regular our regular meeting starting at 6. Um please be advised that there will be a meeting of the Medford School Committee in Hald Howard Alden Memorial Chambers Medford City Hall and via remote participation. This meeting is being recorded. The meeting can be viewed live on Medford Public Schools
YouTube channel through Medford Community Media on your local cable channel which is Comcast 98 or22 and Verizon channel 4345 or 47. Participants can log in or call in by using the
following Zoom uh meeting ID 961 01949221. Uh member Russo, will you please call the role? >> Member Brley. >> Member Graham >> here. >> Member Antapa >> here. >> Member Olady >> here.
>> Member Rinfeld >> present. >> Member so present. Mayor Lindo Kern >> present, >> seven in the affirmative, seven present, zero absent. Uh the meeting will come to order. Um all please rise to 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. Okay. Okay. Item number three on our agenda, we have executive session.
Executive session of the Medford School Committee pursuant to master law chapter 30A section 21A to conduct strategy session on the basis that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining positions of the school Medford School Committee. Specifically, the Medford School Committee will be discussing ongoing collective bargaining
negotiations with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the M&A. Is there a motion to enter executive session? Motion to enter executive session by member Reinfeld. Seconded by member Lead. Roll call, please. >> Member Brantley,
>> yes. >> Member Graham, >> yes. >> Member, >> yes. >> Member Lee, >> yes. >> Member Rinfeld, >> yes. >> Member Zoe, yes. Mayor Langokarn, >> yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Uh we will convene an
executive session. Uh we will report out of executive session is my anticipation and we will do that as soon as we're done with the executive session. Um and then we may take a brief recessed until six o'clock for the meeting to start at 6. Thanks everyone. excutive session. I am um pleased to say
that we have reached a an agreement with the Massachusetts Nurses Association for um a successor bargaining agreement that will last um through FY28, which is through June 30, 2029. Um, is there a motion to approve the
contract by member Reinfeld and seconded by >> Seconded by member Lead. Uh, member Rouso, can you call the role, please? >> Member Branley. Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Intapa. >> Yes. >> Member Olady. >> Yes. >> Member Rinfeld. >> Yes.
>> Member Russo. Yes. Mayor Lgo. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. the contract is ratified. So, I did just want to say thank you to the M&A and the team that worked with us um to get this done. Uh we started
meeting in maybe April or so. Um and it has been um you know it's very difficult to uh adjust for schedules during the summertime and they um rose to that challenge. So, I want to thank them for that. Um, I want to thank them for the
discussion, particularly when we got to talk about things that didn't work in our school buildings and come up with better ways to make things work um on behalf of students. So, I really applaud um their their hard work and their um you know, delivering for our students at
all times. So, I really do appreciate that. Um and um Mr. Carbono is in the is here with us tonight. He is the um bargaining liaison to the M&A. And if you I didn't know if you would like to say something or just have us say thank
you or um but you're welcome to say something. Yeah, absolutely. >> You do. Oh, >> there you go. You're good. >> Yes. Uh so my name is Mark Carbano. I'm an associate director with the Massachusetts Nurse Association. And I just would like to say that you know
this was we you know this was a a sometimes intense process. Um but I really felt that you know we we collaborated collaborated to work together on this one and um I think that the the document that we came up with this collection bar agreement was
something that everyone should be proud of and we look forward to working with you all on that. So, I'd like to thank Chairperson Graham, uh, who was who I was able to have a series of off thereord discussions as far as off thereord bargaining and, um, I'd like to thank all the members for all the work
you guys have done on that. So, thank you so much. And I'd like to thank you on behalf of the nurses. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. I will miss our daily chats. Um a and I think for those who may be viewing this either tonight or in the
future um the some of the big central issues um that we were grappling with was alignment of the schedule for the nurses to the new school day um and the new professional days. So that was a very big deal. Um we also worked through
a number of changes to um create uh a bank of flexible hours um for the nurses to participate in some of the things that happen outside of their core hours. Um and that I think will become really
really useful as we talk about um how we register students in a timely way for athletics or for kindergarten or uh run vaccine clinics and and the like. So there's any number of things that um in the past uh we have had to sort of scrge
money to pay our nurses to do those things and we were able to integrate all of that into the contract which is a really big deal. um and create this bank of ours that will like allow really allow us to serve the needs that are going to evolve as this new schedule
unfolds. So, I'm really delighted that we were able to um get all of that done and the new schedule starts tomorrow. So, we will um we will see you all on the new schedule. Thank you, Mark.
Um, is there a motion to take a brief recess? >> By by member Antapa, seconded by, >> second by member Rinfeld, member Rouso, will you call the role? >> Member Branley, >> yes. >> Member Graham, >> yes. >> Member Intapa, >> yes. >> Member Olady,
>> yes. >> Member Rinfeld, >> yes. >> Member, yes. Marilyn Goker, >> yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. We will be back at 6 to start our regular meeting. Thank you. All
right, welcome back everyone. Uh on our next on our agenda is item number four which is the consent agenda. um which includes the approval of bills and payrolls, the approval of capital purchases, of which there are none this time, um the approval of grants and
donations, which include a computer monitor donation by True Search in Boston, the approval of field trips, which includes the um Medford Vocational Technical High School Culinary Arts Department field trip to Johnson and Wills in Providence, Rhode Island, and approval of our meeting minutes um which
include uh the regular meeting on September 8th, 2025. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda? Motion to approve the consent agenda by member Branley. Seconded by memberapa
um member if you can call the role. >> Member Branley. >> Yes. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Intapa. >> Yes. >> Member Alabat. >> Yes. >> Member Reinfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Russo. Yes. Mayor Lungo. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Uh the consent agenda is
approved. Um we do not have any report of subcommittees and uh we will move on to the report of the superintendent with item number one which is the Mustang moment. Dr. Booy. >> Good evening. Thank you very much. Um
for this evening's Mustang moment, we have our student advisory council representatives. So, we have seniors Jadenville, uh, Jaden Jang, Christine Dortes, Desotel, my apologies, and, um,
sophomore Alachi Jagger. So, I'm going to ask them to come to the podium. They're going to discuss a little bit, give us an overview of what their role is as a student advisory council representative, um, and a little bit of like some
forward planning for the year. Is it on? >> Yep. Good. >> Well, thank you school committee superintendent and mayor for being here today. And I my name is Jayenville and I think I speak for all of us here when I say that we're here because we want to
make a change. We want to make a difference. The theme at MHS this year is belonging. Making students feel like they're a part of the school. And we believe the key way to do that is making sure that students feel like their voices are heard. I know personally I see a lot of students walking through
the schools every day and they have things they want to fix about the school. They see certain things and they just say, "I wish it was something different." However, they don't always have a platform to do that. That's where we come in. We want to champion the student voice, give a microphone to the
voices that they want to hear because when we know everyone is at the table, when we have as many different constituents as possible in making an inclusive decision that we get the past results over the past few years started with seniors Darren and Noah, the class
of 2024, we advocated we advocated for students for a big concern we had was that students were kind of having trouble carrying their stuff. And so we asked that you know what if we could remove the backpack policy or have a way to something they can just carry around school to make their lives a bit easier.
We al talked about the homework policy and how can we make students lives easier while they have the enriching part of homework but also can balance it with their extracurriculars and ideas. And with class government just this year we open it up just from the original
five you know class president, vice president, secretary and treasurer positions. We open it up so that more students can run and that now there's 10 class representatives to better represent the class and help fund raise for our class and get more ideas done.
However, the key to that success is not just raising questions. It's about fixing problems. And so that is why we continue to work and advocate for the student body here today. And that's also why we are expanding our
reach into the to the regional student advisory council to continue to see how can we not just help our school, our community, but also maybe our region, even the state as a as a large. Archimedes once said, "Give me a place to stand and I'll move the earth." When
I say, "Give us a place to stand. Give us a voice and we can make a difference." Thank you. [Laughter] Hello. Um, student involvement is integral
integration, sorry, uh, an integral, uh, part of the way that our school functions, right? It allows for the student voice that is generally underrepresentative and splintered across many different perspectives to be assimilated and be
um presented to the school committee who has the power to make actual change. The legislation created by this committee and the changes wrought by it have had significant positive impact over the course of many years that the school advisory committee has been running. And
we hope to continue this legacy forward into the coming 2025 2026 year. Um this assimilation of ideas is not a process that happens out of nowhere. It is a process that involves deliberation and that involves research that involves
taking the opinions of the student body and drafting solutions and uh speaking to members of school administration and members of um the government here in Medford to find which solutions are reasonable, which solutions feel like
they're attainable and then drafting responses, drafting opinion which is brought here to you to deliberate on. And it is this process that has allowed us to have success in years previously and we hope to bring forward into the
following year when we talk about our regional council meetings because the scope of these problems are not restricted to Medford alone. They're restricted to any student everywhere. And by bringing these issues to a state level, we feel that we may be able to influence more schools and bring a
better more representative opinion of the student body. Um this process is aided not only by my fellow committee members but also by our adviser Miss Fredus Haley who provides
I would say the role of another one of us. She also brings forward opinions, also questions our outlooks, also asks what can be done here to the point where we feel that her contribution has
been just as instrumental as the rest of us. So, I'd like to give a special shout out. Um this is especially meaningful to me because it is an outlet through which we can enforce ideas of effective altruism and uh change that we can bring uh that
is positive. The devotion of our life to the helping of others is in my opinion the highest pursuit and this opportunity is the epitome of doing so. Uh I believe that it's a podium that we all strive
for to accurately uh represent those that place their faith in us and we hope to continue doing so. Thank you. >> Hi. So, I'm gonna say that I first joined this
group of people back in like June, sophomore, freshman year, I'm not sure, but I joined it because I had a lot of ideas. And I didn't really have anywhere to go with them. And I think that that's part of the reason why this is such an
important group of people is because we take in those ideas. We gather together the people in the student involvement organization which is the like broader group of the student body and we sort of conglomerate them into like this big
group in order to find the commonalities between them and find ways that the student body is agreeing that there's something that needs to happen here. And then as a group of driven individuals and with the help of the broader
population, we're able to draft up ideas and find ways to fix those problems. I especially appreciate this because it's such a like general process that involves so many different voices. And it gives a chance for people to bring
forward their ideas and bring forward their solutions in a way that they're not usually able to because other than this group, the main other way to have a voice at like a larger administrative role is through student government,
which is honestly a harder process to get into and ends up blocking out a lot of different voices, which we've been trying to fix with the expansion of that role. But still, if people have an idea, but they don't necessarily have the chance to run for student office and put
in that time just for that idea, this gives them an outlet to bring it forward. Then we discuss it and we find what sort of problems come from that initial problem. What sort of solutions come from the initial solution? We are able to bring together all different
ideas and all different voices in a very broad discussion format in order to formulate the best option and plan to move forward. And then from that discussion, we bring things to you and we bring this fleshed out idea that comes from so many different voices, so
many different perspectives and really, I guess, epitomizes the student body's voice in a way that no other group really seems to do. Uh hello. Um so I believe I joined student advisory committee when I was
back in sophomore. Yeah, when I was a sophomore and I had seen a problem and I had wanted it fixed. So I am a part of the Vogue school at Medford High and something about the Vogue school is that schedules are very different compared to
like the normal high school where half the day is consists of your shop and because of that a lot of people weren't able to take the classes they wanted. So I saw an opportunity to try and change that. Um I got some friends we talked
about it was like and we were like yeah you should do it. So I joined and this year we finally got it implemented and that made me very happy because I could finally take the classes I wanted. >> Something something I've noticed like um these
past three years was that a lot of people like to use our organization as kind of like a therapeutic like kind of area where you can vent your worries. We have like guidance counselors that measured high and a lot of people like to vent to them too, but it's not the
same as like venting to your peers, you know. And at the same time, we also get stuff fixed. We can listen to their ideas, bring them up with you guys. Um, yeah. >> Are there any questions from the committee or comments? Member Tapa.
>> Thank you. Um it's no surprise to anyone that I'm super psyched about this um because I was a member of student government at Medford High and then also um all throughout higher education was involved with student leadership and student government and how do we advise and work to help form policy that we
want to see every day that affects us every day. Um and it's what led me to being here and um I super appreciate the idea of expanding that and for bringing this committee back to life. Um, I loved working with y'all two years ago a lot on some things and I'm really excited to
see what you bring to the table, uh, moving forward. So, thank you very much for doing this work and I really appreciate it. I just >> Oh, I was I was going to say thank you as well and just to let you know so our rule the rules of the school committee
have a place for the student representatives and we hope we just to see at least one of you at every meeting and um just to I think work with Miss Fredus Haley and members of the committee to figure out how you get on the agenda if you have things you want to talk about and of course anything
that we're discussing on the floor your seat is there but I think member on top is the one who's going to get tapped on the shoulder and borrow his microphone at any point. Um, because we really do want to hear from you and a lot of the things that we do hear come from your voices whether or not they are in this
public forum. But I love the idea and the practice of making them more visible. So, thank you for being here and keep showing up and we want we want you to be part of these meetings and um I think many of us would be very happy to be invited to your meetings. I think several of us attended um in the past.
