston where you'd think there would be enough resources to make sure this is available for every family. This is a problem in almost every district. So this is not an issue that Medford is facing alone. Um it's been really you
know uh wonderful for us to be able to do some work in trying to make that uh you know not a major issue for parents because it is something that every community uh is is is really struggling to deal with and is going to need to figure out a solution for. So thank you
again for um inviting us to be part of this process with all of you. >> Thank you. Um, are there questions from the committee? Member Russo. >> Thank Thank you. Um,
other than the job description for the managing director, was there any recommendations to change the job descriptions for the site directors? >> Yep. So, we um prepared site director um job descriptions, uh curriculum specialist job description, and a kindergarten specialist job description. Excellent.
>> I He probably said that. You said a lot of things. >> I don't think I did, but yeah, it's it's it's it's a it's a good ask. >> Um does the budget that was I know it's not an actual budget, but um does that include the overhead expenses for facilities that we charge the program? >> It does. Excellent. Um, and other than
the 10 specialists, uh, were there additional staff members like on the ground that were going to be required because, um, but we don't have a factory to make those people. So, um, you know, these are not the other I
mean, the site um, director obvious the recommendation to make them full-time should make a big difference in being able to hire them. I mean, we have them. Um, and the the specialists are also full-time. >> Specialists are also full-time. Yes. >> It's the it's the folks that are working
three hours a day that concern me. Um, but if we had the same number we have today, would we be able to do this capacity? >> If we were had the same numbers that we had today, we'd be able to do this. Yes. Wonderful. >> Um, I mean, we never know from one year to the next, you know, who's going to, you know, continue in their employment.
Um we're hoping that this is a I mean this this is a challenge that all that every out of school time um organization faces. Um so um we want to build in structures and Michael talked a little about bit about this earlier where there's somewhat upward mobility
throughout the organization so that each role that we're posting and every person that then takes on that role you know you're you're better able to retain them over time as they see that there's a path forward for themselves. Um uh but as of right now, you know, as of the structure as it's created, yes, uh we
can meet all of those with the with the current staffing. Uh I'll flag too that the financial um uh you know, uh tool that we provided uh to Dr. Lucy, we build in roles as part of those expenses so that you know as realities
happen you know um we don't really know uh and I I didn't get into this detail when I talked about the capacity slide but when we're serving 195 seats um we have we can make projections about how that group will you know kind of select
their program experience you know you offer currently uh three different options for families to sign up for either, you know, five days, three days, or two days. You know, ideally over time, you build that out to, you know, any number. Um, that's that's how you get the the broadest access to programming is if it's a family that
needs four days, that's a possibility. A family that needs one day, that's a possibility. So you end up getting uh when you increase capacity over time and you and you uh increase options uh for family, you get a what I like to call a lower distribution of of the selection
of days per week rather than a real high what I like to call high level distribution where it's like mostly families who are fiveday and like just jumping at I wanted to have the program so I'm going to take all five days just in case because I know if I lose it I'll never get it back. So you're really operating it with this high level
distribution. Now you get an even number of staff cross days. So we want to build in tools so that as that changes over time and you're looking for more three-day people or two-day people, you have kind of plug-andplay numbers that you can, you know, put in the financial projection to say, okay, I'm replacing
with this person with this person or we're hiring somebody because we have 10 more students and we, you know, this is the role we need into the right number to uh financially plan for that going forward. >> Thank you. I have two more questions, but I'll let my colleagues have a shot first.
jump in on that question just for a second too. Something that we're also going to be recommending is okay. >> Uh something that we also would like to recommend too is uh identifying individuals who are currently on the team and giving them prep hours. So you
know a schedule of noon to 6, 1 to 6. So a little bit of planning time based on an interest area and a need. And this is really going to help create those pathways for advancement that Andrew talked about, really motivate individual people, contribute to that culture of
initiative. Um, and so that's that's all under the the uh management of the site director to identify those folks to, you know, give them the coaching and the the you know, help necessary to to plan that activity they might be interested in. And so those we we're confident that those folks exist and we wouldn't have
to hire from them, but we we we do want to identify them as quickly as possible. member parks. There we go. Sorry. Um, so I just want to say something and then I have a couple of questions. Um, as someone who's been involved kind of from the beginning, I'm really pleased the
direction this has gone and um, as one of the few on the task force who always had a kid in the afterchool program. Um I you know my main concerns from the start were scaling up in way in meaningful ways um while keeping the
existing programs kind of spark um with and also um not having a huge impact on the cost. Uh and I think that you know I'm really thrilled about the concrete improvements. You know we've increased spots at all four elementary schools. Um, we've talked about bringing back the
vouchers, which I used previously and I didn't like seeing go away. Um, uh, we're making the site coordinator positions full-time, um, so we can retain excellent staff. I personally know that we were about to lose, um, some really great staff members, um,
because those were not full-time positions. Um, we're adding specialists for the enhanced programming. Um and so none of this wouldn't have been possible without I think a few steps along the way that I want people to acknowledge.
Um Dr. Galucy's leadership. She she when we came to her, she understood the urgency of this issue and moved it forward. She was open to all of our early discussions and ideas and honestly without her championing this it would
have kind of stalled from the start. So thank you. Um and then the principles, the site coordinators, the caregivers on the task force. Um thank you for working together to make this real and holding us accountable to a program that works
for Medford while also at the same time um being open to all of the new changes. And then also basic um your support, your expertise and your willingness to engage in a truly collaborative um partnership um which is very different
from your standard model. I know. Um so this was a big kind of risk and a big kind of leap of faith I think. Um so that flexibility really made a lot of difference. Um I have seen their finan uh their spreadsheet um and their
financial model and it's amazing how you can plug it in and play with it. So kudos to them for that. Um now moving back I know we still have a lot of work and I know the proof is in the pudding. So we we are going to hopefully see the
you know the results of all of this. Um a few questions though. Uh sibling discount >> I could not tell if that was factored in. >> It's not factored in. Okay. >> No no right now it's 5%. >> It is currently 5%. And do you envision
that moving forward or do you not envision that or is that up to the district? >> I think that's an up to the district question. Um, you know, for us, you know, my recommendation for, you know, um, again, that with the priority being
making sure we're increasing capacity, uh, and access, I guess, is a better way to put it, is that sliding scale for tuition? Because if we're prioritizing what the needs are and we're talking about families that can't afford programming at all and we have a limited number of dollars in in discounts to to
provide uh you know my first recommendation would be to look at those those families whose households fall into categories that would meet that sliding scale requirement and to and to make the 5% uh you know sibling discount a second priority to that. Um but I think that would be up to up to the
district to decide. >> Okay. And then the you were saying that the sliding scale that falls into basically what we were seeing as surplus is that kind of Okay. >> Yes. Because those are really unrealized tuition dollars. I mean you think about the uh overall income available as being
tuition dollars. Uh there are some you know small grants you know that also fund you know but by and large uh the majority of the revenue is coming from tuition dollars. So any single dollar that is foregone, you know, because a
family can't afford it, that is just unrealized um revenue. >> Okay. And then my last one, um STEM. Just because there is not a STEM specialist called out for the Missuck and McGlin, that does not mean that
there is not structured STEM at those two schools. >> No, it doesn't. Uh you know, I'd say a couple things about that. I mean, I our our recommendation starts with a sports specialist because again, that's how it's the most bang for your buck in
terms of making sure there is uh a a a space that is utilized for that activity that is sustainable over time, not having, you know, just the gym open and having kind of free gym, which is a bit of a safety issue even with a few kids, much less having a lot of kids served in
that in that capacity. Um so again being able to utilize that space where all the kids are involved in one activity uh is the best way to increase capacity. Now there's a couple of different pieces I think that it's important to understand when you look at the individual you know
program byprogram analysis that you know starting with the managing director and and downstream the you know each site director would look at to make choice make hiring choices. Um, number one, if you're already able to satisfy the
lesson planning and implementation needs with someone who's already on staff, much like Michael talked about earlier, a a person who has either a a part-time a few days a week or a part-time fewer than 40 hours per week role, and that person could have one extra hour per day
to plan, or that person is actually just very experienced with on the-ly creating programming that lots of kids can be involved can you know maybe not take it to quite the level a sports special sports specialist would but to satisfy a lot of those needs in fact um at the
mituck you already have one of these folks available so if that person is ava is is able to take on that responsibility well then for the missuck that becomes a lower priority and perhaps you want to invest in the steam specialist for that individual program because you can meet mo 75 to 80% of the
needs with a current employee so anytime we can make a decision like that. We want to um on the a flip side of the same coin, you know, let's say at at the McGlin, they don't have that person that they can identify to to create and implement that that programming, but
they do have somebody who can, you know, really, you know, uh who would love to implement, you know, crafts and arts, has some interest in science and technology, but maybe, you know, needs some, you know, additional support to be
able to do something consistently. Again, we invest in adding the a couple hours a week to that person's schedule. Focus, you know, start with the, you know, the place where they're comfortable in in in arts and crafts programming and maybe we build up the
capacity of that person to implement, you know, the other elements of the steam programming through professional development or other supports that that we can provide. So, there are other lowcost areas that we can we can look at to make sure we're getting a steam experience for kids at those other schools. even though our top priority
for investment is not that steam specialist. >> Thank you, >> member Reinfeld. >> Thank you. And thank you to everyone who is involved with this. I know it's been a lot of work, a lot of conversations, and I appreciate everyone who took it
on. So, I'm looking at this with two hats on. One as the as the school committee member, and my my big questions are around the money. as you say, it's got to be self- sustaining. And I look at a lot of f new full-time employees and I get nervous and I think
about the benefits and the the everything that comes along with that as well as the dramatic increase um both in terms of staff and management, but also to the
people on the ground and having so many kids coming in at once. I'm not saying we should be any more gradual than we have to be. This is a long overdue change and we need to make it um soon. But I'm nervous. I I would love to see the spreadsheet. I trust member parks if
she's if she's given a thumbs up to a spreadsheet. I generally tend to trust that. But I'm I'm nervous as a school committee person. Um the other hat that I'm wearing is out of schooltime education. That is how I came to education myself. I think it's
critically important and that we're looking at this as not just an extension of the school day of having those choice moments and that the unstructured time I think is really important. So I have a few questions on the um I guess it's