We can't all show up. uh that would be a problem for open meeting law but we would love to be a part of it and make sure that this conversation goes both ways. So thank you >> member Lady. >> Thank you. Um I think something that my colleague just mentioned actually both
my colleagues mentioned is seeing a need and filling a need. I think you all kind of commented on that in your own way is that noticing something that you're seeing day-to-day in your classroom, in your school, you know, amongst your peers, your friends, your teachers, whatever it may be, and acknowledging that there's an opportunity here as someone who's witnessing this. I have a
perspective that I want to communicate out to the people who can make the changes that I would like to see. And it's something really important that we don't get the the privilege of seeing necessarily because we're not in the classroom each day like you all are. So, I think maintain that. hold on to the opportunity that you are noticing to say what can I do as someone who is seeing
this need and how can I fill it right and even if that's just coming to a meeting like this sitting in that student advisory chair and letting us know what you're noticing what your colleagues or your peers are seeing and how we can best support you so I think just appreciate that you guys are seeing that and you're actually living into
that a little bit so thank you >> I just want to say thank you >> thank you for your words tonight thank you for your dedication and your commitment to being adviserss um for Medford High School and to bring that work here. Um I think it's very
important tonight was like the epitome. This is why we wanted to make sure we start our meetings with the Mustang moment. I think it's important not only to remind all of us but just for the greater community to hear the work the wonderful work that you're doing to
engage with your classmates to work with school leadership to raise concerns and issues and have a dialogue and a discourse for what that means for the student body and then how to work through it. It's very important
especially nowadays and I think you are all leading by example and I thank you very much for the work you're doing and very excited for you to be joining our meetings each each time we meet. So thank you very much. Um
I think that we all feel very grateful that uh you recognize the importance of student opinion uh in the creation of legislature affecting uh said students. uh as we hope that we can provide a touchstone for the student body
throughout your decision-making process and look forward to um the future year. >> Thank you all. Um we look forward to seeing you at our meetings. Sometimes they're long. It's okay if you have to leave. If you need us to change the
agenda so you can participate, please just let one of us know and we will work that out if it's a particularly long agenda because we want to hear from you. Um, and I think we may need to do a photo op if we can. Um, all convene. Thanks.
Okay. Uh item number six uh two we have a preliminary report on enrollment. Dr. Suzanne Galooi interim superintendent. >> Thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Pipicelli. So at the beginning Yes. Thank you very
much. At the beginning of each school year, we usually report on just a brief overview of the enrollment at this time. So, making sure that we have the disclaimer that enrollment at this time of year is pretty fluid and it
fluctuates. Um, I can make sure that I provide this body with up updates as we go through. The October 1st SIMS data is due to the Department of Education by the end of October. So, right now, currently, as of last
week, our total enrollment is 4,125 students across the district. Um, here on this screen, you have just a snapshot of grade level and school with the district-wide view of 4,125.
One of the things that I want to just call out is there's an asterct, there is a column that says TBD. Um there's a small number of students that are still not officially enrolled. Um they're just through the registration process this
year. We have put some parameters in place to make sure that stu we are getting students into our buildings as quickly as possible and so that we're not having students wait longer than a few days before they're entering Medford public schools. However, there are some
pieces of things that can hold that up for some students. that's EL e testing um special education placement or sometimes just medical needs um director Silva is working with families directly because
we don't want that to be a barrier to them starting school. Uh those are some of the pieces that we've kind of put in place this year. Um but you will see just across the board what the enrollment looks like at this time. I will pause here before we
go on. I don't know if there are any specific questions um that you may have regarding enrollment. >> Are there any questions from the committee? >> Thank you. Without digging through the data, are we approaching the need for
any more kindergarten classrooms? >> No. >> Thank you. No, actually I think we've what we've seen a little bit this year is is we uh have seen a decrease in some of our student enrollment or populations
especially around um EEL families. >> Well, that's a whole conversation. Thank you. Mhm. >> But I could just remind I will just maybe if I'm sorry me Graham, but just to remind people that we did um the
Roberts since COVID we've always had we've had to put in a fifth K section. They started this year with one. We just it was automatic. We did have to add kindergarten classrooms everywhere but the McGlin. Well, no. The Misatuck is is four. They
they have three of every section. The Brooks has five, the Missatuck has four, the McGlin has four, and the Roberts has five. Member Branley, did you have a question? >> Okay. >> Um, I just had one question. Do you know
offhand the number of students that we had enrolled on our 101 report last year? We have there there is a just well I I would have to go back just to make sure because when looking at the data for last year it's the entire year and right
now I just have like a month's snapshot. So it wouldn't be fair to necessarily tell you what those numbers were at the end of last year because enrollment um es and flows throughout the year. Um but there is uh at least like a 25 student
difference. >> Is it an increase or a decrease? >> Decrease. Okay, >> member Rousel. >> Yes, I have the report from last uh September 8th. Um, and we had 427.
Interestingly, just three days before that, we had 4214. So, you know, when it's when we say it's fluid, it's kind of wildly fluid at this time of year. Um, do we have the EL students? Is that a separate category on there?
Yes, it >> my >> not on the one that that is on this presentation. I can get you that. >> Okay, that would be good to know. Um, and my question is too complicated for this, but this I just have a lot of questions
about EL students and what you know we when students leave, not just EL students, when all students when students leave the district, there's not often a we're leaving, goodbye.
Uh, and um, so it's hard to know why they've left. we know if they go somewhere else and then that place asks for their transcripts. That's sort of the the only way to know. But not all students that's the case. Um so
>> the overarching piece I could give you is there's there are there are two buckets for that data trend right now and there are students that have left the country either permanently or visiting. Um but if it's for an extended amount of time then that does affect
their registration and we they have to kind of go through that process again there there's the other bucket which students have left Medford and so we do have the data as to the places that they have gone um the majority are not to a
private or parochial school the majority are actually they have moved residency but I can give you that breakdown if you would like >> I Thank you. >> Uh, member Olady, >> thank you. I had a quick question about
the high school enrollment data. >> Um, for the final report, I know this is just preliminary. Would there be a way to separate MHS from MVTHS just so that we had an idea about the actual numbers of students that are allocating from the middle schools and then students that are coming into the district? So, I know that the middle school count is 282, you
know, obviously, but then the count for 9th grade is 307. So there is a you know 25 30ish student uptick. So just to understand what that looks like and where that's coming from would be just awesome to have. >> Yes. So because of the freshman rotations I won't have 9th grade yet but
I can give you the split for 10th grade 11th grade and 12th grade. >> That would be great. Awesome. Thank you. >> Member Brley. >> Um just to follow up on member Russo's comment for the special ed piece. I know that I code all the kids in a couple of
different aspects of where they're moving to and why when they unenroll. So, if they don't come to school for so many days, obviously the school will flag us and let us know and then we have to put that code in. And there are times that I'm sure it happens with the EL students because that's not my department, but with the specialist
students, I'm like, well, where did this kid go? You have to show that data. Um, and then so when we're placing students, which happens to me every day in my role during the day, but although specialist students come through my office, >> um, how long does it take us to in
Medford to place a special ed student? I think that varies depending on the needs, but >> we worked u Miss Bowen, Miss Silva, and I worked very hard to make sure that we're shrinking that timeline based on
some of the data we were collecting last year. So, I can get you what those specifics are, but we're really hoping for, you know, no more than three days. >> Okay. Thank you. >> I'll put three daysish.
Thank you. >> Any other questions about enrollment? Member Lady, >> it's just to clarify, what does the KF stand for? >> That's kindergarten. >> Okay. >> Yes. Um, no, I'm glad you brought that up. KF is kindergarten. PK is preK or
our MEP programs. >> And then, um, I believe at the high school the SP is project transition. So that's our for our students that are 18 to 22 years old school year program. Yes. Okay. >> Thank you.
>> Any other questions about enrollment? >> Oh, member Rouso. >> I did just Google the F is for full day. I was like I'm like what is the >> what does she what does he say >> what is what do you mean full day what are you talking to your
>> f is kindergarten >> you said I was like I assume I was like where's the f is there >> like go half days some districts >> some districts go half days >> yes got it >> kf kindergarten full day which is all
kindergarten students here remember >> every acronym. [Music] >> Okay. Uh moving on to item number three. We have um a recommendation to approve handbooks by Dr. Pooy.
>> Yes. All right. So the schoolbased handbook, family and student handbooks saw three updates globally uh for this 2526 school year. uh that was for the Metro Public Schools AI responsible use
policy and guidance. It was for the expansion of curricular accommodations based on sincerely held religious beliefs. And then it was the adjustments to our new arrival and dismissal times. So, first we had a very dedicated group
um of Medford Public Schools administrators and staff members that worked throughout the year t tirelessly last year uh to create language for students and staff and families around our AI policies, guidance. Um one of
those was school committee member Erica Reinfeld. And joining her from Medford Public School staff was also Molly Leaden, Dr. Nicole Kaza, Will Pipeelli, Dr. Bernardet Ricardelli, Dr. Peter Cushing, and teachers Dan Wagner, Jason
Campbell, Rebecca McInness, Allison Queeny, Grace Turnbull, May Abusan, and Lindseay Rapuchcci. So, they worked throughout the year to create a comprehensive tool um that lays out the responsibilities and the resources that are available to our community around
the guidance for um AI. So the principles just to highlight like the principles of this guidance were how the resources would support teaching and learning. It addressed data privacy and security considerations and it supported
the ethical and responsible use of generated AI tools. If we go to the next slide, um, DESIE has come out with their suggest last year they had their suggested timeline for districts that they wanted to see
engage in this work and this to the left was their projected timeline for doing such work. So for us here in Memphis public schools, we have met their deadline. Um, Desi had the policy going
into effect next school year, 2627. We're just a little bit ahead of the curve. What we are continuing to work on, I would say, would be just further professional development. There has been some professional development throughout
last year around cyber security around AI and the use of it in classrooms but the continuation of offering professional development to our staff is still a goal and still ongoing. If we go to the next just the highlevel
pieces uh that are in this uh AI guidance all we have here just to give the community a brief overview is like a list of the table of contents. So these are the areas that are explained in the
Medford Public Schools guidelines both for students and for educators. There are embedded embedded resources and links for people to use. I don't know, member Rinfeld, if you wanted to maybe highlight anything or mention anything
about the work. >> I will note that this was um not done in a vacuum. This was informed by a district-wide survey of I will say staff, teachers, administrators. Um there were there were conversations around bringing in feedback from
students and from families as a follow-on. The goal was really to get something on paper, but um I think we had 120 or so responses uh and we pulled out patterns and we looked at those and that really informed the discussions
that we had. Um and I will say this when we go to read the policy, well maybe I won't since I'm saying it now. Uh but the review timeline on this we set at one year because things are changing so
much uh as we learn uh and as different software companies programs decide to comply or not comply with student privacy laws. Uh, so this is something that will be continually reviewed and that was always the goal and to see how
with with an eye to our student council representatives here how this is actually affecting students and what this looks for. So we were looking for a policy and guidelines that teachers at different grade levels and in different subject areas could
customize to the needs of their particular learners. So those were all parts of the conversation that we had. I'm happy to say more or answer specific questions, but I don't need to go on about it. >> Thank you. >> Other questions? Member and Hop.
>> So, quick question. Thank you for all this information. So, uh we have on our agenda a policy on AI guidance and how that's going to work. If we vote this into the handbook, is that the same ruling or are these two different rulings for two different things?
because inherently if we vote yes on this automatically brings it in. >> So the policy the policy that's that is in paper it takes a lot of it takes the educator and student guidelines directly from the materials in the handbook. The handbook contains additional information
like the resources and the language for syllabus and which wouldn't be a school committee policy, right? Um and then the policy also adds a little bit of top level framing for the policy book and a section on use in district operations.
Um just because that was new guidance that came out. Right. We're we're the committee was really focused on the classroom. >> Right. >> Um so it but are you asking whether we then have to approve both things in both places every time? I'm asking in terms of No, I was just more of like if they
were similar because >> I have opinions about generative AI and I have concerns. >> Yeah. >> And I have issues with it. Um >> specifically how it's being used in the handbook and in the policy. And um
>> I was just making sure that how we vote on the handbook doesn't affect the policy because >> well I I mean I I get into my specifics in reviewing the full policy in the text that it's written. Um >> yeah so a lot of the language is overlapping and I think it one of the
the as we discussed in the handbook policy the handbake handbook update policies those get reviewed and then um >> summarized to align with the policy so if the policy changes the handbook would
then have a follow-on update to reflect the new policy. >> Cool. Yeah. Because just my con my question was then do I say my concerns now or do I wait till the policy reading but if I can just wait until the policy reading I can more dissect it in terms of that.
>> It's a um question. So, we what I might suggest is that you at some point when we're done and I would like to hear um from our students >> uh motion to sever the AI approval in the handbook until we
>> get there and that's what that's what I was planning on doing. So, thank you for affirming that. Um >> regards to generative AI. Um it's my understanding that this is not the time to talk about that, but we have also some concerns with the specific wording
within the school student handbook. Thank you. >> So member in Tapa, do you want to make a motion to as ever um the MPSAI guidance from the handbook? Motion to table. >> Motion. Yeah.
>> Handbook approval or >> Okay. If that makes the most sense, then I'll motion to I'll take the recommendation of member Rouso. Motion to table the handbook discussion or >> Okay. A motion to table the handbook discussion by memberapa. >> Second. >> Second by member Leady.
Uh, roll call, please. >> Member Brley. >> Member Graham. >> Yeah. Sorry. I just I I would like to hear the rest of the overview of the handbook updates before we table the full discussion. I think >> to tables undebatable. So is he going to
be withdrawn? >> Yeah. >> Okay. So it's like 10 minutes from now. So I think it's okay. We can just Okay. Shift gears. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member member. >> Yes. >> Member Rinfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Rouso? Yes. Mayor Lok.
>> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative. zero in the negative. Uh we will table the handbook discussion until uh we get through the AI policy which is coming up shortly. Um and I think there may be somebody online who would like to speak and we
will be back to you shortly. Um okay, item number four is a project manager position update. Mr. Ken Lord, our chief operations officer. Good evening. Thank you. Um, as I've detailed in the memo, I'm requesting that we change the uh proposed job
description for project manager to include building systems project manager. Um, it's come clear in the first month that I've been here that we do need a position like this to uh work with the new Mlenn and Andrews HBAC system to learn that complex system, be in charge of that as well as other
systems as well as um deal with project manager duties. That's what I've described here. >> Member Branley, >> this project now, >> which one? >> Well, yeah, I know. So, I would say specifically the HVAC
project. >> Okay. So, right now we have the McGlin and Andrews HVAC project. We have an owner's project manager, JLL, who's driving that project. They work with the architect B2 B2Q and the contracting in Sigley. Um, and what um Tom Ellis, the
um representative from JLL is recommending is we we identify someone to learn those systems as they bring them on board. They haven't started up any of those systems. The software is not even purchased yet. So, we want to get this person in and ready to be able to hit that ground running when they're ready.