it's it's a little bit in the weeds >> but um looking at the spaces for sports time I absolutely we hear we need more gross motor skills, we need more movement, less screens. I was really happy to not see a lot of screens in here. I actually would hope that we can
do our after school programming without um those those devices. >> Lowcost solution to the problem. We'll just put TVs in in >> Right. Yeah. Just say >> well um but I'm wondering about the sports spaces somewhere like the Roberts
which doesn't have the outdoor spaces that other schools have. Can we get out to Hickey Park? Have we looked at what happens? All of our elementary schools have experienced um where enrichment programs might come in, whether they're run by the PTO, by the by teachers,
clubs, schools. We've had outside basketball camps come in and that has taken space away from after school. And so I'm wondering how that gets factored in because I think those enrichment club opportunities are really wonderful for
the kids who aren't necessarily doing an afterchool program all year but want to have those experiences. It's the same spaces. How do we navigate that? >> Yeah, that's a um I'll try to address that in a couple of different uh realms. first, you know, taking your last point
first. Um, there certainly are difficult decisions that one needs to make running any individual schools in how those spaces are prioritized for after school use. Uh, I mean, we work with, you know, our um partners in in Belmont and in
Maynard on a daily basis and, um, I will tell you that at, you know, especially as, you know, get, you know, into spaces that are more used heavily for sports that becomes a very difficult prioritization um, decision. And um I
would say building in the capac the management capacity, the administrative capacity of the site director and the managing director is the way that you're able to have those conversations with school leadership um and with other district leaders to make sure that we're
understanding the full needs of that school building and the different spaces and how it's going to impact the students going forward on each on each decision. because if there's no voice to speak to I mean it's just going to be like the immediate need gets filled and
then that space is not usable and then we build into other you know issues uh for for afterchool students. Now um you know going backward in in your in your points to um the enrichment classes so to speak that are available whether
through the PTA or PTO or or other outside groups that are coming in and using spaces. Um I mean I think there is a you know that there's certainly a lot of benefit that comes from from those type of of programs. I would um advocate
for after school h you know being higher on that um on that hierarchy than than a enrichment class coming in for a space like the gym that is just vital to the operation of a program on a day-to-day basis. I'd say the same thing for the
cafeteria. You know, if there are if there's a coding class that you wanted to bring in and it's, you know, something that's not being done at after school and the only space was one of the classrooms, then certainly, you know, we could help to, you know, even in like a in a, you know, continuing relationship
of how to advise for, you know, making do with the cafeteria when you used to use the art room for 10 weeks because you really want this coding class to to operate. Certainly, you know, there are ways to be to be creative about that problem solving. Um but I would I I would hope that you know and I think
there's a lot of um there's a there's a lot of uh support for um prioritizing the afterchool space for those really critical spaces within the school. And then your third point uh about the you know utilizing outdoor spaces agreed
that Roberts doesn't have great outdoor space and uh my understanding from talking to folks at the program was that they used to walk you know to the park on on a pretty regular basis and that's just something that programmatically has gone away. So I think really looking at whether that is a possibility going
forward again it's not necessary for this first step in increasing capacity but I think that would be a great next step because out of the out of out of all of the schools it is the most limited for outside play and if we're talking about it being the second largest in terms of needs uh to only
have really one good pro you know outdoor programming space um you know that was part of the reason why we highlighted the Roberts in our mock schedule for all of you even though there's you know multiple versions to look at in the full report. Uh is because it it takes some coordination in
the schedule just to really even meet the needs for the afterchool students much less any folks you know community folks who are using the playground or to get something like a a pickup soccer game organized. >> Could I just really quickly point of information through the chair is um just
to add on a little bit from what Andrew was saying. So it's always go there have been ongoing conversations with all school leaders. >> So throughout the year of this review and our work with basic so everyone is
very clear on what it is going to take in order to meet these expectations. One of the first things we did for this school year was make sure that the same amount of space across the district in every program was used. And so that is
is the number one priority. I would say there's always the compromise of things when it comes to enrichment programs, book fairs, things like that that come up. But in terms of renting space to um programs and community partners, that
does not start till 6 p.m. It should not be. So I actually would like to know about that if that >> the the basketball program. >> Yes, I would like to know about that if that's the case. >> Do that offline. >> Yes. Thank you. Um, and then >> which was a great program. I should say kids really enjoyed getting to play
basketball. So I don't want to >> Yes. I would just say that you know we we were very clear about people coming in at 6:00 p.m. because we still have students in the building and so >> I mean it was for the Medford students. >> It was for the after school program.
>> We can talk separately. I'm just saying that like there is an expectation that rentals do not start until >> I don't think it was rentals. It was it was buil as a enrichment. My kid didn't do it, so I didn't go deep. Oh, >> you I wonder if you're referring to the Saturday Night Live. That was the It was
like a football organization. Maybe >> Saturday Night Lights was separate. >> Excuse me. Live >> easily done. >> I would have to go back and look. >> Um, so I just for a moment wanted to
speak to personal experience. So, as a site director under this current model, I'm the one who owns managing that difficulty in our in our school district in Maynard. Um, and something I'd like to point out is really the scale of that problem. And so, I think when we think
of the use of space in a building, it's very easy to think that it's utilized every like waking minute. And I think the reality is that there is actually it's much easier to share the space than people anticipate right away. Um, I also
think part of the the recommendation to increase the capacity of the director and specialist is so that they can be owning that problem and they can come up with a separate plan on those individual days that exist. And so we always
prioritize a relationship where we want the school to do the the district to do the things that they want to do. And if there's a basketball program, great. Let's work out that schedule. What time is that going to be in the specific day? What day of the week? and then we'll adjust. Um, and I think the way it ends up playing out is that there's there's
still enough time for each program to to get in. Uh, there's 180 days in that year. We're not expecting that we have each of those spaces from dismissal till six, every one of those 180 days. And so I I think uh we've never encountered an
issue or a problem with that support staff that couldn't overcome that. I I think a big thing that we've faced in Medford is that communication and the expectation around who right >> who is you know right >> when the when a school is having an art night what happens we when we're taking
over the hallways hanging student art >> frantically before everyone arrives so so that's where I think it becomes really important for there to be ownership on specific sites but I'm also wondering how that interfaces with you were talking about a coherent vision for
the full program and this actually taps to member parks's question around the steam specialists. There might not be someone for the site. What opportunity is there to share that expertise? You know, if something fabulous is developed at one site, how do we make sure it gets
somewhere else and that the site the the on-site staff >> has that training, that planning to say, "Oh, this is such a great >> community craft that we're doing." And it's going to look different in different sites, but >> really that ability to customize and that comes into the professional
development. professional development is great and fantastic and important and if you don't build in the time to customize it and tailor it to your students >> it doesn't actually >> yeah sure um I would say that that ownership comes from the managing
director and so that that person has those site directors at their disposal to be feeding that information up right so like if one team specialist is really working on something that's great right we're you know as we move into the next phase of this project that we would
recommend that that managing director is having weekly monthly meetings with their site directors to like hey what's going on like ear to the ground kind of stuff. >> Yeah. I mean and that's the kind of thing that Dr. Guzy has done as superintendent is to try to improve the communication across schools. So >> um I also wanted to really emphasize the
reason why I think having specialists as full-time um across sites is so vital. Um one thing that we've even really implemented is what we call coops, community of practice. um they mean different things in different communities. Um but for us it's actually a gathering meeting of um individuals
with similar positions. So for instance, our STEM specialists, they meet once a month to be able to share resources and information. And so, you know, I think by being able to move um specialists to that full-time position, it allows not
just the managing directors to kind of manage up people, but it also allows individuals to work with each other um and share resources so that the Missatuck specialists and other educators who might be interested have an opportunity to talk to the McGllin specialists and educators and the
Roberts. And so, it really builds in that time and space to be able to do that. And it first starts with full-time staff and then as there are other teachers who are interested building them into being part of that so that resources don't also stay stagnant to one site but they can be actually shared
across the community. >> Right. And I I do wonder about hiring and being able to to fill all of those. I know for example we wanted literacy specialists for in for the school day and we didn't we couldn't fill all the positions and so it you know the thought
was one per elementary school and now we have two across the elementary schools. So I'm I'm wondering if we're going to find ourselves there but I guess the only way you find that out is is you post the job descriptions and you see what happens. Um but thinking about whether it makes sense to do some
sharing if it's three days at one school and two days at another or something like that. I would love to see um I had >> on that point as you find that Erica that um I mean it it's you're absolutely always at the at the mercy of like
whatever candidates are out there and the and the the the the hiring environment. Um, but I will say, you know, we at Basic, we're the only out of schooltime organization that pays full-time teachers. Every almost every out of
school time organization you you can find has a full, you know, one full-time position and it's the director of the program. There aren't positions for out of school time educators that are full-time. Uh, and so the fact that you'll be now one of two organizations that that that offer this and the fact
that it's a district position, I think it all automatically elevates, you know, the desiraability of that over just an organization that is offering something like that. >> You know, people look at it as the stability, the upward mobility all all kind of baked into the job. Um, I think
is it gives me a lot of confidence that you're going to find good candidates for this. I mean, as long as we can afford it, I'm I think that's that's that school committee has >> the future of of program out of school time program. >> I mean, and it it should, like I said, I came up in this world. I museums were,
>> you know, right? you know, I do >> and you know what it can do for, you know, for, you know, bringing great people into, I mean, you you know, you know, kind of having a shared uh, you know, um, colleague who who came into the out of school time field, not as an
education professional. >> Yeah. >> But found it because she found the idea of teaching in this in that space to be just very exciting and interesting and then made it her career. And there's >> especially in greater Boston a lot of folks like that. >> Yeah. Um and this program we still have
room for our student assistants and our city year folks who are helping. They're still in the in the room. >> Yes. In fact I I mean we we highlighted a number of times throughout the report how important those folks are and what you know a extremely valuable resource
you have in in both of those categories of employees. So, we would go to extreme lengths to ensure that you continue those relationships. They are a great deal for what you're getting. It's it's really it those are those are those are fantastic partnerships.