>> Okay, perfect. The existing systems are managed by our maintenance staff >> and they have the equipment to do what they need for now and then obviously everything will be updated when the time comes. >> Yes. >> Okay. Perfect. Thank you. >> Member Lady.
>> Thank you. For the update you just mentioned, is there any type of shift in the um qualifications that the the applicant needs to have or the commensurate pay or anything like that or is it just the expectation of the needs that you're recognizing? I think I think the the pay is anti-Je pay is
correct. I think that there's we'd look for a little bit of more of a mixture of experience rather than just someone who's saying, you know, a contractor is licensed to someone with more HBC experience. What we look for mixture of that. >> Thank you. >> Member Brley,
>> I noticed the the salary here. Was that similar to the salary that it was before? >> It's the same one. >> It's the same one. Okay. Just want to make sure. Thank you. Uh, is there a motion to approve this job description? Motion to approve by member Lead,
seconded by member Branley. Roll call, please. Before the rolls call, may I ask just a question if refresh my memory on um the salary range,
>> please? >> Yeah. >> 110. >> Thank you. [Music] >> Member Brley. >> Yes. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Intapa. >> Yes. >> Member Olady. >> Yes.
>> Member Rinfeld. Yes. >> Member Russo. Yes. Mayor Lungo. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. The job description is approved. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Um, next up we have continued business.
Uh, we have an update and recommendation to approve the Cummings Foundation $35,000 grant for the CIT Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility. Um, Mr. Troda submitted a report and I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Galooi.
>> Thank you very much. So I know that Mr. Troda provided uh the membership with a little bit more uh description. I will say that just to maybe get to like the key points in conversation with Mr.
TRDA. Um, the language that was in there that was causing some concern, I believe was in there mistakenly and will not be in there in in the future years of this grant, which is a 10-year grant. Um, but you can see here the the categories of
pretty much how that for this school year, which follows how the other budgets have typically gone. Um, what the what the buckets of spend are for. So the largest here is for staff stipens. So there are chapters of CCSR
at every school across the district. Um and these are going to the stipens. Now every school has one stipen. Some schools depending on the number of students that are in that chapter they may have two advisors. That's work for this year that's still unfolding to see
how students are going to um participate. Some of the stipens also go to um administrative assistant or secretarial type work in order to keep the purchase orders for materials and supplies going through Medford Public
Schools. So it's not just to clarify there's th those additional stipens one stipend as well. a bulk of the work um goes to the supplies and the materials that are needed for each chapter to
engage in the projects. So when students are working with their adviserss to come up with what they want their project uh their civic-minded project to be there's money that's allocated to their needs. Uh I did ask about professional
development materials. Um, I did learn that there is a resource library in the Medford High School library that all of the adviserss have access to and that library keeps building in terms of resource for the adviserss. And then the
last piece was just a small amount of money if if there is an adviser, which has come up in the past, wants to bring students on a field trip or bring in a guest speaker that is related to the work that they have chosen to do. That
money is airmarked for just in case opportunities throughout the year. Happy to answer any like further questions that you may have. Member Inappa, member Rinfeld, and then member Rouso. >> Okay. Um, thank you so much. I'm I'm
really happy to see this um breakdown and also, you know, the clarification in terms of the language. I think one thing >> to make um very clear and important to folks is that this is not the only basis of funding for the CCSR that the CCSR
actually especially in the um secondary education part of the CCSR actually encourages students to gr get grants elsewhere and to help fund the projects through that. It's a way of um project learning and a way for folks to learn how to do that in the real world. I know
that um my project in the CCSR was mainly funded actually through TUS and through Harbor Freight and that was done in with my advisor um Michael Skorker teaching me how and Richard Troda teaching me how to sort of do that. So when we see um these numbers outside of
the scope of well how does that fund everything um it's important to know that um at the core of the CCSR they are teaching students how to be advocates and how to advocate for themselves in terms of what they want to get funded. So oftentimes they're reaching out to community partners for sponsorships and a lot of other things. Um so just kind
of like a point of information I guess about this funding when we see this here and we go how does 4,000 sustain the various grade levels and various intricacies of projects. Oftent times we we rely on our community partners and and thank them for that. So thank you
for the clarification and uh I appreciate all the information presented. >> Member Reinfeld. Yep. I just wanted to thank Mr. Trotter for providing this. I know I was the one who severed this last time and I just want to say thank you for providing the
additional info. That's it. >> Member, >> thank you. I I I was just looking at the letter again from last meeting. Um and I don't really feel like we got answers to the question we were asking, which was what does the grant require? Um the
letter explicitly references a relaxing of requirements. what were the requirements and what are the requirements now is still unanswered. Um, and I went back and looked at the presentations from June and I still don't know how the $29,000 gets spent. I
mean, is it $28,995 for one person and a dollar for each other person? I don't know. It's not in any of the presentations we've received. U, so I I'm not satisfied that this answers our questions and I'd like to get those questions answered.
I think that's fair. So I have requested a further drill down um from Mr. Troda around this for this school year. I can go back and get it for last school year if that is the request. This school year we just don't have it yet because the
participation is still they're still kind of like building um through enrollment of student participation the number of adviserss and what that will look like. But I'm happy to give that to you. >> I I would like last year's. Yeah. I mean, because my my sense after all
these years is it's >> it's pretty much been the same for the last eight years. >> Um well, almost whatever the years have been, it's been we've been paying the staff and everybody about the same, but I don't know who's getting paid what,
frankly. And that's really not I mean if it has nothing to do with us and we shouldn't be talking about the CCSR in any way, shape or form, then let's say that and stop talking about the CCSR. But we talk about it a lot and I have no idea what happens to the money and where
it goes. And that's not my opinion as an a body that is responsible acceptable. So last year would be great. Um and if it's particularly different than the year before that, then I'd like to know that too. Thank you.
>> Member in Tapa. >> My understanding um for one for the in terms of where we find what those that is actually outlined in the 10-year grant contract executed in 2021. So, we'd have to refer to that language to find out what that means outside of the
scope. My understanding of the faculty and staff stipens when it comes to advising is more in the term of that this is the allotted amount and that it is earmarked for that. So that way every you know I and I don't know what the number is. I know I was asked to be an
adviser at some point and I never got to that point of asking what the stipen weeks. I just didn't ask nor did I care. Um but the uh as far as I'm concerned it's a baseline stipend of whatever the amount is and then that 29,000 is basically reachable to then because we
pay part of Mr. Troda's salary through the budget. Um and as far as I'm concerned it's for folks outside of that but I could be completely wrong. I don't know the answer 100% so I don't want to pretend like I do >> but that is that is my interpretation of
of this letter and from past context working with director Troda on this >> there are um no Medford public schools operating funds that pay for CCSR. It is entirely grant funded. So >> except for Mr. Trout's stipen
>> except for Mr. Trout's stipen. >> It has to be I'm so sorry. I don't know if I'm like out of order by saying go for it this >> um but his stipen part of the grant I have learned part of the grant is that his stipen has to be separate from the grant funding. So that does go all to
this the work of CCSR and Medford for public schools pays his stipen to oversee the the grant. >> The only one >> everyone else is all the other adviserss and assistants whether it's faculty or
staff is from this but TRDA is the only one that is paid for in our budget. >> Okay. Um, member Branley, so who holds on to this $35,000? There's an account like the a grant account in Medford public schools that
is allocated each year and then it's drawn down for the for the to pay the stipens and to pay the materials and to so our grant manager Susan Callahan helps to manage >> okay >> this funding. >> Member Russo.
>> Thank you. So that's sort of it. There is a line item that pays for Mr. Drada. Um but when there's this relaxation in that letter, does that mean we could perhaps use the grant to pay for him instead of the very limited met for public schools funding? No.
>> But but it says relaxed with no explanation. A what does that mean? Um and I >> and it's not in writing, but that's why I was told it was >> What's not I'm sorry. in writing. >> It was in error and should not have been
part of the clause and that clause is removed moving forward. >> Um, >> so what I could maybe do is ask for them to like reissue the letter. >> Can I I think what I'm not clear about is what is the clause that was an error?
Like what did we think we had to do that we no longer had to do? It's just the wording around it being relaxed like and could be airmarked for other purposes. The language that you were concerned for last time. >> But what is being relaxed? I I'm not clear like what are we what is relaxed?
Is it like a particular requirement? I'm just trying to be very clear about what we're being asked to approve a grant. And there's a lot of lore around how CCSR is funded. um including I have been told by past people in the
administration that we are required to pay stipens at certain levels to certain people. I don't know if that's true or if it's not true, but what I'm trying to understand is what are we required to do under the contract that we signed? What
are those features? And when we relaxed something, is it all of it or is it a specific thing? So, I just want to be clear what we're saying because I don't want people to go out and be like, "The school committee is going to go spend this money on whatever they want because
it was relaxed." I just want to be very clear about what it is that was relaxed. >> Nothing. >> Nothing was relaxed. >> Nothing has been relaxed. >> Okay. >> Nothing. No. So,
>> nothing has been relaxed. the language was an error that something could that that how you're spending the money could be relaxed. Nothing is being relaxed moving forward. These are the three buckets of spend
which is stipens, materials and field trips, transportation costs, guest speakers. That's it. There's no relaxing of how we're spending our money. Those are the three buckets in which CCSR is spending their money.
Then I would like to ask that we get an official correct letter from the Cummings Foundation so that we can approve this in a way that is um diligent with what they're asking us to do,
>> especially if nothing has been relaxed. >> Yes. Yeah. We're not >> I I just I think we're in year eight of a 10-year grant. >> Yeah. And and I think the other thing is to say, "Oh, this was in the grant 10 years ago." I'm sure that it was, but it's been 10 years. And it would just
also be helpful for people to say, here are the key features of the grant that was signed 10 years ago by nobody who's still in the building except for Mr. TRA so that we can parse fact from fiction. That's all. >> Y
member Rouso, >> and I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I'm going to anyways. Um, but this paragraph like nobody wakes up as they're typing a memo memo and writes a paragraph that says the foundation has lifted restrictions on the use of grant
fun. Like that didn't come out of thin air. That came out of an email or a letter or a memo that somebody received. Nobody just wrote that for kicks. So, I can understand if you're saying that there has in fact been nothing relaxed,
but somebody received something somewhere along the line that definitely said restrictions have been relaxed because it you you just this isn't a sentence you can accidentally add a and or a not and suddenly get this sentence. This is clearly a paragraph written
based on some other thing that exists somewhere. So, I I look forward to the report on what is >> I will have the letter reissued. I'm I'm still in my learning of CCSR. Um so, I
can't speak to what it was in the past, but I will absolutely get a yes, a revised letter. >> Thank you. Member and Tapa, did you have a question? >> And one more. Not to like you said, um I'm going to make maybe a dangerous
assumption. What I'm assuming is, and again I use the word assuming strongly, is that the Cummings Foundation had guidelines on what they wanted the grant funding to be spent on. And now with a lot of things happening
federally with grant funding, what they're earmarked for, they are lifting certain recommendations to avoid becoming targeted. And I'm going to assume that they are basically saying we had priorities and now it's whatever you want to do. Um because that seems to be
the trend. That seems to be what's happening nationally. Um and I have a feeling that it was just more of or maybe it wasn't that deep. Maybe it's nothing like that. And maybe it's just, you know, hey, we wanted you to use it for this. Now, you know, whatever whatever floats your boat, whatever we
can do to make sure that students have student success and that they're doing the projects they want to do and that we actually really don't care what you use it for as long as you spend it appropriately and responsibly. >> And I think getting to the bottom of those choices is >> yeah, >> a good idea.
>> Yeah. Not saying it's not. I'm just saying that that's probably might be >> Is there a motion to table this update this request to approve the donation? Well, it's we took it up on the agenda, so >> yep. >> Motion to table by member Rouso.
>> Is there a second? >> Seconded by member Leady. All the uh roll call, please. >> Member Branley. >> We're holding off >> on accepting the money. We've already accepted the money. We're just holding off on the on the letter. >> We are tableabling the motion to
approve. The school committee is required to approve donations and grants. >> So, we're holding on. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> We're just withholding our approval. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Good.
>> That's why I'm like, >> we just want to be clear about what our requirements are when we accept money. That's >> perfect. >> Yeah. Member Branley. >> Yes. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Intapa. >> Yes. >> Member Olady. >> Yes. >> Member Rinfeld. Yes.
>> Member Russo. Yes. Mayor Langokarn. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative. Zero in the negative. The um request is tabled. >> Um I have a motion. >> Member Russo.
>> Once I find my there's so many tabs. I would like to make the motion to take 2025 dash I got to find the number. I'm sorry.
No, it's Wait. Yeah. 2025-30. That's the AI one. No. >> Uh 30 is the one that I want to take out of order. Oh yeah.
>> Is that what's next anyways? >> No. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Let's take Let's >> Yeah, let's a motion to take 2025-27 out of order. Thank you. Motion to take 2025-27
out of order by member Rouso. Seconded by member Rinfeld. >> Roll call. >> Member Brley. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Intapa. >> Yes. >> Member Olady. >> Yes. >> Member Rinfeld. Yes.
>> Member Rouso. Yes. Mayor Lungo. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Uh, we will take 2025-29 out of order. >> 27 >> 27. I'm sorry. Oh my goodness. Too many numbers being
sent around. Okay. So, 2025-2027 offered by member Reinfeld policy JND the AI use of generative AI in Medford public schools. Um, I am going to read this. Bear with me. I think it's important if we're going to have a
discussion about it that we all are on the same page about what is here. Uh Meer public schools views certain technology as an integral part of the educational experience and is committed to providing a strong digital learning environment for all students. We are dedicating we are dedicated to providing
all students with a 21st century education that will enable them to be lifelong learners and contributors to a diverse and rapidly changing world. The MPS technology responsible use policy outlines the guidelines and behaviors that our users are expected to follow when using all technology including AI.
MPS supports the use of developmentally appropriate technology resources including Genai to improve teaching and learning for all students. MPS recognizes that AI literacy includes the understanding, evaluation, and use of appropriate Genai tools. These skills
are important for students and staff to participate effectively in technologydriven academic and work realities. In accordance with the above, MPS will provide guidance, training, and resources to support the ethical and educationally appropriate implementation of Gen AI tools across the district.
Some important definitions. Generative artificial intelligence, also known as Gen AI, is the type of technology that generates content, including images, text, video, audio, and other media when prompted by a user. Generative AI is a machine learning model that creates new
content based on large amounts of training data in response to user prompts. Predictive AI analyzes historical data to examine trends and patterns and make predictions about the future. AI literacy includes learner skills and knowledge that de that demonstrate their
understanding of the opportunities, risks, and ethical considerations of generative AI guidelines for use. Our Medford public schools AI guiding principles consider how the resource we use supports teaching and learning, addresses data privacy and security considerations, and supports ethical and
responsible use of Genai tools. In addition to these considerations, students and staff must measure ensure critical evaluation of Genai content to recognize biases and misinformation. Guidance for the students default use of Genaii tools in a given department shall
be consistent across grade level and shall not infringe upon a teacher's discretion to allow or disallow their use for specific assignments or to provide learning supports or accommodations to students as designated by law and documented under a student's IEP 504 plan or other relevant
provision. All Gen AI use must be linked to one or more specific educationally relevant objectives and shall not undermine the development of critical thinking skills. When responding to concerns about the use of Genai tools, MPS shall apply the same criteria used to review other instructional materials
and access technology for students. Genai tools any Genai tools being used must follow usage terms, eg age restrictions, caregiver permission requirements, etc. and align with district student and data privacy and security requirements. Students should
not use any generative AI tools without prior approval from educators or educational teams. Students must also properly site all AI generated content. Plagiarism. AI tools are only to be used with the express permission of educators and acade and academic teams. Obtaining
answers or completing assignments without properly attributing AI generated content is plagiarism and is forbidden. Teachers will provide information on the purpose of the assignment and how Gen AI should use should and shouldn't be used in the classwork. The academic honesty panel. If a student if students are suspected
of plagiarism with Gen AI, teachers will be required to supply relevant work examples for review and determination by the academic honesty panel. The panel's decision is final. Assessments. If allowed by the educational staff, AI tools may be used to assist students in preparing for assessments, but cannot be
used to complete assessments unless explicitly stated. Bias and critical thinking. All AI AI generated content should be checked for accuracy, bias, misinformation, and potentially negative content. Students should understand the limitations of AI generated information and the importance of using trusted
sources for information verification. Citations. A record of prompts used in genai should be kept along with the output of the AI tool used. Any AI generated content used in assignments must be cited and teachers will provide guidance for how to attribute AI generated content in student work. Data
collection and privacy. All technology resources utilized in the Medford public schools including Genai will adhere to the district student data privacy data collection regulations and best practices. Students should never input personally identifying information, sensitive or confidential data into any
AI system, including images. Students should immediately report any security breaches, suspicious activities, or exposure to inappropriate content encountered during AI use in school authorities. Ethical use all AI all Genai content should be
critically reviewed before use. All AI generated content should be checked for accuracy, bias, misinformation, and potent potentially negative content. Users may not use AI to create or disseminate harmful content. Any form of communication with or through AI tools, including chat bots or virtual assistants, must adhere to the same
standards of respect expected in human interactions. Abusive, harmful, or disrespectful conduct conduct through AI platforms is unacceptable. The use of Gen AI for school work must be recorded and shared. Genai tools used in member public schools are for educational purposes only.
Um for educational staff, educational staff should speak with students about the definition use of genai and MPS for genai tools. Any Gen AI tools being used must follow usage terms including age restrictions, caregiver permissions, etc. and align with district student and
data privacy and security requirements. Educators use of genai should be as a tool to support teaching and learning environment but is not to be solely relied on in place of educator review and judgment. As far as assignments and assessments, teachers are responsible for posting expectations, allowable and
or prohibited uses of geni tools for students use in their classes. These expectations may be specified in assignment directions, the syllabus, Google classroom information, classroom postings, or other relevant locations for students to access. Teachers might
allow the limited use of generative AI on entire assignments or parts of assignments. Educators should identify when and how genai can be used and why. For bias and critical thinking, all AI generated content should be checked for accuracy, bias, misinformation, and potentially negative content.
Educational staff should understand the limitations of AI generated information and the importance of using trusted sources for information verifications. AI detection tools. Currently, detection tools that claim to detect content developed by generate generative AI are not reliable enough to accurately
identify cheating plag plagiarism on their own. Data collection and privacy all technology resources utilized in metro public schools including geni will adhere to district student data privacy data collection regulations and best practices. No private, confidential or
personally identifying information should be entered into Genai tools. The district's approved use of online platforms, software, and resources, including AI tools, should always be consulted. Ethical use. The gen all Gen AI content should be critically viewed before use. All AI generated content
should be checked for accuracy, bias, misinformation, and potentially negative content. Users cannot use AI tools to create or disseminate harmful content. All use of Gen AI for school work must be recorded and shared with teachers, such as with a transcript of prompts and
responses. Genai tools used in metro public schools are for educational purposes only for district operations. Member public schools recognize that genai is increasingly embedded in the tools and systems that districts are use for budgeting, staffing, resource allocation, operational decision
decision-making. These systems can help forecast trends, streamline processes, identify patterns and data, but may also reflect flawed assumptions, limit human discretion, and reinforce inequities in funding, hiring, or access to services. Medford Public Schools commits to operational uses of Gen AI with the same
attention to ethical principles, communication, equity, legality as with instructional tools. Specifically, the use of Gen AI tools for operational purposes will ensure transparency and oversight, support human judgment and review, monitor for bias and equity risks, strengthen data literacy and
interpretation, use responsible procurement practices, and align with legal requirements and community values. Monitoring and review. We're almost done, I promise. Um, the district has the right to monitor the use of AI technologies to con ensure compliance
with this policy. Monitoring will be conducted in an ethical manner respecting the privacy and rights of students and staff. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, including but not limited to restriction of access to AI resources, educational interventions, or other
disciplinary measures as deemed appropriate by the school administration. MPS guidance as to responsible ethical use of Gen AI will be reviewed and updated annually to reflect new developments in AI technology, changes in legal and ethical standards and the evolving needs of the educational
environment. Um there are a series of related policies around instructional material curriculum and instruction access to electronic media internet acceptable use software policy and pol policy hygiene. Member Reinfeld.
So I I sum so the educa educational staff and the student is taken directly from the committee's language. Um most of this overview language is from but I added the bits about consistency across grade level and within subject areas.
The thinking on that right is that if a student on side A at the Andrews has a different policy than side B at the McGlin that's a problem. Um but recognizing that these tools are used very differently in a humanities class, a science class, a world language class,
special education. So and special education um professionals were on in this group to say when things are using English language learners have a different need um than others and in terms of assessing where the students
are. So that's that was there. And then as I mentioned the um district operations that is kind of brand new in the DESI guidelines that came out at the end of August. Um and I recognize that this work was done before our chief
operating officer and assistant superintendent for um instruction and curriculum. This actually began right in our surprise superintendent transition. And so I have to thank um Director Kza for
stepping in and um doing some of that um material. So that's where this came from. I put it on the agenda tonight because I knew the handbooks were on the agenda and I think it would be inappropriate to be referencing a policy that doesn't
exist. So, I welcome the discussion, friendly amendments, whatever we need um to show that we're thoughtful and to make sure that we are supporting students. Uh the discussion in these committee meetings was these resources are here to stay. We need to be using
them responsibly and we need to have a position and not just let things happen because someone comes up with an idea. So, I am excited to have a consistent policy in this area. Thank you, Member Reinfeld. Questions
from the committee. Member Russo, >> thank you for doing this. Um, there's a lot of work. Um, I really appreciate that there's um it's not just focused on students. I think that would have been
the easy way out. Um and um I don't envy the the staff that have to learn all these things that are frankly changing every day. Um I think perhaps for students it's easier to to learn all
this stuff perhaps. Um but um did we have a mention of professional development in this? >> I believe we said that the district will provide training and resources. >> Okay, that's training is the word. Okay. >> Yeah. So, one of the one of the
objectives of the of this task force working group was to identify the training needs, not prescribe what they should be. Um, so I know that document exists but has not been codified. >> Thank you. Yes, >> we had four meetings. And I will also
note that the language that is in the handbooks was reviewed at department meetings and building levels. So, it has seen other eyes. Although as we mentioned, additional input from different stakeholders is still needed here.
>> Thank you. I would um just ask that in the next budget that we I'm guessing that professional development around generative AI will not be free. It might be quite an expensive professional development offering. So, um just something to keep in mind for
the next budget because um our staff is certainly going to need it. Um, but as you pointed out, like different departments and different grade levels will need, frankly, very different training. Um, I'm I'm assuming the science is probably a lot of those
teachers at at least at the high school level are already pretty um aware of a lot of this stuff, but um, thank you. I It's incredibly concise. Um, and I I love the use of the word ethical over
and over because um that is a harder one to nail down. Um, but and and I do like the um the academic honesty panel. I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about why there's this uh the panel's decision is final.
>> I would defer to the staff on that. that was their language and not to pass the buck, but that was our teachers and administrators. Um I think they wanted it to be very consistent with the existing um academic honesty and integrity policy but I'm
hoping and I want to note that um director Leaden is not here um Shauna Tova to our Rashana observers um so there may be some questions here that our director of technology and library services may be better equipped to
answer but perhaps Dr. Galooi can talk about the panel. No, thank you. I think that was really nicely said. The only thing I would say is that I'm sure it's not a big surprise that especially secondary teachers are dealing with these issues quite regularly. Um, and
probably I don't know, I wouldn't maybe necessarily say a daily basis, but I do think that it's this is a conversation that is happening in a lot of secondary department meetings, classrooms. I also know it's quite a conversation at college campuses. Um there's a lot of
higher level institutions that are talking about going back to the oral exams and the blue books uh as a way to kind of navigate what is happening now. And every time you turn around there's now another like third party platform
that's claiming to do some other evolvement um of AI functioning that can determine who's used it, determine who's not. I think the real main goal for this, which member Reinfeld um so
eloquently said, but it's really to educate how it can be used as a tool, but not to replace critical thinking, problem solving, and teaching our students the skills that they need to thrive in college and in the real world.
But there are some instances where it can aid and support productivity and um workflow. And I think that like having the opportunities to do that in classrooms where we're teaching students the difference. Um getting back to that
ethical word again is really the essence of this guidance. And it is important to once approved and have the the greater conversation, it is important to be reflected in the handbook >> I was just going to add that in our
initial survey, we asked what the committee was what the task should be, but also uh we got a high positive response to both generative AI tools support student learning and generative AI tools undermine student learning. And I think everyone kind of recognizes the
complexity of that. Um, then the question that people are kind of most mixed on was, I know when my students are using generative AI tools. There was a big range of I know I have no idea. And I think more people said that their
students uh didn't use the tools, but they there was a recognition that that was going to increase over time. uh and that's why we really wanted to get ahead of this with the policy. So, thank you. >> Yeah, of course. >> Member Brley.
>> Um so, yeah. So, my question was surrounding that academic honesty panel too, like who determines it at what grade level and all of that stuff. So is there answer to that based on what you just said or is that something I know you said it was sort of brought by the teachers but
the way that for the ex the situations that have been arising prior to this guidance the way that's being handled is with inschool teams that usually comprise school leaders teachers and school counselors. Okay, good.
>> And and then bringing in at times if needed department heads too, like a Dr. Kazer, Dr. Khan. >> Okay, good. Yeah, thank you. >> Thank you. I want to say first and foremost, thank you uh member Rinfeld and everyone on the committee for putting their heads together, thinking
about what this looks like, thinking about the policy. I agree. Um it is very clear on a lot of things. There's a lot of, you know, um, the policy is bulky in terms of that. There's a lot of guidance, right? There's some things we just can't avoid. It's sometimes like we want to make them as short and simple as we can, but you always want to make sure
things are clear, there's clarity. There's clarity among side of things. Is that better? Less less echoey. Um the first question I have is has the district identified what generative AI models are state approved or district
approved are okay to use in the system because it mentions that in the desi guidelines they have to be vetted and I I was curious >> the district maintains a list of acceptable software programs and it I believe includes generative AI or they were adding the generative AI tools as
of the writing of this policy. Right. That's a great question for Molly Leaden as well. >> Yeah, in terms of like what because there's thousands of models and there's different, you know, thirdparty softwares in terms of which >> only a certain number of them um have the agreement to for student data
protection and that's really the that's the filter. >> Yeah. Right there. >> I was going to say because that is that's my biggest concern is in terms of student data privacy. Um >> yeah, and we kind of said there there isn't a >> it doesn't make sense to list those out
in the policy because things change and >> right >> legal. So the district maintains that in the same way that they maintain other acceptable software and >> why Google this works and Microsoft that doesn't or I'm not trying to slam any particular company that was random.