>> Okay. Um you mentioned this in the report that the early pickup model added some seats but didn't necessarily work. Is there still room for that? because we did hear from some people that for example teachers in other districts who said, "I just need a little more
coverage." Um, and it sounds like it didn't that the staffing wasn't necessarily scaled to match it. >> Do you want to talk about that, Andy? >> Yeah. Do you want me to talk about what the survey said or specific or >> I I'm happy to talk about it, but but I know you would. Um, I will say from who
we spoke to, I I can at least comment from the, uh, the surveying that we had, um, and going extensively through the survey data, there were some families that reported, uh, you know, that the 4pm was works perfectly for their schedule and that they liked it. Um, it was such a small percentage overall, um,
that it didn't really reflect the overall experience. Um, I truly it was about three or four responses um, out of 395. Um, so it really didn't really uh as from what we collected didn't reflect the overall experience. Um, and then
Michael can actually talk a little bit more about the what we observed as far as the 4pm structure and kind of what we think is better overall programmatically. >> Yeah, I think um the intended goal of the 4pm pickup was to be able to bring in different staff transparently for cheaper, someone who would just extend
another hour of their day and it didn't seem like it it met that intended goal. it's really difficult to to find that kind of individual. Um the other thing we really observed is that the schedule of after school was then structured
around a limited number of students who were had to get picked up at 4:00. So the schedule was built on that dismissal time. So you had students the majority of students really at that point in one room doing an unpreferred activity when they could be spending their time
elsewhere. And so that on top of it just being a bigger administrative burden for folks to keep track of who's being picked up at four, our perspective was that it it wasn't worth it really, even though it would benefit, you know, teachers specifically who just need that
little bit of time. Um, but that it doesn't support the growth that we're really trying to achieve here. >> Yeah. And I think that highlights the the aspect here that we're not just looking for a place to house children for right a few hours. We're looking to have to have really enriching positive
experiences. So sorry I know I'm taking up a lot of time but um I had a big question which is what does integration with the school and our students who require um services and special needs, how do they um thrive in this program as
well? >> Yeah. Um, so we we've had conversations about that specifically and about kind of the difference in our experience from district to district. I'd highlight and make a pitch really for kind of the model that Maynard uses. >> Um, so really their reading of Title 9
is such that, uh, any program that's operating it out of their buildings, uh, whatever service is being granted to that student should be extended to after school as well. >> Absolutely. That's that's how that's how they run it. So, we work collaboratively
with that school district to to hire a one-on-one if it's necessary >> um for that individual student. With that question, I think that's where my mind goes with the kinds of services. >> Yeah. >> Um >> and making sure that this financial model and this that we can support
those students in this. >> So, we wouldn't have built that in specifically, but uh I I think there would be some space for it within that surplus. I I wouldn't give you any guaranteed number. Um the the other thing I would really highlight though as
a benefit of full-time staff is being able to create behavior plans for those students maybe on a 504 or who might have a specific need or accommodation that doesn't necessarily rise to the level of a one-on-one. Like you can
imagine students who would be perfectly capable of participating in in this kind of program but just a little bit extra of help. And so that daily staff meeting, a specialist who's designing curriculum with those students, who can take into consideration those students and adjusting their lesson plan or
recommend to a site director, a specific example from my program is a student who doesn't have the use of one of their arms. So we uh purchase specialized scissors for them so they could continue to do the art projects that they wanted to do. Um so uh a lot of those benefits
or those recommendations really have additional benefits to welcoming those types of students and making it easier as opposed to a site coordinator who's coming in at 2:30, you know, two o'clock every day and needs to spend 25 minutes on making sure that the attendance is done as opposed to, you know, a few
hours a day being like, okay, well, who's this student and what can we do as a team within our resources are ready to accommodate them. >> Okay, >> great. So, I I just hope that will be part of the hiring conversation around um these folks. And then the very last thing I wanted point of point of I just
want to make one point to that. >> Thank you, Michael. Because I think the piece of the position being full-time is very critical because they this the managing excuse me, no, the site director will be able to have conversations with school-based teams
>> and the principal. And so I do think that these are individual conversations that have to be made in order to create the support that's needed. 504s are written written for settings. So there are ways in which you can either create
another 504 or add on accommodations that are appropriate for extended school day programs. It's the same for IEPs. It just cannot be necessarily mirrored. So there are staff that are not present in after school that are there during the
school day. So I think individual conversations with families so that we can be very clear about what are the reasonable accommodations that we can provide so that students are able to be supported in after school care is 100% the priority but after but we have to be
very transparent >> that after school is not housed with nurses or school adjustment counselors or behaviorists or BCBAs. So all of those if if any of those positions are required then that's the one-to-one
conversations that have to occur between the site director the school itself whatever the team of representation that is and the caregivers so that we can create the plan that's needed to support the students to the best of our ability.
>> I myself are involved in a lot of those conversations with BCBAS with with school adjustment counselors uh because I work in the building itself. They can pop by my office. I can go by them. Like, hey, we can collaborate on those kiddos who >> in all their spare in all our spare time, right? >> I mean, you got to make it work, right?
>> Yeah. Exactly. Supporting the same children. So, we're here for the kids. Yeah. We're uh we we do what we can. Um if a specific service or you know, someone couldn't be hired. >> Yeah. And just making sure that's that's not an afterthought when when this program needs to be open for all.
Um, so then the last thing I will just flag is that we are in the midst of another task force looking at moving fifth grade out of the elementary schools. And so thinking about not now, not today, but just recognizing that the
elementary school composition may be changing. >> We've already had lots of conversations. So we'll continue. Yes. >> Yes. And because I think we're one of the things I've heard is that we want to retain some of that elementary school deep. I love the deep learning that's
getting built in rather than worksheets and and and coloring like real art projects, not just um coloring and making sure that that is available to our fifth and sixth graders when if and when we we shift there. All right, I'm going to turn off my microphone. I see
lots of other lights. Thank you for indulging my questions. >> Member Lady, >> thank you and thank you so much. This is wonderful. Um, a couple quick questions. So, one of the things that was me mentioned earlier is the families cited the need for more transparency regarding
communication, the weight list system, just the process in general. Um, how are we going to ensure I think overall clear communication? I know that a lot of the time it's a timing thing more than anything else, understanding where they fall in the general order. Um, so can we talk a little bit about what that looks
like going forward? >> Um, yeah, sure. So, I think uh to to get into the weeds a little bit, I think um what we're really recommending is is I think to to what you're saying is the timing of things and there was a lot of
unclear responses and the way the information was flowing out and so part of the steps that we've done already in collaboration with communications director here in Medford is is to uh give as much information ahead of time as possible. So, it's already been clearly communicated when that
registration window is going to be. Um, at the same time, we do have to protect the, uh, ability to make flexible registration decisions. And so, uh, part of some of our conversations has been moving away from that, uh, weight list
pool and more to a ranked order, but one in which that provides some flexibility and gives a full registration picture before students are necessarily pulled off of a weight list. So what I mean by that is you can imagine a scenario where
maybe there's 60 kindergarteners in an individual school year that registered but only 10 fifth graders. So we have enough total resources to accommodate that and we can plan ahead of time once we have that full registration picture of shifting over staff to open up a
second kindergarten classroom. Um but that could lead to a scenario where that ranked order is adjusted in some way based on grade. Right? So, um, one student might not get pulled off. One student might have registered first,
but where we're going to distribute our resources is such that, um, they might not be pulled off right away. I don't know if you want to clarify. Hope I'm painting a clear picture. >> Yeah. I I think the the only piece I would add to that um in in kind of
working through, you know, this strategy and the conversations that we've had so far are that um we want to make sure we're being as transparent as possible. Um and we also want to be really strategic about how about sharing information. Sorry, am I causing feedback there?
about um about um sharing the information in a way that kind of parents understand that here are our priorities. This is how we're managing the overall list. So they understand that there is a structure and a strategy to uh ensure fairness and to try to
maximize the number of participants but also trying to but not getting in the weeds of it's you know it's it's this particular system and you're you know third on the overall weight list but that but also uh you know asterisk fifth when it comes to kindergarten because if
this happens that happens we're just not you know something that their parents can understand. So if we're ahead always of this communication strategy, so telling folks early on, you know, for next year particularly, we had, you know, we did a lot of the work this year to increase the number of seats that are
available. We don't think it's going to completely resolve the problem, but we're hoping with within the next two years that it completely resolves the problem. But for next year, we know that whatever the X, you know, X number of total seats are are are going to be made available. And we're going to open
registration on X date and and and and communicate to families that they're in if we know they're in by Y date and be able to make continued decisions about, you know, about the weight list by by Z date. so that people understand the flow
and they understand the strategy. Even if at the very beginning I don't get spit out a number like you know you're you're seventh on the wait list as soon as I register you know that there's a uh that there's a process that that uh puts
fairness as the highest value and that person that managing director who we're hiring to lead that communication strategy is someone I can reach out to that fully understands and can talk through my individual question in a way that we just can't uh communicate
broadly and that would apply to every single student in Metro public schools. That makes sense. >> Yeah. Thank you so much. >> Sure. Um >> point of information too, just so we're aware of the X dates >> tomorrow. There is um we're holding a
meeting so that we can explain this what's happening here to the community. So there is that presentation to the community. Wednesday, May 6th, um the registration for all MPS after school lottery will open. It will the reenrollment date for
current Medford after school families. So something went out to all the current families in that are served through the afterchool program. They've already received a survey to see if they are returning and interested. That due date is May 12th. Monday, May 16th, um the
registration for the the lottery will close and then we will run a lottery on the 19th. And so I do have to say that communications director Will Pacelli has and is doing a fabulous job facilitating
a lot and all of the communication. So the collaboration between myself and Will and the basic team and the task force has I think one of the most important priorities of this whole entire process
has been the communication and the increased communication. So, um I'm happy to share that timeline with the committee so and the presentation for tomorrow night so that you have all of those dates at the ready. Um thank you. >> Thank youful. No, that's wonderful to
hear. Um and I think something that you both mentioned that I think is a part of this is also this idea of um fairness, right? We've talked a lot about belonging this year. Um and there's been some questions or concerns I think throughout the district um about the uh uneven demand of of programming that just the reality of um geographical
location and the just populations of our schools. How are you how are we going to be ensuring I think just general fairness when we have that uneven demand when it comes to staffing when it comes to communication obviously when there's an increased number of students that are in this program these programs at schools where there is additional need how do we I think make sure that um all
families feel like they're part participating in the process obviously the increased communication is a big part of that but um are we making sure that the program is is again like equivalent or is equitable across all things like what are we doing to make sure that's happening >> yeah I mean part of establishing that
vision as we talked about is the strategic vision as the very first step in this process is to communicate uh again kind of going back to communication that this is our our vision for programming means that we're serving every child in the community and even though we you know particularly you
know Brooks is bound to feel the brunt of this you know more acutely next year until we can get to full capacity for Brooks uh I mean the demand there is just so much greater than it is at every other school um you know they're they're going to They'll feel excuse me feel
that more than every other uh school will for next year. But they understand that he our vision for programming is full access for every child in in in the program. And that means it's an inclusive experience for every Medford student for
after you know for after school and then our and then our our goal is to serve every family. So I think it it comes first from just from communicating that vision and really incorporating that that is our highest value. Um I got into this field you know because I love how
af how uh out of school time allows for education to play out based on student choice based on you know the interest that students have and how far that they can take them. But uh over my time, you know, decades working in this field, I've come to value access far more. And
so building large programs that work happens to go handinhand with building great programs because you need to have one uh in order for the other to work. Uh but that that has to be forefront in in our vision. So with the vision statement that we drafted for for Medford public schools in what will be
you know and that aligns with you know Medford already talks about you know inclusion and access you know to to to you know every resource as part of its kind of fundamental you know mission uh for the community. So aligning the
afterchool mission with that and making that forefront um is is I think that strategy. >> Yeah. Awesome. Thank you so much. >> Yeah of course. Thank you, >> member Master Bony. >> Thank you. Uh, two comments and a question. First, thanks for your work.
Um, especially thanks to the volunteers who invested their time um from the community. You know, this this doesn't happen without sort of this whole team coming together and a lot of work um happening. And now I've lost my notes. Um uh second uh I also am interested in
taking a look at the financials. Right. I think it's uh surprising to me, welcome, but also surprising to me that um with just a 10% increase to rates, we can fund all these new positions, full-time positions and benefits. Um so that either seems to me we've been running a surplus for a really long
time. Um which I understand is extremely likely as well. I just wanted to you know understand the full costing. Um so in terms of my question um particularly at the two schools um the Brooks and the Roberts where we're projecting to really
increase the enrollment opportunity is that because um opportunities in facilities opportunities in staffing large weight lists in those um school communities and then you know along with that are there any facility needs that we need to do particularly at those two
sites to grow this um the resource therein. Um so I think that's that's my main question is you know why those two schools and do we need to invest in them? >> Absolutely. Well I mean to go back to to your you know uh your first your your comment about you looking at the financials you know um it's it you're
funding these new positions partly with the with the increase but keep in mind also that we're we're also funding this increase because we're going to be enrolling you know 50 more students than we were previously. So that's a that's a huge increase in the total number of re in
total amount of revenue coming in and and there are you know in having you know done this for a number of years there are economies of scale that you're you're you're going to realize as you increase seats. So you know there are you can kind of see if you when you dive into the to the financial sheet itself
there are there are different um uh priorities and kind of rules that you want to live by as you structure programs. you know, things like, you know, we ensure we don't spend more than 70% of our revenue on sta on on staff. So, that's on our on our wages. Um, and
and those are built into that kind of financial projection for uh that financial tool so that we know as we scale up programs as long as we are satisfying these these rules that it's going to continue to work and again with the tool you can really see how it works. Um, then sorry, go ahead if you
want to follow up on that. >> Oh yeah, absolutely. Um, so and then as far as why the Roberts and the Brooks, uh, it's it's completely the weightless need. I mean, we are we don't know what every individual family who's starting school in September is going to make for an individual choice, but it was very
clear from the from the data that we collected. Uh, the survey particularly um where the weight list students who are currently uh, you know, kind of waiting on the weight list are that the need is absolutely at those schools. So um as far as next year again as far the
piece that Michael talked about earlier with kind of what needs to happen programmatic what happens to uh needs to happen structurally within the program how we use the spaces um nothing needs to change um I can't say nothing needs to change we need to utilize you we need
to use those spaces differently but we don't need to use any more spaces in either one of those schools for next year now if the Brooks does grow to a place where it's serving 300 students per day, you know, 330 students today, 30 per day, 340 students per day. We may
have to look at, you know, using additional classrooms uh for that type of program. I will say that the pro uh our largest program um which kind of go back to your point earlier, Erica, about the need of uh you know, upper elementary school programming that's a fourth, fifth, and sixth program. there
is a great need for having kids at that age and even into middle school in environments that are healthy and productive after school where they can pursue their interests. Um that's our biggest program and we do it largely with those you know same types of spaces and a bigger school so they're larger.