>> Right. I understand. Yeah. No, my question it was more in terms of like have we identified yet? You know what I mean? terms of what we have. Um obviously like you said things are fluid, things change, we find problem with a software, we take it off the list. It happens all the time. >> Um sort of breaking this apart um in
terms of so I understand uh in terms of citing AI sources, I find it very interesting because it basically seems like the old adage of you can't site Google because you can't site a Google search. And that's exactly what an AI citation is through MLA and APA. It's
just you're writing what you searched up, what model you used, and what day it was. Which is funny because you go through primary and secondary education and they tell you not to do that with Google. And yet this is this isn't our language, but this is what the language is across >> the nation in terms of MLA and APA of
what is acceptable. Um, so I think that's kind of hilarious, especially if you know how AI works in terms of machine learning that um, inherently it is plagiarism because it is pulling together a bunch of sources and sputing out a summary without any real citation. Um, and if you've, you know, in college
they always teach you even if you summarize, even if you don't use every single word word by word or even have two the same, you still have to site it because you're still using someone else's information to form your opinion. And so um generative AI being cited is an interesting sort of cycle of like
that's an interesting kind of thing. Um in terms of us implementing generative AI, I know that we as a committee >> um stand on policies that are um sustainable and making sure we're in our environment. And if you know about AI, a generative AI, you know how much energy
it uses and how much water it uses and how much fossil fuels it inherently uses to generate answers and to machine learn these systems. And so from a sustainability standpoint, it's >> not uh that sustainable. There are ways for them to, you know,
>> I'm sure to get the energy from solar or wind, but for the most part, it's really not. Um, in terms of ethical usage in the arts, there is no way to ethically use AI except for if you code an AI system and feed it only your artwork. It
is inherently plagiarism and not stealing like an artist. Um, which you and I both understand. It is more of the stealing of of everything else. Um, so these are sort of some of my concerns I'm seeing. >> I will note that the environmental piece came up as ethical as an umbrella both
ethically in terms of personal development and learning but also in terms of societal impact and >> Oh yeah 100%. >> So so it was certainly discussed but I I the point is taken I >> I was say I wrote a very different policy for my graduate students than I
wrote here. >> Fair enough. Um, yeah, I'm definitely pulling in from what the conversations are happening in the art world in terms of higher ed. And these are the conversations we're having every single day in terms of how AI is implemented in policy, in the classroom, in higher education. Um, also the part of bias and
critical thinking should be checked for accuracy, bias, and misinformation. For me, it's at this point, what's the point then in terms of taking a shortcut to generize generate and summarize these things and then have to go back and still check them to make sure they're factual and to make sure that they are
um appropriate and then who is doing that checking and I think my colleagues behind me have some opinions about that in terms of what um then >> I think I think we would like to hear from them. Did you have anything that you wanted to amend about this policy? I
actually um in opposition of the policy I think that we shouldn't be it is my personal opinion that we really shouldn't be implementing this into the curriculum in terms of its usage. I believe that um being aware especially in terms of literacy when we look at political and also national um literacy
around what is generative AI, what is real and what is not I think is a very scary thing. It is approaching very quickly in terms if we look at AI models that are generated from last year until this year. Um, so I'm sort of more nitpicking this in terms of that my
amendment would be to uh only have a literacy aspect to it and the only times that we use this is to teach about what generative AI is, but um it is not my welcoming to incorporate this into the curriculum in terms of as a tool. I understand its benefits, but um I
personally do not have a positive outlook on generative AI and the future that it has in terms of where it will be going. So, um, to that I defer to my colleague next to me. That's not even my job. But, um, that is >> I'm I'm unclear. Are you making a motion or are you not making a motion at this
time? >> My Well, at this time there is no motion. Okay. >> These are just comments and questions. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, I see we have a new colleague joining us. Um I think that we have some specific um
issues with the wording present within the um current uh student handbook in result in regards to generative AI. This is more specific concerns. Um but uh under bias and critical thinking all AI generated content should be checked for
accuracy, bias, misinformation and politically uh and potentially negative content. And under citations, a record of prompts used in generative AI should be kept along with the output from the AI tool used. Um first of all, uh who is doing this work? Um who is keeping this
record? Who is responsible for ensuring this record is kept? What is the punishment in case this record is not kept? Uh secondly, does this apply to participate to preparation for assignments as is mentioned elsewhere in the document or uh simply to the uh
creation of content for the assignments themselves? Again, this is generally not clear. Um the uh student handbook itself places particular emphasis on open AI's chatbt over other generative AI models. We believe that this is overly specific. Um I understand.
>> Can I just can I stop you? Can we do this one at a time just so that if there are answers we can not forget what the answer is before we get to the next thing. Okay. So the first question can you just tell us your first question again? It was about >> yes >> bias and critical thinking. >> Yes. So under both the bias and critical
thinking and citation sections uh records are meant to be kept either of prompts or uh ensuring that they are checked for accuracy bias misinformation and potentially negative content. Um our question here is who is responsible for this work? Um who is responsible for uh
ensuring that this list has been created and what are the uh repercussions uh should this work not be done and does this apply to only the creation of material for assignments themselves or preparation for tests as mentioned is throughout uh at other points throughout
the document. >> Thank you. Uh member Einfeld did you have an answer? Um so I so this was developed by committee and I um but I I believe the intention on who is keeping
these records is the person completing the assignment. Um and I believe the prompts list is only for the assignments work that is turned in to say this is the sourcing for the content that I'm providing. That is my understanding of
what the teachers on the committee were thinking with this language. >> Member Rouso. >> Um, so I mean it does depend on which tools you're using. Certainly that I use AI all day every day as a software developer, but um, you know, the prompts
that I make and the answers that I get, I mean, I can look at them going back as far as I want. Um, they don't go away. Um, now if you're just using a free web version of something, you probably don't get all those features, which is why
using the the approved list would be very important. Um, and again, I'm not familiar with all the tools I use, the tools I use, which everybody knows there are many tools. Every day there seems to be another tool, but not being able to, but using a tool for which you do not
get an audit history of what you're doing seems like an absolute no-go. like that as I read this policy. If you pick open a tool and it doesn't let you see what you asked it and what the answer was three weeks ago, um you shouldn't be
using that tool because you can't comply with the policy that says here's, you know, when you go to turn in the paper unless you copied it down at that moment, which is also, you know, that's not how people do work. I mean, you're
not going to ask a question or make this paragraph better and then go off and write some gigantic audit log of your own. That is totally unreasonable. Um, but if you're using a tool that's keeping track of it, um, then it becomes
it's still a heavy lift. The question is, is it a heavier lift than just doing it all without generative AI? And I suppose it depends what it is you're doing. Um, I would say that in most cases, I mean, I am wildly more productive as a
software developer using generative AI than going off and learning a entire new whatever. Um, when I only need a little tiny thing. Um, so um, so to me that's
the answer. Um, but I obviously was not part of this committee. But I think that, you know, if you read something at the library and you don't write down the reference and then you have a great memory and you write down exactly what you read sent word for word, but don't
put any you don't remember what book it was, it still counts as academic dishonesty, right? So, um, I'd like to think this is actually less work than some of that other stuff that we used to have to do in the olden days,
card cataloges and all that good stuff. I'm really aging myself, but um, that's how I interpret it. Now, this is the policy like policy is not most of the time is not implementation. So the gory details of how it gets done,
like if there's 10 tools that are approved, the answer is probably different for every tool. Um, so our policy is not going to be for this specific tool, make sure you click this after you do a question and you get your answer. And um, that's just not that
it's an option for policy, but it becomes incredibly brittle. And then we're constantly modifying policy every week when there's a new AI tool. So that's how I interpret this to answer your question. >> Yep. And I will add I I back in this language. So it's all use of Genai for
schoolwork must be recorded and shared with teachers such as with a transcript of prompts and responses. So the policy is written to give teachers some flexibility in explaining what their expectations are uh and to say this is
how I want you to be citing things. It doesn't require that list of prompts, but the teacher, this is an example of something that a teacher might request. Another teacher might say, I want a disclosure of AI to say, I use this tool in my introduction or I use this in my
research to create an outline, but I don't need the specific prompt. So, I think the such as is actually important here in that language. I don't know if that addresses the concern. And if I might through from the chair um this policy lays out that students are
responsible for this and teachers are responsible for setting the parameters by which it will be used in their classroom. So just like any assignment that you get, your teacher is going to tell you what they expect from the assignment, how to site things, whether
you type it or you send it to them in the mail. Like all of those things come from your teacher on an assignment by assignment basis. And this is not asking anybody to do anything different than that. It is asking teachers to clearly outline that to you all. But it is asking you as a student to adhere to the
use of the tool. So from a bias perspective, this policy is asking you to do it and it is asking teachers to do it and be clear about it. >> I think that is a very helpful explanation of the intent behind the message present within the document. Uh
we are simply requesting that within the document itself this uh intent is better expressed. Um uh thank you. Uh and I don't as for uh Mr. Ru um I
uh I don't think that it's prudent to discuss exactly which models are allowed at this moment given that they change uh so frequently. Um but uh on your point in increased productivity, I think it's a common concern here shared by the board members that there's
a difference between AI allowing you to do something faster and you actually understanding the process in which you do that. Um as for uh the rest of the document um >> yeah.
>> Oh um >> like that. >> Yes. Uh sorry um the document we believe that the document is overly specific in reference to particularly open AI's chatt uh while it remains the most commonly used uh AI model uh in terms of
user base at the moment uh we recognize that the landscape is rapidly changing and believe that um more general knowledge would be general wording would be helpful in this regard. >> I can speak to that if you'd like. Uh so that's in the >> uh that's in the definition section
because a lot of people use chat GPT interchangeably with generative AI and so it was to specify that it is a specific tool. Um it is not the list of approved resources. It's a definition of clarifying language.
Uh I understand that that might be the case in that particular section but it is mentioned throughout the document at other points including differences in citation. Um and uh I don't have any other examples written down but I believe that there was another one. So um I might be wrong but uh I don't
believe that that is uh restricted only to uh the section you're referencing but yes uh it is important to uh define those terms. Yes. Um okay.
Um I think that um uh like my colleague sorry board member here said um there are uh vastly different security
profiles uh and that constantly change for uh different models. And so we would also like to again second the importance of uh regulating uh the use of specific models within the school system. Um you
know uh deepseek which is owned by a Chinese company may have different policies than open AI. So again that is a concern we would like to second. Uh in terms of environmental impact we recognize again uh that these models
have significant energy requirements. Um however um there is a general trend that these companies are turning to cleaner sources of energy. We've seen uh two purchases of uh and construction of nuclear power plants uh for the running
of AI data centers. Uh so um this is a trend that is not exclusive to the use of fossil fuels. Um and then again want to second the uh uh concern for uh cognitive decline as the result
Roosevelt of over reliance on these models. >> Thank you. That's a that's quite a lot for your first meeting. Thank you all. >> You just write that. [Music] What? So, we will we will have if if
this passes its first reading, we will have a second reading. I'm happy to take the request to explicitly call out energy requirements. >> Yes. >> As a separate thing from general ethics. I think that's >> that's a good idea.
>> Um and the cognitive decline is a really important thing. Um it's it's embedded in the critical thinking, but I think I think maybe an impact state understanding the impact of AI is
maybe part of the the literacy component of it. So I think we can look at the policy with that uh in mind and I was going to say something else. Oh, it is. Um, I will note that I did add the phrase developmentally appropriate in
front of technology use. Um, and so I think in a future meeting I may bring that to the technology responsible use policy. But I think that was part of the idea here in terms of what's happening to our brains as we use these tools
because that's that research is coming out fast and furious and to member and top as a point point very alarmingly so >> yes although uh this is a very new topic and so I just again would like to
exercise caution in the regard in that regard. Um, and then one last point which I forgot. Um, the doc the student handbook uh refers to generative AI as Gen AI. This is a minor nitpick. Uh, which is fine but it doesn't make clear that it's an abbreviation and so it's
just slightly problematic. Um, it's not a huge deal. >> Yeah, I thought we put it in the first mention but if we didn't that can certainly be fixed. >> Just gen.ai or any other um making it more clear.
So if I could recap on the policy, I think I've heard um a request to make clear that uh it is both student and teacher responsibility to um check for
bias, critical thinking and citations. um that uh we clarify the use of the phrase ethical use. Um and that we reference um not
just critical thinking but also uh the co potential cognitive decline that is associated. Um, those are the three changes potentially that I see. >> And the environmental impact. >> And the environmental impact. >> Yeah.
>> Um, so I just wanted to like recap that so that if you're going to um >> No, I can't. No, it's okay. >> Cognitive decline over here. >> So, um, potential updates would be, um,
reference to cognitive decline. um spec like direct reference that it is the expectation of both students and teachers to um check for bias and um citation.
Uh the environmental impact and >> we said the clarification of ethical is that >> and clarification of the word ethical to to um include environmental impact.
So, those are the three things that I'm hearing uh in the room that might warrant an amendment. >> Um can we also add security concerns in the selection of appropriate uh models for use in classrooms? >> Can you say more about um what you're
thinking about? Um yeah, certain models have different uh policies when it comes to disclosure of user data. And as these are students and and minors that are interacting with these models, it's important that in the selection of appropriate um models uh we keep in mind
the security uh concerns. >> Um I believe that that is actually covered because it does talk about our data security practices. So any tool that would be approved would have to be compliant in that space otherwise it could not be approved.
>> Understood. >> Yeah. And it's also right it's in the related policies. I think it's the access to electronic media but it's definitely a or the internet acceptable use and software. It's all covered in there.
So, >> is there a motion to approve the first reading with amendment? >> Motion to approve the first reading as amended by member Rouso. >> Seconded.
>> Seconded by member Branley. No, I believe that was the mayor. >> Oh, sorry. That voice came from over there. Uh, seconded by Mayor Longo Kern. Uh, roll call. Um, member Branley, member Graham,
>> yes. >> Member Antapa, >> member Olady, >> yes. >> Member Rinfeld, >> yes. >> Member So, yes. Marilyn Gokern. >> Yes. >> Six in the affirmative, one in the negative. Uh, first reading is approved.
>> Um, are we >> mayor? Yes. Sorry, >> chair. I I just um >> Thank you. I'm not sure all the students necessarily know the whole process for policy approval, but we have a second reading um at the next meeting or a
following meeting if we can't get it that quickly. Time. Right. So, it may not be right away, but um so the second reading will be there'll be edits and then we can either approve it or send it to another meeting
for further edits. Um and then of course we could always just vote it down. But um just wanted you all to be aware. Thank you. >> Is there a motion to take the handbooks off the table?
Motion to take the handbooks off the table by member inappa. There a second. Seconded by member Rinfeld. Roll call, please. >> Member Branley, >> yes. >> Member Graham, >> yes. >> Member, >> yes. >> Member, >> yes. >> Member Rinfeld, >> yes.
>> Member, yes. Mayor Langok, >> yes. Seven any affirmative, zero in the negative. Uh we will cycle back to the superintendent's recommendation to approve handbooks. Um the floor is yours again. And I think um we may have a
question online that has to do with the start of school. Um so when you're done with your update about the handbooks, perhaps you can answer that question. >> We're just going to give one moment. >> Great. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
Pipelli. So, there's two more sections as previously stated that are updates to the handbook. Um this one is um on June 27th. The US Supreme Court issued a decision um in Mammud vers Taylor which
is requiring school districts nationwide to provide parents and caregivers the opportunity to review instructional content in advance if they request to allow students to be excused or receive um curriculum accommodations if it
conflicts with their sincerely held religious beliefs. So, it is important to note that curriculum decisions still remain under the authority of public schools and that it does not alter our instructional standards or our program
of studies. But what it does is just affirm that upon request materials can be provided to parents and caregivers so that they can review um and request reasonable accommodations um for their religious objections. So
what that there is on the next slide language that we are adding into our handbooks so that we are consistent with the Massachusetts regulation 603 CMR 26.05 section 1. Um the Medford for public
schools through its curricula and materials encourages respect for the human and civil rights of all individuals regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin or sexual orientation. And in accordance with district guidelines,
families may request information from building principles on available accommodations related to curriculum content. So what we are encouraging here um is our charge, our collective charge this year is about belonging and that is
for every single student, every single staff member, every single family member, every single community member. And so what we really want to ensure is that we are prioritizing conversation and communication. So if there is a
caregiver that has concern over any curriculum related materials, they need to reach out to the building principal who will engage in dialogue with the caregiver regarding the scope and sequence and what those curricular materials may be. and on a district
level um that those building principles may reach out to Dr. Kim Talbot who was our assistant superintendent for academics and instruction. >> Member Rouso, did you have a question about this topic before we move on? >> Yes, I do. >> Okay, the floor is yours.
>> Thank you. I just wanted to be clear that accommodations does not mean alternative education. >> Correct. um that we don't provide two educations here. Um so when a student opts out, they will simply be missing
out on their education or the education that we had planned. They will not be getting a alternative. they will whether that's not be in class or you know it depends of course on the class and the grade level and all that other we're not sending a kindergartner to sit in the
hall but or maybe I don't know what we're doing but um I just want folks to understand that that does not mean that every parent can decide they want to have a separate education for their child they can decide that their kid will not get some education
um I'm wondering about um parental AL review of curriculum is um have we gone down the path of what does it mean for review? Like if I have a high school educ if I
didn't finish high school and my child is in AP physics and I want to know what the curriculum is, are we obligated to hand the curriculum over? And I'm assuming, of course, probably inappropriately, but perhaps the parents
will not be capable of knowing what the hell they're reading or looking at. What is our obligation to help them understand what the curriculum is? I mean, when I started on school committee, I was like, let's see our sex education curriculum. And I went in and I got it and it was a binder. It was
like a thousand pages long or more. Actually, it was multiple binders like this. Um and um you know that was quite the uh slap in the face for somebody who doesn't have an education background. Like when I say let me see the curriculum that's not quite as simple a
request as I thought. Um, so are we saying we will, and I realize this maybe hasn't happened yet and maybe we haven't worked it out, but are we handing over? And by the way, when I was handed those curriculums, I wasn't like those are
licensed copies. I couldn't take them home because like they were not like we had a certain number. They belong to the district. um are we sending parents home with curriculum and being like, "Well, here you go." Or are we helping them
understand what's in there? And if that's the case, that seems like a very large amount of effort um on our part. And I realize that this
is new and maybe there isn't an answer, but I'm worried that we're going to be accused of um burying parents who are wanting to perhaps op their kids out of certain things. Um I'm worried
about the teaching staff because all of our curriculum is not like off-the-shelf curriculum. It's not like there's like a, you know, a lot of our curriculum is because we've been improving and getting it, you know, up modernized, but not all of our curriculum is here's this, you
know, here's the documents. Uh, so what happens to teachers who teach a class that has no specific curriculum, but they've made it up themselves. And I know we have classes like that in the high school. Um, do they have And I
keep asking questions and don't let you answer, but I'm just very worried. >> I'm trying to remember them all. >> I'll I'll I'll stop talking, but this whole thing is freaking me out as I'm sure it's freaking you out. And um I want I'll just want to one final thing. I hope we're going to keep track of this
very carefully so we understand what it costs us. Thank you, >> Dr. >> Thank you. So I think the biggest as I previously mentioned but the the biggest piece that I want to say is that this requires conversation.
So this is not a a request that can be made through email or through just one um one phone call. This this needs to be a conversation that building leaders are engaging in with caregivers.
uh it would require the caregivers to have a review of like the scope and sequence so they could see um maybe content that is coming up. It is not something where it's an individual lesson per se, but I think one of the
things that um Dr. Talbot is working on with directors is making sure that we have scope and sequence available to caregivers so that we they can engage in that conversation. We are recording requests. We are making sure that we're
documenting our efforts of outreach and working with caregivers so that we can understand and have an internal um path as to what was requested and how we came about those decisions. Yes, it is true that the Supreme Court ruling did not
rule that school systems are obligated to provide alternative um materials, lessons, um activities for students, but a lot of I think that that
also speaks to why the conversation is so important to have with caregivers and what that might mean for the student. So in like again there is no judgment here but I also want to make sure that the
conversations are like what this looks like for the student and the impact that that has for the student and what that means in terms of of um what their experience in that class will be. Um and so making sure that parents
know that it's a conversation. The other piece is that this is about um religiously held beliefs and content that may they may find objectionable. And that
also requires conversation um to make sure we're getting at the root as to how and why does this particular content uh go against your religiously held beliefs. And that's also a matter of conversation that needs to be had.
I hope I answered your questions. >> Member Russo. >> Thank you. Um I when you said it, the impact on the student, I think, um I I'm reminded of our work on discipline that shows that when a student is out and
they come back, every other student is negatively impacted by the need to bring that student up to speed. um you know when a student is missing and they come back they didn't get what they needed yesterday for whatever reason the teacher does not have you know a
bifurcation of curricula for every single student so the student that comes back the next day having missed the content stat it's like research has really solved all this negatively impacts every other student in the class and so that's
one of the reasons we should be incredibly careful about taking kids out of classes for discipline. So I think that I would just also say that we should include that in our conversations that it isn't just that kid who might be
removed because of this like you know in math and science where every single day is building on the previous day. I'm I'm I'm I don't was never really an English person. So maybe in the humanities as well, but um you know,
little is taught that is never referenced again. So deciding you don't want your student to receive some content. I there's not a lot of classes where that's the one time it's ever discussed. So I I I'm glad you're
starting with conversations >> um because that I hopefully can we can reduce this to a very small number. Thank you. Sorry >> member Rinel. I was hoping you could comment just on what the expectations or requirements
are for teachers in terms of posting syllabus having the curriculum night and I know we also in some cases do information sessions about potentially sensitive content. I know we did that when the when we in fifth grade when the puberty unit comes up
>> that that is available as a resource. Um, and we've, I think, talked previously about listing what curricula are being used. I know Desi has it on their site, but putting it on on our website and saying this is this is the curriculum we use for math and for science. As member Russo mentioned, you
can't just hand over a curriculum. We it's very protected. But what are the expectations for educators to make that information available proactively? >> Yep. Well, thank you for that. That's actually part of the ongoing conversations that we're having right
now to make sure that things are kind of housed in one location and it makes it easier for reference and for review. Um, a lot of teachers use Google Classroom and it it is a landing page um for
caregivers and for students to be able to go right there and see what the syllabi or the resources or the content is. And so us encouraging and making sure that that is still happening so that it's accessible to caregivers uh
especially at the secondary level is the expectation. >> It's not a mandate. It's but it is an expectation. Is it explicit or implicit? >> Um a little bit of both. Yeah, I was just going to say I know that's not answering your question, but that's pretty much how I would like to answer
that question because it is it I mean this was something that happened over the summer and so this is the work that Dr. Tabot is doing with directors and school leaders um and they are doing with educators. So that has been the
expectation at the secondary level. that is still the expectation as we work through what this looks like as we move forward. Of course, it's completely different for elementary. And so, additionally, that kind of chain of command is if teach once teachers
receive any sort of outreach or request from caregivers, they immediately go to their u principal, >> right? Because I know sometimes I sign a syllabus for my child, sometimes I don't. Mhm. >> And different things are available at different curriculum nights, but we've
always had that information up front. So, right. >> Thank you. >> Hi. I think our students have something they would like to share. Is that right? >> Yeah. So, um >> hold on one second. Is your mic on red? Good.
>> Yes. Okay. >> One of the main things is that it's like opening up the conversation, but one of the questions that we had is like who is having this conversation? because they go to the building principal. Yes. But is first of all the building principal having the conversation with the parent?
>> Yes. >> Okay. And then when it comes to the accommodations, are they the ones determining the accommodations on like a building level or is that a like overall like there's a list of accommodations that are acceptable? There's not a list. This is a casebyase basis because it
really depends on the specific needs of the family as well as what the content is. So that's why it really needs to be a discussion. So the conversations are with the building principal and and the caregivers, the parents. Um and then the building principal has conversations
with the teachers to make sure that when it comes down to the student level, both the teacher and the caregiver are able to make sure that that communication is aligned. >> Okay. So it'll be case by case on what the accommodations are.
>> Yes. And then the other thing is this is mostly for high school level, but is the student going to be involved in this discussion at all? Like if they for some reason disagree with their parent, is there going to be a way to determine if
that is like disagreement in there? >> It's a great question. That is a great question and I'm really glad glad you raised it and I again I would say that's why we need to have the conversation with the caregiver and why I did mention
the impact on the student. So I want to be careful that I don't answer you by necessarily saying yes always all the time. Um but that would be the goal
for sure. like is the student going to be made aware of the conversation included in the discussion of it. >> Okay. >> Any other questions? >> I don't think so. >> Okay. member Reinfeld.
>> So Christine's point >> Christine's question u raised another point which is what kind of supports are available for the teachers to have these conversations in the moment because sometimes it's something that comes up kind of unexpectedly if we've
encountered it as we're reading or um so facilitating the conversations in the moment in the classroom as well I think is a really important piece here. >> So I I would say that that's why right now it's resting with the building
principal. >> And so if there is an accommodation made, the principal is having conversations. If it's let's say if we're sticking with the high school level, that conversation is had with all the teachers that that student
um has on their their case load. But it may not be that there's an accommodation in every class. >> So the support is coming from the support to teachers is coming from the building principal and the building principal is getting support from Dr.
Talbet. >> Okay. >> And so there's there's definitely a chain a hierarchy here, but we also need to make sure that that conversation flow is happening from Dr. Talbot to the principles to the to the educators. >> Right. So yes, I think I think that's the yes, maybe that's the core of it is
making sure that this >> is being discussed in a department meeting or a building meeting, particularly since it's new and I know educators want support in how to >> respond has already had some meetings with principles. >> There's lots of ongoing one-on-one
conversations, but there's also group conversations happening. >> Thank you, >> member Branley. in my head. Um, I think that this is going to get really tricky as time goes on because I think maybe a discussion
with a principal in one building with a parent is going to be different maybe than a principal, you know, in another building with the parent just based on what the parents needs are. And I just I feel this uh
tornado happening of social media. Well, this is what happened here and this was our situation here. And every case is going to be case by case. So, I I just feel like this is going to really open up a door to a lot of stormy waters. I think everybody has the right
to obviously, you know, be able to make the decision for their for their child. But I think even as she said, moving forward as your older children, you know, how do we protect a student from being, you know, chastised or, you
know, like I mean, where are we drawing a line here? like this is really opening up a broad a broad purview that we're really can't control. I mean this is this is like the more I'm hearing about this I'm like oh gee this is this is going to be tricky. This is
going to be tricky. I don't think it's as easy as just saying like okay you you don't sit in math during this lesson and you can go for a walk. I would say so much appropriate like I mean like you said sorry not to interrupt you but like even like kindergarten we won't let you go in the
hall will like what is what is going to be the plan like this is such a broad >> Wow broad >> well and first and foremost I would say that like ever since co the adaptability
that education has had to have every year of building as we're going here. Um, and last year with a lot of um, the way national decisions were made, I I just
think that this is this has been the nature of education for the past couple of years, which is why the conversation and the nature of the request is really the priority and the critical part. I just can't say that enough
because the chain the communication chain of teachers going to principles and principles going to Dr. Talbit is what is making sure that there's not only like the level of support but the
alignment and it also depends on um if it's high school maybe there are experiences that the that they've already had that are going to be part of the conversation. Um, that's why there's no way to answer this other than making
sure we have conversations about why the request is coming in, what the nature of the request is, what the impact will be, and then trying to figure out, um, what the accommodation needs to be, if any. Maybe sometimes it's just the
conversation that needs to be had, and there isn't an accommodation that's necessary because you had the conversation. I just want >> make sure that our principles and our staff, you know, along with Dr. Talbet are really being supported in all of this because at the end of the day, as I always say, it's about the kids at the
end of the day and supporting the families. So, it's really going to have to be individual and and discussion based. And I just >> So, I would say for all of you, I would just highly ask that you respect that chain of communication. >> Absolutely. And just you know if if caregivers are coming to you then you
need to put them back to >> the principal >> and that's where the conversation starts. >> I think we have I think we have one more handbook >> change >> um to discuss >> Dr.
And the last one is just updating the arrival and dismissal times which is pretty easy. It has been um highlighted a lot in the Friday memos. It is reflected on our website. It is here in this lovely chart. But each
individual school has also just updated the change in either or both arrival and dismissal times across the district. Um, thank you. I think we have somebody who has had their hand up online for quite some time. Um, will, do you think
you can unmute our guest? Um, while you do that, u members of the public are welcome to speak for up to three minutes on a topic. And if you could please give us your name and address for the record. >> Hello. >> Hello. >> Hi. We can hear you.
>> Yes. Hi. Um, good evening. I I was calling about a safety concern at the Roberts Junior High School. My name is Constantine Lombidakis. I live at 19 Choice Road in Medford. My son's a student at the Roberts Elementary.
Uh, I've noticed on Park Street there's about four or five cross crossing guards and there's flashing lights and uh crosswalks and everything. uh school signs, but there's absolutely nothing on
on Court Street at the main entrance on 35 at 35 Court Street. No signs, no speed limit signs, no nothing. And that's the entrance that they use for the special needs students that enter the building.