You know the cafeteria is a bigger cafeteria, the gym is a bigger gym but we're not using 30 classrooms in the school to do it even though it's serving 400 students. Uh but I would say that going into that that second year where you try to make the next jump for Brooks, we're probably going to look at
additional spaces uh to use within the school to meet that big number depending on how big that number is. >> I think our student reps have some questions. >> Okay. I just uh one thing just quick point of inquiry. We have um one of the student reps that will almost certainly
be here for next year here to just sort of observe. Uh and they actually had some questions that they wanted to ask the committee. Would it would the chair be would the chair be willing to admit that? >> Of course. Great. Thank you. Go first. >> Um yes. Hello. Um I just want to say
great presentation. You always know your stuff very well. Um I'm so happy that the apple school is getting new work. Um, I know a bunch of people in when I was in the books that went to elementary
that went to out to school a lot. So, it's good to see this finally getting some changes. I have a few questions though. Um, what was the reason doing this remodeling not having any conversations with the kids that were
involved in attending the as a school program? I just think that the program focuses on kids. So I think that they should have an opinion on this. Even though this may be like high above them, they should still have like opinion on
like the specialist and the and the schedule and Yeah. >> Andy, you want to take this one? >> Um, honestly, we didn't survey the students because we didn't have permission to. Um, I think actually it's great feedback. um if we were to do this again, you know, and we had more time, I
think reaching out to families and getting permission to speak to their students directly, um would be a really great um additional research to have for us. Um again, we just didn't have a direct student voice because we didn't have permission to speak to those students. >> All right. Um I have uh few more
questions. um for the leader of the new model, are you looking for like um government officials and teachers in Memphis or people who are in leadership positions like outside of the school system and outside of the city like
maybe in Melrose or in Boston or in Chelsea um or like other leadership roles that are nonacademic or non-school related. Do you get my question? >> I'm sorry I didn't understand the first part of the question. Were you saying for the for the new positions that are being hired?
>> Yeah, for the uh new leadership position of the whole thing. >> Yeah. Um I mean so for for that process, that hiring process, you know, Medford Public Schools has their own processes for posting positions and fielding inquiries uh from interested folks. So I
mean they could come from anywhere. Um and and I imagine they will. I think it's a very competitive position. >> Okay. Um and also um what would you do if a family could not
afford the financial compensation for the program? There are a lot of households that are not financially stable to make that money commitment. Yeah, it's a re um your your question was that what about the family that can't afford you know the theation
>> uh I mean unfortunately um you know this uh along with the you know this this this issue goes handinhand with one of the pieces that we talked about earlier the struggles in the field of out of school time um in the United States right now that again this is not just a greater Boston problem in fact it's a
lesser problem uh in greater Boston than it is in most communities around this country. On the one hand, um you have the the difficulty in finding folks uh who in most cases are able to work a job that is 20 hours a week uh and that not
being a living wage and that's a difficulty in being able to provide the programming uh that's available. And on the other side, to address your question, it's an it's an extraordin it's becoming an extraordinarily high expense for families. Um and um it's a
it's it is a very challenging issue that is felt very acutely for any family that can't afford it. I think luckily uh in Medford we uh have the history of using the sliding tuition scale um looking
into also as we flagged earlier being able to again accept state vouchers uh because that's is a is a very wellfunded resource that Massachusetts has provided for a long long time but since co and the uh accompanying rescue plan uh got
uh bolstered with more funding pulling a lot more families off those weight lists and making the state vouchers uh a really wonderful resource to provide um you know a really scaled uh uh subsidy for families that need it. So between
those two two tools I'm I'm I'm hopeful that we're able to to meet the needs of every family. I mean not to say that any family even if a family that is you know uh quite comfortable um the cost of programming as we saw in in numbers is
uh is rising all the time just the of of the expenses that are involved. >> Member Rouso. >> Oh, um, we me and Christine have a couple of a decent few questions as well. >> I know. >> Understood. >> Understood. You can go member fine.
Thank you. Um, the reason we got rid of the vouchers. >> Has that changed? Because the problem we had with the vouchers was that um, short of having a PhD, you really couldn't finish the process. uh there are vast numbers of people who
absolutely are eligible and cannot get through the process to get a voucher. So we felt access was far more important than standing on hey there's a state program but like a lot of state programs they're not actually accessible. >> So have they actually fixed that
process? Because if they haven't I'm very much opposed to vouchers. We had a very robust conversation when we got rid of them and I know it's free money but it's only free money for those that can actually figure out how to get through the process. So >> um so that's a detail we haven't talked
out in or we've talked a little bit about but not not fully fleshed out. I would recommend a model that would like like that which we use at at basic. So part of our tuition assist our private tuition assistance which again is is very similar to what you would have in a sliding scale. So, a family demonstrates
need based on their circumstances uh and you have a you know a number of discounts that you can give um that you know make it more affordable for that family based on their basic based on their household income and their family size. But the first step in our process
for applying for our assistance is make that first inquiry for a state voucher to basically get on the list and start the communication so that they can move forward with a sliding scale from the district.
for us it's from basic while they work through that process to obtain a voucher because you're right it is it is a difficult process and it can again even though they got rid of the weight list a number of years ago for you know following COVID there are weight lists again so it can't be your one solution
>> so it's a yes and >> yeah so it's a yes and but I would say I would recommend yeah you know it is a it depends on the you know the vouchers come from the state and then they're they're they're sent to these uh different uh programs, these different
organizations that facilitate the vouchers through a uh through a voucher counselor who works individually with the family. So, you're a little bit at the uh at the mercy of of which you know a voucher counselor you get and how informative that person is, how much that person will help the process, but
their guiding principle is that they want to work with families and make it so that this will work. And they are starting to build in more and more tools where the the organization itself can kind of provide enough background
information. So, you know, a voucher can transfer from one organization to another so that they can properly budget for and make sure the resources are being used as they're supposed to be to be used without relying solely on the
family to meet every deadline that might not be communicated so clearly to them. So, I would say it's not a process that's free of paperwork. I wish it were, but it's not. Um, but I wouldn't say that I would completely um move away from that if it's if if it's
possible for the manag managing director to help families work through this process if it's one element of the of the whole tuition assistance available. >> Thank you. I also and this is a detail we can worry about later but I seem to remember that if you did vouchers you
couldn't do sliding scale and if you did sliding scale you could not do vouchers. >> That's not the that's not the case. Well, um I I can't say what's not the they may have different rules for you know my work with you know with vouchers is from you know an organ a licensed
organization um and Medford would have because it's run by the public school district would have an exemption to licensing. So if >> I'm I'm not sure if that's the case. That's a good question that would need to be answered for sure. >> Thank you. >> Um before we go back to the students
there's um I think Dr. Gusy has an add-on to the conversation about sliding scale and vouchers in terms of participation and member parks has a point of information. So I'm going to field those two and then we will return. But if you guys could keep your um
conversation to a minimum, it's providing feedback across the floor and I just want to make sure we can hear the questions that are being asked. Thanks. >> Um thank you. I think you member Russo got a lot of information from Andrew. I think that's why we are continuing and
later on with the rate card you'll see we're continuing with the sliding scale but something for the managing director and our continued partnership with basic to explore the voucher system is is something that we have for next year. Just a point of information for people
listening and for for the school committee members. Currently to date with the current um after school program there are 54 students that are receiving some level of support through the sliding scale. It is about and I want to
make sure that I use that word about $138,000 that is being funded through Metro Public Schools to support families in need. I would say that um more than half of that 54 are at one
particular school which is the Mlin um elementary school and there is a range from 20% of assistance to 100% of assistance and I do also want to say that in those
numbers sometimes are students that are um classified as McKini Vento and so they absolutely will and that is part of two member potties um question about communication students that are Mckin
Vinto status or in for people that don't know what that is that's homeless we will be very transparent about weight lists but students that need afterchool care um that are in a homeless situation will absolutely sometimes be served uh
and provided a spot before we maybe release students from that may be on the wait list. Um, but I just wanted to make sure that I gave at least some context and data to what the current landscape is for the sliding scale. Now, with the
increased capacity, I would say that I do anticipate that there will be more need for the sliding scale, especially at uh the McGlin Elementary for sure. Member Parks, >> I just wanted to make a quick point um
to you, member Russo. Um the vouchers um having used them, they were not difficult to get through. They were took extensive period to get off of them. And then I remember finally getting off of them and then getting the phone call that Medford was no longer using them,
which was the most disappointing phone call ever. But they were it was not it was just a lengthy process. It was not a difficult process at the time. So, and that was postco. So, member Rouso, and please be brief.
>> I I certainly respect the I certainly that sounds terrible. Um, but um I mean, for folks that are not well educated and have the space to do all of that and to wait, I I know, but we didn't make this
up. this was a real problem that was happening statewide where there are lots of people who are not able to finish the process and you know it's a couple forms but it's a couple forms for me and you it's not necessarily a couple forms for people who don't speak English or who
have four jobs because rents are out of control like I think that we didn't make that decision lightly and um so I I I certainly understand that but I think that we are not the target audience of getting rid of vouchers. So, I just hope
we look at that carefully. Thank you. >> Back to our student reps. Thank you. Um I'd also like to say firstly thank you Dr. Kuci because I mean a lot of questions have been answered by our fellow committee members, but that was in fact um something that we were going
to ask and I know that not everyone has access to that data. So, thank you so much. Um we had a decent few questions. sort of try to speed on quick because I know it's late and I know Ryan you might have one or two more. Um so um we noticed when you're looking we didn't at
the full report that um you had two vis you had um one visit to the missuck and the mcllin and five visits to some other other schools. I think we can infer some things like enrollment being a reason for that but could you sort of expand is
there any other reasons why you took less visits to these schools? Yeah, in fact I mean the for the entire process uh to make sure we had time to um fully understand the the um uh the needs uh
our our start uh in this process was to look at all four schools. But as we had a reduced number of time working through the procurement process um and um understanding the landscape that the needs as you mentioned were really at Brooks and Roberts uh that focusing our
our report on those two schools. Uh our first um our first version of our data collection actually included not visiting Mrs. Tucker McGuin at all. Uh we added those two afterward just to say like you know the the model is going to be for all four schools. We want to
understand the landscape there as well. >> Yes, thank you for doing that. And I assume similar time reasons are for interviewing looks like four families. Is that the reason for that number >> rather than like 10? >> Exactly. Yeah. So the ability to to conduct as many interviews as possible.
It was also harder to access families. It was just a longer process approval to reach out to them. >> Um luckily I think the the task force members that we interviewed were also Okay. Yes. Thank you so much. Um and
just to confirm because I know I sort of off-handedly mentioned um the current tuition is a 10% increase from the previous year. >> Is that correct? >> I think it's it depends on which you're looking at fiveday >> schedule. Whatever the most common >> 5 days is the is by far the most common.
I think it's slightly over 10%. >> Thank you so much. Do you want to I mean Christine, >> I have a question. Um, how much um how much effort did you put in to try and interview with kids and
uh families? Like how much effort did you try to put in to get that request? >> Um, as I stated earlier, we did not get to a chance to interview students. Um, our priority was to really observe the kind of programmatic structure. Um and we use the interviews as almost like an
expansion of the landscape survey um to really kind of dig deeper. So the surve uh the interviews really allowed us to understand uh what we were seeing and what we saw in survey data a bit further. Um and so the interviews again were really um again the amount that we
were able to do was just about time as you see we did about 20 interviews. Um, and so we had to really narrow down how many family interviews we could actually do, but we really tried to get a perspective of internal and external families. Internal being families that
have kids in the programs currently, and then external being families um, who unfortunately have been weight listed and haven't been able to get their kids in yet. >> Um, given that that a lot of these gaps in the data is based on a timing
deadline and also given that we're probably going to be restructuring this in future years. This is kind of like a base level. I'm guessing you're going to do a more indepth look in the coming years as we're sort of expanding this further.
>> I I just I would like to answer that one. So I started the meeting with some framing just because there was significant need for us to do to increase this. >> So Basic has spent an exorbitant amount of time working with our current staff,
working with our task force. So this is not necessarily a continuation of audit and vetting. What is the next phase is they are going to be with us helping us along the way. So the next phase is going to be
training and professional development for our staff so that we're able to handle the increased capacity and the changes in the format of how after school is run. So basic isn't going away
but and they're going to be with us for training and professional development and kind of like on boots on the ground um kind of some on-site assistance as we go uh to make sure especially those new roles have the support that they need um
at each building. But I just want to make that clear. Um we're we're not doing another audit. That part's done. Okay. Um, one of the other concerns that I sort of had is that I know that we've had you said around 100,000 uh in uh
lost revenue from um from the sliding sliding tuition scale. um that is of course an absolute value like it's not a percentage and we are of course increasing enrollment drastically
so I expect that number to increase um but we have about uh 300,000 or 300 you know 375,000 budget surplus so I assume you know we're pretty drastically increasing enrollment here which is amazing but
it's also going to sort of eat into our budget surplus I know that we have some um other things that contribute to that. I I'm sure you you balanced it uh correctly because you know you've been in the space for a while. Can you maybe expand on that just a little bit but I I
don't have a significant concern. >> Yeah. Uh I mean the um I mean the the we didn't use that 138,000 I think that was the number that Dr. Lucy mentioned a few moments ago as a previous uh expense for
the district in coming up with that $375,000 number. Um I think it's it it is it it's it's right in the I wouldn't say center of the bullseye of what I expected, but it is, you know, from a um
from like a dig like how how large, you know, the number the the size of the number is is is comparable to what I was expecting. And you know, given that you're we're increasing the number of of spots available, we have to assume that that number overall is going to
increase. Um what we never know with something like a sliding scale is who are those individual folks who are walking in the door. So our priority for creating that uh a a a financial tool that can help us understand what tuition to set so we understand how much revenue
is coming in is say we want to make sure we have enough space uh for these major investments that we don't have a figure for. And across the board for every step that we took in this in this development of the of the financial tool, we tried
to take you know what you could either call like the most conservative or kind of like least advantageous scenario into account and use that as the baseline because again you just don't know what actually will walk through the door when
when things happen. So, um, in doing so, you know, we feel like we're setting up the the district for success with with this size program at this revenue stream. >> Great. Yeah. I just wanted to make sure it was in the balance that you were expecting, which it sounds like it is. >> Yeah. Question
>> sort of I think uh the kindergarten coordinator, how does that relate to sort of the current staff positions that you have available? And understand that we of course have kindergarten in our program. You created this dedicated role. um sort of what is the need you're feeling? What are changes that would be implemented by having this role available?
>> So currently I think as Annie mentioned uh you know and you know earlier described in the programs as they currently operate uh every class every grade at each of the programs operate uh in a model similar to what we would um
that that that we would recommend that kindergarten does. So a lead teacher leads the group from one activity to the other. uh there's not really choice, you know, for the for that group. It's like everyone sits down and does this coloring page. Everyone goes down for snack. Everyone in the group goes out to
the playground and that that that that group leader is is leading that group around. So, you know, again, for most of our students, we're recommending that we don't use that model and that the grades one through five have more of a choice based. But kindergarten is different.
you know, kindergartener enters the year um with, you know, a lot. Yes. attend preschool programs, but it's their first time in, you know, it's it's it's not an accident that kindergarten starts at five years old because it's the first time that a child is able to kind of go
from this, you know, like 3:1, 4:1 ratio, 5 to1 ratio that's in a that's in a preschool classroom to you're sitting with 20 peers uh in a classroom led by one teacher and sitting down at a meeting and kind of waiting your turn and and and and navigating the social
emotional, you know, challenges that are developmentally appropriate for that group. And so our kindergarten specialist position um is currently happening at each of the programs because every grade is led by a group leader. The difference between what our
kindergarten special position did is and what those and what is currently happening is that this person would be specifically hired for that kindergarten role would have the time built in to plan for the kind for the kindergarten
program each day and would and it's different from the other kindergarten specialists because you're not in a particular domain and and trying to meet the wide range of needs for every child to have a STEM experience, you know, for instance, at after school, but instead
you're thinking of all the different ways that uh a child, a 5-year-old child needs to have their needs met in in the program. And and that might also mean that you need to place some sort of it's not it's not a management role, but you need to be able to facilitate a group of
uh a team of teachers in that space. if you have a very large group to have station play happening to have if there's four children who are you know sharing a toy be there to navigate the social social challenges like how do I share you know these supplies so um you
know that jobs that job description for that kindergarten specialist is heavy on kind of understanding what the needs are for a kindergarten teacher uh and also being able to kind of bring together resources communicate effectively with colleagues so that it's a it's a it's the classroom operates in a way that's
that that's best for kindergarteners. >> Yes, that sounds amazing. Um, one of the other things um that I noticed, I know it's just an propo possible proposed schedule um because from the report, but um one of the things that I noticed is that you had for the um like first,
second, and third, fifth graders, you had like the homework first, homework block first for the first and second, and then the like gym game block after, and then you flipped it for the third through fifth graders. I know it's of course not a final schedule by any means, but what were sort of the reasons
that brought you to that decision? >> Um, so currently what is happening? Um, homework is optional. Um, and um, students actually have to sign like parents have to sign a form to say that they're opting their child out of the homework experience. So already homework is not an experience that every family
is uh, participating in in the after school um, experience. we imagine that that would likely continue on. Um especially with our what what we've learned within Medford, the first and second grade homework experience is also quite light. Um and so knowing that some families will continue to prioritize
time in with peers, time with play over homework and that there are some families that also want that homework to get done so that way it's not a thing that they have to do at home. So we want to be able to continue to um offer those options. Um what we found that specifically and we know this from our
experience is that um older children tend to leave program earlier um and knowing that um you don't want to have a multi-age programming or a large volume of multi-age programming in the gym specifically. So a lot of this is built around gym time. So the idea is that we
wanted to give um opportunity for the oldest children to get a gym activity when the largest volume of them are there. Um and then knowing that a lot of them are probably going to be signing themselves out walking home and probably then doing homework at home. The kids that are staying, those third through
fifth graders who are staying longer, them having a structured homework time for those kids that stay until six o'clock. So really kind of understanding the development of what a kid through third and fifth grade would need, but knowing that also is that okay um knowing that the third through fifth
graders are having the gym time earlier. The first and second graders aren't going to have it um until later. So that same idea of almost a flip-flop where first and second graders can opt in to do their homework earlier, get it done probably 15 minutes, and then the rest of their day is their kind of choices of
activities. So really trying to maximize spaces and also understanding the developmental flow of the day. >> Great. I mean wonderful. Um absolutely. I know that you probably have more questions. I just wanted to say that I did go to the Brooks program for few years. Obviously it was before co but um
I think one of the most valuable experiences of that was the crossgrade >> stuff. Um, and so I'm really happy to see that being a priority going into um this year and as well the tuition because it's always been um difficult to
get a spot and that was always a concern. So >> yeah. Well, we're we're really excited for the the intermixing of grades as well. We think that um there's going to be a lot of students that are going to take a lot from being able to be mentors. So knowing that a a fourth grader can be um take on a mentorship role for a first grader and I know that
there's going to be some community concerns about that intermixing um but knowing that when it's well staffed and um and done well um that there's actually a lot of growth that happens there and that we'll probably also see a lot of our fourth and fifth graders rising to the occasion um in that those in this model.