I would like to see a uh you know some sort of uh control there. You know, whether it be a a crosswalk on Court Street and some signs that say school and a speed limit sign or maybe some flashing lights, some cones, but
crossing guards would be good to have in front of the building, you know, because that's where uh the the special needs students go in. And I've noticed that cars go speeding on that street. And also I've noticed
kids slipping out of parents' hands um when they're being brought into school. And um you know, I I talked to the sergeant in in in charge of traffic. I also uh reached out to the special ed
department and I also uh called the mayor's office last Friday. I don't know if that's something you would be able to do there, but it would be appreciated. I'm just concerned because my my son enters the building there and it's it's unsafe for the students. Would that be
something that the school committee could uh could could do as far as you know getting some crossing guards and some kind of uh you know controls on that street. >> Thank you.
>> Hi, thank you for the question. Um, in general, a lot of those safety improvements that you're talking about would come from city resources, but what um we can do and I'm going to do is ask the superintendent to be in contact with the chief of police so that if there are
um short-term measures like a crossing guard um that we can have that conversation because that would happen >> that would happen under the um guidance of the police chief. Um, so we can ask the superintendent to do that and then also talk with um the building the
building leader and some of our um municipal staff about the broader um safety questions that you're raising. So, thank you for for bringing those to our attention. >> All right, because I watched a a garbage truck speed by there uh last week and it
was uh unnerving. I mean, I I I I was uh you know, going to bring my son to the front door and and uh it's just not good. It's not it's it's very dangerous over there. I mean, someone's so you know, something's going to happen. It's not not going to be good. And uh you
know, God forbid if anything happens that, you know, it would be you know, it would be good to put something there just just for you know, to to you know, keep the kids safe. Can I just superintendent? Did you have something you wanted to add?
>> Um, Mr. D Simone, is it at both arrival and dismissal that you have concerns or just one? >> Well, my son takes the bus home, but I I bring him there in the morning and people are off and uh going to work, so
they use that street to bypass Park Street. So they speed up there to get over towards uh uh you know um Forest Street and Lawrence Road just to to cut through the the uh the traffic in Memphis Square. So that that street
becomes you know an out for people that are trying to you know avoid the Memphis Square traffic and head towards uh towards Lawrence Road and towards that direction. So, um I I see a lot of cars speeding down that street trying to uh
to uh get out of the, you know, the school traffic on Salem Street. >> Okay. Thank you. That's very helpful. >> Thank you. And thank you for your patience. Um you know, we we laid the agenda here, so appreciate you hanging in with us and um the superintendent
will >> I will um reach out. Yes. >> Um thank you. >> Through the through the chair, too. I know that Todd Blake, our traffic director, and Sergeant Rogers have been in discussions in the last few days and are um looking at this. >> I I spoke with the sergeant uh last last
week. >> Okay. I was just updating the the committee as well. >> I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. >> Yep. They're in discussions. I know the area is too I have got an update today. there's no room for a crosswalk, but
they're looking into the area and potential um plans with you to on drop off for your child. So, we we'll definitely stay on top of this. >> I appreciate that. Thank you very much. Thank you for listening. Thank you, school committee. I appreciate
>> Thank you for your patience. Have a good night. >> You too. Thank you. >> Um is there a motion on the approval of the handbooks? member in Tapa. >> I'd like to make a motion to sever um
the AI policy from the handbook as we are currently discussing a lot of the AI um possibilities in another policy and I'm afraid that they will um clash with one another in terms of development we have with the second reading of the policy.
>> The motion is to sever the AI policy from the handbook approval. Is your motion also to otherwise move approval or? >> Yeah, move for approval but sever but sever the um the AI policy. >> Okay. Uh motion by member in Tapa to
move approval of the handbooks with the exception of the AI policy which will be on hold for now. >> Seconded by member Brantley. >> A member. So >> um yes. So the handbooks um will not get published then. Correct.
>> So the the handbooks are available on school websites and Medford public schools website. I would say the distinction right now is that the MPS AI guidance tool is listed in the handbooks
not as a policy but as the guidance for caregivers and students to reference. Um and maybe that is the distinction right now. >> Okay. Thank you. And and um that just as soon as you said that I remembered that you know until a school committee
actually has a policy you have full policy authority. Um and so the absence of us adopting an AI policy means you set AI policy. you literally can say this is our policy until we adopt a policy or
uh well that that's just the way it works. So, um, >> that I would just maybe just say that that document as created by the committee was a was guidance. And so, that's what's in the handbook right now. And I think that it's important to make
sure that caregivers um, and students are aware of what the guidance is and then we proceed with the reading of the policy. >> Okay. So the motion on the floor is to
is to approve the handbooks with the exception of the AI component of the handbook. Is that correct? >> By member Antapa, seconded by member Branley. >> Will you call the role?
>> Member Brley. >> Yes. >> Member Graham. No >> memberapa. >> Yes. >> Member Olady. >> No >> member Rinfeld. >> No >> member Russo. No. Mayor Lungoarn. >> Yes.
>> And I do wish the AI would figure out how to interpret member Mayor Lungoarn because what it says is just a horrible it's it gets all this wrong. So,
>> three in the affirmative, four in the negative. Motion does not pass. Is there another motion on the floor? >> Motion to approve the handbooks. >> Motion to approve the handbooks by member Rouso. Is there a second? >> Second.
>> Seconded by member Leady. Roll call, please. Member Brley, >> no. >> Member Graham, >> yes. >> Member Intapa, >> nope. >> Member Alip, >> yes. >> Member Rinfeld, >> yes.
>> Member Russo, yes. Mayor Langern, >> yes. >> Four in the affirmative, three in the negative. The handbooks are approved. >> Five in the >> No. 52. >> Five2. Sorry. Sorry. Five in the affirmative, two in the negative. the handbooks are approved. Um, I will also
just add that I think part of the what just happened is we approved handbooks. We've never done that before on the floor and that is a job that we should be doing every year and it previously amidst many many requests to do so. Um,
has never come forward to us. So, I think we're a little out of order which is hence the urgency of some of the work to get these handbooks approved because school is in session. Ideally, we would be doing this long before school starts and I hope that we will chart a better path next year.
>> Member Rouso, please be brief. >> I will be brief. Um I just want to remind um the superintendent, not that I need to necessarily that we did adopt a handbook review and approval schedule last year. And so this hopefully can be the beginning of us following that
process. So, you know, these approved policies should be somebody should create a copy and we should go through the process we approved so that um so that we do have them approved plenty of in plenty of time. I would also like to make a motion to take 2025-30 out of
order. >> Motion to take 2025-30 out of order by member Rouso. Seconded by >> Parrofessionals. Seconded by member Reinfeld. Roll call, please. >> Member Branley, >> yes.
>> Member Graham, >> yes. >> Member Antapa, >> yes. >> Member Olady, >> yes. >> Member Reinfeld, >> yes. >> Member So, yes. Mayor Langok, >> yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Uh we will take item 2025-30 out of order. uh offered by me. Whereas
the school committee recently reached a four-year agreement with the Medford PAR professionals unit that union that introduced a schedule that provides additional hours to the district beyond the school day for select paras at the elementary and high school levels. And whereas MPS signed a new bus contract in
the spring and whereas bus supervision is an ongoing area of need across the district at various points during the year. Therefore, be it resolved that the superintendent will provide a report at the next meeting to discuss plans to ensure the safety of students on our buses and respond to areas of need at
the next regularly scheduled meeting. Um, so this was a motion that I put forward um because one of the central things that we have been asked about um as we have talked about the override funds in particular is enhanced supervision on our buses. Um, I believe
there are some parents in the audience who would like to speak. Um, and if you um would not mind stepping forward to the podium, I would um we would love to hear from you and we apologize for the delay. Um, your name and address for the record
and we just need to wait for a red light to come on on your thing there. There you go. Patricia Cherry, 20 Welssley Street, Medford. So, we just kind of wanted to get an update. I know Jenny, thank you so much for reaching out to us. Um, so we do appreciate that. Um, we
wanted to get an update on what this was going to look like. Um, I know that we came to you with some asks last year. Uh, Best Buddies program is going great. Thank you very much. Um, but as far I' I've had some feedback about the buses and the Paris um and the safety on the
buses um already and we're only two weeks into school. So, if you could just kind of give us what what you're thinking or what what you have plans to go to go forward with how this is going to what this is
going to look like. >> Absolutely. Um, thank you very much. So, right now what we're doing is having some internal conversations based on what this resolution said by member Graham. Um we've had lots of conversations internally around need and
making sure where the coverage where where we have to schedule the coverage. Um right now Ms. Bowen has been director Bowen has been working with school leaders on the schedule um as reflected
in this resolution based on the new CBA for the PAR professionals. We're looking at the individual schedules at each school so that we can create assignments um for boss bus monitors um especially
starting with the prioritized areas first. Um, we also did look into what it would mean for um the company to the bus company that we have the contract with
um to be able to supply that which is an astronomical cost. So this is where we've between the flexibility that we have with some of the schedules of our staff members as well as maybe the
potential need for um stipented positions. We are now creating the schedules at each school. So, I just want to make sure because I don't want this to be I we've kind of noticed that we're we're seeing more
doortodoor this year. >> What do you mean by that? >> Um more offers for kids to take alternative vans. >> Oh, >> okay. Um and I'm just hoping that that's not the answer. taking our kids off the the
other buses, right, >> and putting them on vans that some kids are now in the city of Medvid on for an hour and some change on the way just to get home. >> Yep. >> So, that's where I'm a little bit
concerned that we are that has not been part of the conversation. >> Okay. >> Just to put that right out there and to clarify. No, right now it's just once the CBA passed, it's looking at what the schedules are at each school so that we
can create the coverage that's needed at each school. >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Did you um did you have other things you would like to infuse into the conversation so that when the report comes back at our next
meeting, it it can anticipate some of the questions some of the other questions that you have about this coverage. I think that was what >> regarding the paras and the buses. Um the buses that was my biggest concern is that you know kids are getting on buses
at 2:30 in the afternoon and you know say from the high school and then they're on the bus going to a middle school to pick up other kids and then they're you know and all because we now have
larger amounts of kids on the bands. So, kids that were taking, you know, the the buses, the other buses back and forth to school, um, I was just concerned that I want to make
sure that we're not taking those kids off rather than getting them a safety person on the bus. We're not taking them off that bus that they're in inclusion with other kids and putting them on an already an overcrowded van to
solve the problem. That's very helpful context. Thank you. >> Yeah. Um and then that's for the buses. As far as the PAR is, we're still moving forward with them doing the professional >> development days with you guys. That's all I really have then on that.
>> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um is there a motion to approve or questions from the committee? >> So motion to approve by member Russo. >> Second. segmented by member uh member
sorry member and topa I saw him first I heard you first my brain is my brain can't do them both right now >> um >> uh roll call please >> one other thing though I and we can save it for another meeting because I know it's late the city inclusion uh the
school inclusion specialist is that job still on the on the books I know it was there And then I ha we we looked and we haven't seen it yet this for this school year. Has some has the position been filled or >> we can get back to you. Okay. >> Yes.
>> All right. Yeah, that'd be great if somebody could get back to us because I think we have some other >> issues that >> that really would be helpful with. All right. >> Got it. Thank you. >> Thanks for your patience.
>> Member Russo. Roll call, please. You sick of hearing my voice yet? Just kidding. Don't answer that. Member Branley. >> Yes. >> Member Graham. >> Graham. Yes. >> It's yours. I hope you approve of it. Yes. >> Member Papa. >> Yes.
>> Member Olady. >> Yes. >> Member Ryan. >> Yes. >> Member Russo. Yes. Mayor Langar. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative. Zero on the negative. Motion passes. Um, okay. We still have a ways to go here, folks. So, I'm going to um take
number seven, which is new business. Um, we have an MSBA update. Um, I'm going to try to give you a lightning update um so that we don't have to um stick here for too long. Uh on Thursday
of this week, and then again on the 7th of October, Dr. Lucy, the mayor and I will be attending the designer selection panel with 10 um colleagues from the MSBA and out of those two meetings will come a decision about who our designer
will be and we will execute the contract in the month of October. With that designer on board, they will do two things that are sort of broadly called the feasibility study. One is um they will prepare for a January submission where we talk about essentially what is
our goal and what are we trying to do. So it includes things like what is the educational program, what is our space summary, what are the existing conditions of the building, what are we trying to accomplish with this build? That is January 2026.
In June of 2026, we will do the second half of the feasibility study um which will um answer the question of what would uh a repair look like that is required by the MSBA. what would an ad
rena look like and what would a new building look like. Those three choices are required by the MSBA and those answers um will be uh part of the report that is due that we are targeting to the
MSBA on June in June of 2026. From there uh we will then go into the like sort of heavier design where we will be picking the actual systems that go into the building based on the pre the preferred um uh design either repair
ad rena or new. Um based on that we'll start what they call schematic design which is where we will look at um the actual systems and the details and all of the nitty-gritty that bring that box to life um in a school building. Um we
will um that's where we will onboard um the construction manager more than likely um who will work alongside us as we do schematic design and that process for schematic design um will provide um a scope and budget submission to the
MSBA as well as ultimately a budget agreement. Um, our plan for schematic design submission is January 2027 with board approval in April of 2027 and a vote to authorize uh the project to
move forward um presumably by debt exclusion in May of 2027. That May spring vote um will require approval by the building committee. It will come here. It will require a twothirds vote at the council and the
agreement of the mayor to put those things on the ballot um for decision by the taxpayers. Um and then shovels can go in the ground once the project is greenlighted by the taxpayers and the funding sources are secured in
collaboration with MSBA and the public. So between now and June of 2027 there is a lot to do but I just wanted to give you that update because the most exciting part is we get to start the feasibility study very soon. That is the question people are asking. Are we going
to build new? Where is it going to go? Is are we going to keep the pool? All of those questions get answered in feas in feasibility. So between now and June of next year we will have those answers and then we will begin moving forward based on a particular design questions.
Member Reinfeld, >> you answered my question about what is required of city council, mayor, school committee, particularly with the mind to there's an election going on and who we elect is going to affect this project. My other question is when are the community conversations happening? Once
the designer is onboarded, they will lay out a schedule for um all of that community input which will be sort of many layers and phases including time with educators, time with our CTE, time with the public, info sessions, all of those things. So all of that will start
once that um team is onboarded. We have four proposals um all very qualified um designers to work with us um and we will know who that is at the beginning of October and then we'll execute an agreement and then it will really be a
question of timing um in terms of do we start those kinds of engagement conversations before Thanksgiving between Thanksgiving and the winter break um or something else. So that is a conversation that the building committee will have with the designer and the OPM.
so that we can keep on this tight timeline. Um we are advancing some of the work due in January already. So that work is ongoing. Um but the the OPM feels good that our timeline um can be met and will be met um by whoever is
selected at the designer selection panel on the 7th of October >> this year. >> Of this year. Thank you. Yeah. So there's so the first meeting is this week. Um it is sort of a roundt like review of all of the proposals and then
specific vendors will be invited back on the 7th and at that meeting they'll be invited to answer some specific questions and provide a presentation and then the panel of 16 will vote. >> Right. Um and I would like to motion
that this committee hear from the final designer about their thoughts or via the building committee. And I was going to put a date on that, but now I'm not I think perhaps before the feasibility study would make sense. Sometime between
October 7th and the feasibility study. And I defer to the building committee members to say what that study should be. >> So the motion is to hear from the chosen designer um at a school committee meeting upcoming um as they commence their work. >> Yes.
>> Okay. By member Rinfeld, seconded by member Inappa. Welcome. >> Member Branley. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Intapa. >> Yes. >> Member Olady. >> Yes. >> Member Reinfeld. >> Yes. >> Member. So yes. Mayor Lungo.
>> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion passes. Okay, we are moving on. Uh 2025-29 offered by member Reinfeld. Whereas the Medford School Committee is responsible for hiring the superintendent of schools
and whereas the interim superintendent >> Oh, I did. Oh my goodness, sorry. 2025-28 offered by member Reinfeld. Be it resolved that the strategic and capital planning subcommittee will meet to create a policy for intradist elementary enrollment approvals and that this
policy shall be presented to the full school committee for adoption in advance of the 2526 kindergarten registration. Member Rinfield. This is basic housekeeping from our May 20th meeting. We were very quick to authorize the space utilization study
and fix the enrollment challenges at the Roberts. This got lost in the sauce and so I'm putting it on the table now to make it happen. >> There questions or a motion from the committee? >> Motion to approve by member Lead.
Second by member Branley. Roll call. >> Member Branley. >> Oh, one second. I'm putting it in the wrong place. One moment. Okay. Member Brandley was Yes. Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Antapa. >> Member Olat.
>> Yes. >> Member Rinfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Member Rouso. Yes. Marilyn Goker. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion passes. >> 202520-29 offered by member Reinfeld. Whereas the Medford School Committee is responsible
for hiring the superintendent school of schools and whereas the interim superintendent was appointed on December 11th, 2024 to serve in this leadership role from January 17, 2025 through June 30, 2026. And whereas the interim superintendent
has collected input from the greater MPS community through listening sessions, observation, and communications. And whereas additional leadership positions including the assistant superintendent and a chief operating officer have been hired since this interim appointment. And whereas the district's most recently
development strategic developed strategic plan did not look beyond 2024. Whereas the district's recently developed instructional vision and capital plan do not include information about the ongoing operational activities of the district or measures of accountability. And whereas the district
had to engage in components of strategic planning for advancement of the feasibility study including a prek to 12 educational profile enrollment projection study for pre-k programming prek to 12 programming approval to continue all existing programs and create five new vocational programs.
Recommendation to colllocate the Curtis Tus high school and the high school on the high school campus to increase access and opportunity. and the creation of a centralized early childhood learning center at the MHS campus. And whereas the feasibility study is in progress and will include significant
community input and the creation of an educational plan for prek for prek and grades 9 through 12 programming. And whereas members of the MPS community have the right and responsibility to pro provide input into the direction and leadership of the needs of the district for all grades. And whereas the school
committee desires desires to make a datainformed approach uh to appointing a superintendent on July 1st, 2026. Be it resolved that the strategic planning subcommittee will meet with district leadership to discuss a timeline and process for creating a new strategic plan for Medford public
schools. Be it further resolved that this process will include significant stakeholder input to inform the plan's content and the hiring and evaluation of the permanent superintendent in Medford. Such input should include community survey could include sorry community surveys, a public hearing or special
meeting of the Medford School Committee, focus groups with district leadership, union members and students and or open comment period to be discussed as part of the subscommittee meeting described herein. This meeting shall occur no later than is needed to present proposed planning process at the regular school
committee meeting on October 20th, 2025. Member Reinfeld. So I think we um we know that our district needs a strategic plan. This resolution is written the way it is to frame kind of why we are where we are in the strategic planning process and to
lay out that plan recognizing that there is currently an interim leader an interim person in the the the superintendent position is currently interim. And so the strategic planning subcommittee by definition um defines a lot of the strategic planning. And so
the idea here is that the my vision here is that the um the strategic planning committee that the school committee will be leading the vision setting and then a superintendent once appointed will do the how we get there component of the
planning. So that's the thought here. But what does that process look like given all of the community meetings that we need to be having anyway all of the content that has already been developed that is in service of a strategic plan. Uh it's this resolution is here because
it's time to start the process and we have completed a lot of these other components that will feed into it and I think it's time to synthesize it. That's that's my recap very quickly knowing that it's late but happy to questions, comments, etc.
>> Member Rouso. >> Motion to approve as amended for the year. >> Motion to approve as amended by member Rouso. >> Second. >> Seconded by member Lead. Roll call, please. >> Member Branley.
>> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member and Papa. >> Yes. >> Member Olady. >> Yes. >> Member Reinfeld. Yes, >> member Russo. Yes. Mayor Langokarn. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion passes. And we will get the strategic planning subcommittee
meeting on the calendar ASAP. >> Um, okay, we've got one more folks. 2025-31 uh offered by me. Whereas an interim superintendent was appointed on December 11th, 2020 to serve in the leadership role through
from January 17, 2025 through June 30, 2026. Yes. Uh sorry, with immediate needs to stabilize the district in transition. And whereas the MH MCHSBC eligibility period, union negotiations, and the
expansion of the school day at all levels became an immediate priority. And whereas the school committee is required to evaluate the superintendent using >> motion to wave the reading. >> Uh motion to wave the reading by member. >> Is there a second?
>> Seconded by member inappa. Roll call, please. >> Member Branley. >> Yes. >> Member Graham. >> Yes. Member Intapa, yes. Member Olady, >> yes. >> Member Reinfeld, >> yes. >> Member Russo, yes. Mayor Langokarn, >> yes.
>> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Uh, the motion to wave the reading passes. So, I will just give a quick introduction um to what's here. Uh, member Rouso and I are the only ones who have ever gone through a superintendent evaluation process. So,
the goal of this was to do two things. one is to give us a timeline for doing that because we are somewhat off cycle. These things typically happen in May or June for the school year. Um but we want to make sure that we are evaluating the superintendent um at the one-year mark
um as important input to our coming decisions about the super the permanent um appointment of a superintendent on July 1. Um the DESIE does also require um that you set goals and then you measure progress against those goals. Um
because of uh where we are in the process, this um asks that we will use Desi's um goals for evaluating new superintendent. Um and it also um identifies the focus indicators on which
uh I am proposing that we evaluate the superintendent. So there are many um there are many focused indicators on the evaluation and school committees are instructed to pick one or two per category. So the resolution lists the recommendation that I made around um the
one or two from each category. There are four standards um but it also for for your reference um lists um all the rest of the um the focus indicators that are possibly ones that we would use. Um and it does ask that the superintendent
provide herself evaluation by the end of the calendar year this year and that the um superintendent uh evaluation committee lead the process so that we are having this conversation by the end of January in a nutshell.
Happy to take any questions. Member Rouso. >> Thank you. Um I one of the questions I have is um for the focus indicators um does a superintendent find that the list those selected by member Graham in this
resolution are acceptable not you know what do you think about those >> Dr. Lucy, >> thank you. I don't know if I was expecting that question. Um, I did review of course when the agenda was
posted. Um, I it's work that's ongoing and that I am engaged in doing and I find them completely appropriate. >> Thank you. I I I thought they were appropriate as well, but I figured I should ask you in case you had thoughts on changing any of them.
>> No, I do not. Thank you. Member Alat. >> Thank you. Um it's a question I think for both the chair and I think member Rouso. Um just as a clarifying question as you both have had prior experience. I know that you mentioned that um Desi has their own valuating criteria. Are we
allowed to incorporate our own criteria or things that we believe as Medford specific district would benefit from having? um that may also just be what you listed out as you know the prior experience but I wanted to know um is that also been incorporated into this >> um I can answer that. So in a uh in a
typical cycle the entire process starts with a set of with goal setting where the superintendent says this is what I think my goals should be and we say yes we agree. So that's the Medford specific piece and then at that time we also say and these indicators are the things that will additionally tell us that these
goals are being met. So that's what you would do in a typical process. Because we did not do that, my proposal here is that we use the DESIE's rubric essentially for new superintendent in terms of what they should be doing in their first year so that we're not
deciding in October to on goals and then we're going to evaluate them basically in December. So the the idea behind that shift was because we did not do the formal goal setting when she started for all the reasons that the resolution lays
out. Um so this is like a one-time kind of difference in the process. >> Thank you. >> Member Reinfeld. >> Yes. I'm hoping you can clarify maybe for people watching and people new to the process is what is the role of
community input into this evaluation process? >> Sure. Um the role of community input can be any number of things. Um and when the evaluation subcommittee meets they may choose to
uh work with the superintendent to identify something like that. um her the evaluation, the superintendent's reflection on her own performance. It happens in this meeting. It is a matter of public record. The public is welcome to come speak for three minutes on any topic on our agenda. So, that stands and
we can be really explicit about that. Um if we want to be um I think it's sort of a general standing rule, but given where um where we are at in this process, that could be something that we want to take some extra care to describe. Um and then the committee goes through a process
where we all individually evaluate based on the rubric and then that gets aggregated to a single evaluation and that comes before this committee and then this committee has to accept that. So that is another opportunity for community input that is
like built into the process. But if the evaluation subcommittee wants to do something different, I think we are able to do those things if we want to. Thank you. >> Welcome, member Brley. >> Just looked at the um website knowing
that I'm on that superintendent evaluation uh member Olati as the chair, but it says his name twice on our website instead of a third member. So, who I'm assuming it's either >> it's actually member inappa >> andapa. Okay, perfect. But member Rouso
and I have done this before and we do have templates and we're we'll we'll make sure that uh member Lati has what he needs to do this. >> Perfect. And then I had just asked Will if he could update the web page. >> Yes. >> With that. >> He's probably doing it right now.
>> We had that talk earlier. I was like I can send you an email. I know it. And then just we could just since I'm on this and I had already asked them if we could just update the voting and non- voting members on the MSBA process. Those aren't updated also. So, if we could just add that to the website. Thank you. Thank you.
Any other questions? Member Rouso. >> Yes. Um I I the mayor also was a person who has done evaluations, too. >> Yes, I'm sorry. >> She's not in front of us, so it's I did want to point that out. Um and I I do have templates. I'm a template man. So,
um >> lot of good templates. >> Lot of Yes. Um, I do think it's important to, uh, you know, one of the things you'll discover doing an evaluation is that, um, you know, in literally no other setting probably on
the planet, you are evaluating in public on TV. Um, so it is a very, uh, when you have constructive criticism or just criticism, um, it's a very uncomfortable thing to do. Um, you know, hopefully we
won't have much, but um, it is a very, um, I do wish the legislature had found another way to do this. >> Are they working? >> Oh, okay. >> Oh, good. Um, >> for the time being, right?
>> Yeah. I I just don't think it's beneficial for the superintendent being evaluated. It's not beneficial for us. It's not a beneficial for the students if we're pulling our punches and you know and it it's just not good. Um I also will say that our individual
evaluations that we provide that gets combined those are actually discoverable as well. So I mean public record not discoverable. Um, so you know, just that'll be included in the instructions that you get because I have
a template for that too. Um, so that nobody gets confused. Um, because it is it is confusing and if you've done any evaluation of anybody in your life, it will ne never been like this before. So >> certainly not member in Tapa.
>> No further comment. Motion to approve. >> Okay. Motion. Motion to approve by member. Seconded by member Reinfeld. Any other questions, comments? >> Please call the role. >> Member Branley.
>> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Entapa. >> Yes. >> Member Olady. >> Yes. >> Member Rinfeld. >> Yes. >> Member. Yes. Mayor Langern. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Motion passes. Uh there are happily no reports
requested tonight. Um, I know you probably all share my excitement on that. Um, we do have one condolence though. Uh, the members of the Medford School Committee expressed their sincerest condolences to the family of Patricia Ford, sister of Michael Ford, Medford High School custodian and sister-in-law to recently retired
administrative assistant Maryanne Ford. Pat was also a dedicated Medford public school teacher for more than 35 years, specializing in title one special education. Uh, may we all please rise for a moment moment of silence. Our
next regular meeting is on October 6th um at Alden Memorial Chambers, Medford City Hall in addition to Zoom. Uh sadly, it's the day before the DSP meeting, so we will not have an answer to who was selected. uh until the meeting on the 20th, but um please join us on the 6th.
And is there a motion to adjurnn? Uh motion to adjurnn by member Rinfeld, unanimously seconded by member Branley. Roll call, please. >> Member Branley. >> Yes. >> Member Graham. Yes. >> Member Entapa. Yes. Member Olady. >> Yes. >> Member Rinfeld. Yes. Member Yes. Mayor
Langok. >> Yes. >> Seven in the affirmative. Zero in the negative. The meeting is adjourned. Have a good night everyone. Thank you for your patience.