>> Yes. And I also, you know, you talked about already like when I asked about the schedule stuff that you are still considering um some of the conflicts that can arise from mixing grades. So I I feel somewhat I don't want to speak from other members but I feel somewhat confident um in this proposal. So thank you so much.
>> Absolutely >> Dr. Guzy. I also too just want to comment I I had started by thanking the task force members for their dedication and like totally highlighted tonight is two members Ellen Rushman and Adu um
Gunning who are still here. I'm not sure if they want to speak. Would you like to? Yes. So I do want to make sure we leave some time for them um to speak and address the committee. >> Are there any other burning questions from our student reps?
Um, I wanted to know if the the schedule that we have right now is for like a normal day because that's what makes up most of the days. Is this like sort of camp or like PD full day schedule going to kind of reflect that same sort of structure or is it going to be something a little different?
>> It would be something a bit different. um we haven't come up with a mock schedule for that but um but that would be something especially as the um NPS moves forward on those PDs but what we'll be offering you know working with the uh managing director and site directors as those days get rolled out
is to you know who are what are the number of children that are enrolled and how do we and and also the demographics are they younger are they older and then what how do you uh create an experience that keeps them engaged um and so I can speak for our programming our camp programming looks very different than
our after school programming. Um, and it's based around again how to keep a full day of um, students engaged. Um, so there's not a student schedule yet, but I'm uh, I know that we will be happy to help uh, with the managing director on developing those. I think that's
if we can because I know that we still have >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you all. Um I do have one question. Um I think it's finally my turn. Um, I was curious, um, based on
what I am seeing in terms of the recommended capacity, it looks to me like we would anticipate being able to clear two or three weight lists in their entirety. Is that correct? >> That's correct. Yes, it would only be the Brooks. They would still have a weight list. >> And how many people are we anticipating
will remain on the weight list at the Brooks? >> We we don't know the entire I mean the the I'm guessing it could be as high as a hundred students still on the wait list. >> Okay. Thank you. So, I appreciate that. >> Absolutely. >> Um, but h like thank you for all of your work.
>> Um, I know we spoke very early in this process and since then I've been like kind of dying to like get to a task force meeting and not been able to do it and I'm just so delighted that you're here and I hope we never have to talk about this again. Um, which is what which is why we have talked about it for two and a half hours tonight. But
seriously, like this is such a big deal for Medford and it's one that has been like a full team effort and I really really appreciate you hanging in with us um because I know it was like kind of a slow start and um that you are here to
help us through like these next phases. I it's like just the collaboration has been really really wonderful and I've only heard fabulous things about your team. So thank you. >> Thank you. Um, I don't know if our task force members would like to say something.
>> Thank you. I'm Ada Gunning. I'm on the task force. Um, and I just wanted to thank you all and thank Basic for all the amazing um, advances in the afterchool program. As you are aware, Medford has an afterchool emergency and has for many years. It's something that
when you move to Medford and you're a parent, you hear about right away. Parents are freaking out. They're passing stories down the grape vine. Parents are making plans to go to private school, to Catholic school, all these other schools that are more accommodating of the before and after school needs. It's something that was on
my radar for years. Um, prior to the task force being formalized, we did a research project. Member Parks was a big part of that and we compared Medford to neighboring towns and we were comparatively doing much more poorly than neighboring towns in terms of
serving our need. Um, so I think anything other than a really bold, ambitious uh proposal would be incredibly disappointing to parents in Medford, which is why I'm really glad that we're moving forward with this proposal. Um, even though it may cause
some nerves on the committee, I think it's I think it's correct to to be bold in this moment. And I want to specifically call out the leadership of Dr. Gusy because I think before you stepped in this was really just not going to happen. I think you've really
made this moment and many of us have stepped in and really pushed this forward but it would not exist if you weren't here. So, thank you very much. >> Yeah, just jumping in. My name is Ellen Rushman. I'm also a um parent on the task force. I have a first grader and a
kindergartener in a couple years at the Roberts. Um, and just to echo's points that this need has been a big deal. I heard about this right when I moved to Medford. It was a big stressor for me. My kid does have an afterchool spot at a private program,
but I'm racing to Medford every day to get there by 5:00 p.m. Um, so I wanted to really highlight I mean, we've all talked about the collaboration and how we've worked on this together. We wouldn't have gotten here without Dr. Galooi, but we wouldn't have gotten here without Dr. Lucy working with the basic
team. Um, Andrew, uh, Michael, Annie, and Viviana have been amazing. We got to visit, I think, the Burbank Elementary School in, uh, Belmont early on in this, and it was really exciting to see so many kids running around. Um, another
thing that we haven't talked about tonight that will be amazing to have more kids at their elementary school is that they will not be riding the bus for 45 minutes to an hour to get wherever they're going after school, which is a huge, huge, huge, big deal. So, anyways, thank you all for all of your questions
and I hope that you can be supportive of this increase next year and moving forward. Thanks. And I just want to quickly comment, I mean Ada and Ellen said it as well even in their um comments. It truly took a village and it all started with their
grassroots effort and work and we really have worked really nicely and collaboratively as a task force. So I thank the task force and basic it's been truly the emphasis of teamwork. >> Is there a motion to approve?
by member Leady. Is there a second >> by member Parks? All those in favor? >> Oh, we have to do a roll call. Um, roll call, please. >> Member Graham, >> yes. >> Member Master Bony, >> yes. >> Member Alati, >> yes.
>> Member Park um Parks, >> yes. >> Member Rinfeld, >> yes. >> Member, yes. Marilyn Gokern, >> yes. Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. The proposal is approved. Um item number
three, um in related fashion, um the recommendation for the MPS after school rate card, um Dr. Gluci and Will Pipelli. >> Yes, thank you. Continuing the theme of teamwork.
Um I also could couldn't do any of this without uh Will Pipeelli, the communications director. He's just always there, so responsive um so dedicated. So I really appreciate um his work with everything, but we're here to
talk about the rate card. So based on everything you heard tonight, basics recommendations, um their study and the their their recommendations for our programming. We present Will is going to walk through
the rate card um which is pretty much taking into account their recommendations and moving them forward. Um but we're happy to answer any questions, but I'll let Will kind of talk it through. >> Yes, thank you, Dr. Gusy. Um so I think the big thing about this rate card is
there's a um multi-day um flexibility option. Previously, we only had the five day a week, two day a week, three day a week. Um, that caused a lot of confusion for families. It caused a lot of administrative headaches trying to kind of mix and match um days of the week. Um, so we figured that this system would
be very open um very easy for to manage on administrative side. We've been in and out of the Zoom all night. Um and also to um really try to place an emphasis on that five-day
option. It is cheaper per day than maybe the one day, the two-day, the three-day or the 4 day. Um but even in our early results of asking families to reenroll, over 80% are are all five days. Um so and there's 95% right now for Tuesday
and Wednesday. So the demand for this program is very high. Um, and that's why we're trying to work so hard to get an investment that's worth it and that we can sustain all the wonderful things that we just talked about, but also still be an option for families um, and
so they can keep their kids um, with us and we provide the proper care that we know we can deliver on. We're not proposing any changes to the before school program. This whole entire evening has been about after school care. We also offer before school care.
Um we're not proposing any changes to that tuition, but uh as Will highlighted there were only specific days. So what you have here is the reflection of what each day would be um for tuition.
I don't know if you want to add anything are there uh member Rinfeld. So I am wondering what kind of analysis we've done of the need in the in the people who are
reenrolling. I'm just thinking this is May. A lot of people have done their budgeting for the year. Is there any flexibility for to get some sort of incremental assistance on this for
people who have made their plans based on other rate? I'm just I'm concerned about biggest jumps. I see the need. I know why we need it. I know why we want to beef up the programming, but I am a little bit concerned for families in the
system who we're we're stretching. Um, I know our rates are, we looked at this last time, they're a little bit cheaper than private program. A lot cheaper. Okay, >> they are >> they're a lot cheaper. So, I just I want to make sure that we're not creating hardship for people in the program who
have done who have budgeted already for next year given how late this is. The only thing I would say to that and I'm happy to then have Will um extend or the basic team.
This whole endeavor was about increasing capacity. >> Yeah. >> And so there's never like in any situation I think there's always going to be a give and a take to that. We've been very transparent this year about the delay in telling families what the
costs are going to be, what it's going to look like because we've been engaged in this work. So, I I do anticipate this is the messy year, but the whole analysis is is built on what we've presented tonight. So I think we have a
lot of flexibility in the sliding scale and so those individual the individual work and conversations with families to try and meet them you know where they're at is where we have to go. If we're
going to talk about reducing any of this then we're going to have to talk about you just voted on the recommendations. So the recommendations are tied to this rate card. So, if we have to change the rate card, then we're going to have to go back and change the recommendations
about positions and enrichment. >> I I am not proposing that we change the rate card. This makes sense for the budget. I'm wondering what room there might be for conversations around >> Oh, that's the whole point of the sliding scale. The whole point of the sliding scale are conversations directly
with >> because I I know I yeah I wasn't quite sure whether the sliding >> so the sliding scale just for for people to know and and we'll jump in anytime will it use the state's the city's
sliding scale. >> Right. >> Right. So it's the the self declaration of reporting that form and the conversation that form is used in the conversations with the families >> and those are those are all
conversations. They're not a formula. >> Correct. >> Because I'm I'm thinking what looks like >> there's no formula. >> Okay. >> All right. And then I would also just say if you want to so the rates we can only really compare the five, the three and the two as opposed to four and the one because we don't really have that
existing price point because we weren't offering that before. Um and each of those three options it's give or take $60 a month. Um $15 a week, $3 a day. So when you kind of think about all the
investment we're making, not only in our staffing, but also in the enrichment that we're trying to offer, $3 a day, um, we felt was worth it. >> Member Reinfeld, did you have other questions? >> No, I'm just I'm processing. I think it
would just I think it's good for in the information session for people to know where this came from. why it came from and if there is I'm thinking there might be some hardship that is a one-time hardship not a
sustained hardship. Um so just to to know that the that that the convers that this is why these scales are in place and this is how to have the conversation around it. I think just being really clear. There's absolutely a slide regarding the
the tuition rate so we can make sure we're crystal clear. >> And I will I will fully admit I don't know what was communicated to families in >> in the program. I'm not in the program so I don't I don't know what messaging I know we've been very clear that things are going to change and it's going to take a little longer but I didn't
>> we will send you that. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Member Parks. And maybe to that point, I mean, I know that the five days a week it um went up $50 a month um just under 10% for the
annual. I know that other um programs that um students in the district are going to actually went up as much as 40% um for their annual rate this past year. Um and that um maybe it's a
communication if you are a non-renewing family um if it is because of the increase in cost please come talk to us like just a simple statement like that um and just
leave it as that and we can talk to you >> if that would be >> I would also point out that >> while it's aspirational that we would approve rates before this time of year like we historically have not. So it's not different in a material way this
year in terms of the timing of this than in my six years on the committee. There's many there's many years where we didn't do anything at all here. >> I believe that was summer programming. >> Are there any other questions?
Is there a motion to approve? >> Um, motion to approve by member Rouso, seconded by member Master Bony. Please call the role. >> Thank you. Um, member Graham, >> yes. >> Member Mastery, yes. Member, yes. Member Parks,
>> member Reinfeld, >> yes. >> Member So yes, Maril Lang Goern, >> yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. The rate card is approved. >> Um, next on our agenda, we have some continued business. Um, we have a recommendation to approve the
superintendent's three-year contract. Um we have discussed this in executive session as part of negotiations and um need to do um a formal vote on the floor. Is there a motion to approve? >> Motion to approve. >> Motion to approve by member Lead. Is
there a second? Seconded by member Master Bony. Any questions or comments? Member Rouso, will you please call the role? Member Graham, >> yes. >> Member Master, yes. >> Member Olat, yes. >> Member Parks,
>> member Rinfeld, >> yes. >> Member Russo, yes. Mayor Langokarn, >> yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. The superintendent's contract is approved. Congratulations. >> Thank you. What timing?
Thank you very much. I'm I greatly appreciate it and I'm extremely dedicated and ready to continue getting to work. So, thank you very much. Humbled. Okay, we have some new business. Um 2026-10 offered by member Parks and
myself support of the Massachusetts House Bill H4361, formerly formerly H2932, an act relative to benefits for teachers. Whereas educators in the Medford public schools and across the Commonwealth dedicate their careers to academic and social emotional
development of our students and deserve to retire with dignity and financial security. Whereas teachers hired after July 1, 2001 were automatically ro enrolled in the state's retirement plus enhanced pension benefit program that offers increased benefits for those who complete 30 years of service in exchange
for a higher contribution rate. whereas over 6,000 veteran teachers uh veteran Medford public uh med Massachusetts public school teachers hired before July 1, 2001, including dedicated Medford educators, were shut out of the retirement plus enhanced pension benefit
program due to a confusing opt-in process and administrative errors. Whereas an October 2023 ruling of the Division of Administrative Law Appeals stated that passing legislation is the only way to fix this administrative failure. Whereas the passage of either
Massachusetts House Bill H 4361, formerly 2932, an act relative to benefits for teachers, or Senate Bill 1884, an act relative to teacher retirement election, establishes a fair fix mechanism that would create a
one-time opportunity for teachers hired before July 1, 2001 to buy into the retirement plus program and secure the enhanced benefit pension benefits they have earned. Whereas this fair fix would eliminate the need for those veteran teachers to work 33 to 35 years to
receive the same maximum pension benefits that 30-year members receive. Whereas providing these veteran teachers a fair pathway to retire serves as a strategic fiscal tool for school districts, generating substantial savings through natural turnover that eases the pressure on local budgets
currently strained by soaring costs and the loss of federal funding. Whereas on July 30th, 2025, the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously passed H4361 to secure a fair fix and sent it to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means,
making it imperative for that the Senate passes either H4361 or Senate 1884 before the end of the formal legislative session on July 2026. Whereas the committee formally recognizes that formally backing this
legislation demonstrates our profound respect for our longest serving teachers while advocating for fiscal relief for our city. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Medford School Committee direct the superintendent to email a copy of this resolution endorsing Mass Bill
House 24361 and Senate 1884 to Medford state legislative delegation within 14 days of this vote, urging them to support the bills. two, to publish the full text of this adopted resolution on the official Medford Public Schools website, to publicly document the
committee stance, and three, to email a copy of this resolution um to the leadership of the Medford Teachers Association to demonstrate collective support for our educators um submitted on April 29th. Member Parks, did you want to say a few words before we call
the role? my fellow members to pass this um as you all were also contacted by teachers um and educators um about this um the bill that is sitting with the Senate now. Um,
I researched it, looked into it, and it it really truly is a win-win for the district um uh both fiscally for the district um as a whole and um also, um
in fairness for these teachers who would otherwise have to be working three to five more years um to achieve the same benefits that someone who um was automatically enrolled just due to when they were hired into the suspension
plan. So that's all. >> There any other questions from the committee? Is there a motion to approve? >> Motion to approve by member Rinfeld. Is there a second? >> Second. >> Seconded by member Master Bony. Roll
call, please. Member >> Graham. >> Yes. Member Master Bony. Member Master, >> yes. >> Member Olady, >> yes. >> Member Parks, >> yes. >> Member Rinfeld, >> yes.
>> Member Russo, yes. Mayor Longgo, >> yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion passes. Um, we don't have any reports requested today, but we do have one condolence. The Medford School Committee offers its sincerest condolences to the family of Leonard Len
Giona. Len was a lifelong Medford resident, graduate of Medford High School, husband to Jeannie Giona, who was the executive assistant to the assistant superintendent for many years, the father of Joshua Gliona, physical education teacher at the Matuck Elementary School, and father-in-law to
Kristen Gleiona, who is the Medford High School varsity cheerleading coach. All please rise for a moment of silence. Okay, we made it to the end here. Um, our next meetings, we have two meetings coming up. One is May 12th. It's our public budget hearing. It is on Zoom
only at 5:00 PM. And then on May 18th, our regular meeting is here in Alden Memorial Chambers and on Zoom. Is there a motion to adjurnn? By member Rinfeld. Is there a second? >> Second by member Master Bony. Please
call the role. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Master Bony. >> Yes. >> Member Olat. Yes. >> Member Parks. >> Member Reinfeld. Yes. >> Member Yes. Mayor Longo Kern. Yes.