Good evening everyone. We're going to get right to it. We're going to start tonight's Wednesday, May 28th meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. The flag is over my shoulder to the United States of America and to the stands
one and justice for all. [Music] Okay, just so everyone is aware, tonight's meeting is being recorded by North Media. We're going to open the agenda with our public comment period. Yeah. Good evening, Zach 3 Richmond
Drive. Hope all is well. Um, I noticed that the budget was on your agenda tonight. So, I just have a couple comments. Uh, you know, we went through another long budget season. Uh, Miss uh, Dr. O'Neal, Miss Hatfield was here with
us late nights, but we got it done. Um, and I just wanted to to say, you know, the budgets moving forward are just going to be tighter and tighter. It just gets more and more difficult as we go along. We did get you to a uh level service
budget, but if I make a suggestion is is I would act like you didn't get to level service budget and and and do all you can to to uh to turn back as much as possible because the budgets only get more difficult as we go along. Health
insurance is 10 15% every year and I just it's doesn't look better moving forward. this this year alone, 60 communities have put overrides on their budget. Most have failed last time I checked. Um, and just looking at the future, I'm
not suggesting you lay off anybody, but I'm suggesting if somebody resigns or retires, I would think long and hard before replacing that person. So, uh, just little bit of advice and it not that it means anything, but, uh, in the back of your mind. The second second
thing, I know I was teasing some of you, but but on a serious note, a more serious note, I know saw your meeting where you wanted to you increase the fees for people to park at the high school. We should be doing everything we can to reduce fees, not increase fees.
Uh for a few thousand a year, as uh I use an analogy that Dr. O'Neal has used before. The juice isn't worth the squeeze and upsetting people and I would hope a member of this uh committee would uh make a motion to reconsider. That's
all I got. Thank you. Have a good night. Thanks. Right. Next is vote to approve the meeting minutes. I'm sorry. Is there anybody else for public comment? Okay. All right. Next is vote to approve the minutes of the May 14th,
2025 and May 19th, 2025 open meeting open session meetings. Anybody have any questions, comments, changes, subtractions? Okay. Entertain a motion to approve the minutes as presented. So moved to
second. All those in favor? All right. Next is the warrants. I think we can approve them um together because the um everyone was present. So typically if there's somebody that wasn't there then we'll just do them
separately. Good. And that was a for uh large case. Uh I have reviewed uh the following warrants. School expense warrant May 14th 2025 555,847.95. School payroll warrant May
15th 2025 1,142,282.19 cents and enter those in the public record. Thank you. Next is our student representative updates. Um, so before I let our student representatives, I um
begin, I want to introduce our new student representative, um, Leah Skagnol. Leah is currently a sophomore at Norton High School. Is that correct, Leah? Yes. And she did a beautiful job on Monday singing the national anthem at a memorial
day. Wasn't really assembly um at the town common. So, congratulations to you. Beautiful job representing Norton and Norton High School. Um and welcome to the board. Thank you so much Benson. Take it away. Good evening everyone. Um as you know it's a very busy time of the
year so I will try um to be quick. But at the high school the big news is all around end of year activities. The memorial day assembly took place last Friday and the school recognized local veterans including Norton's own Mr. Ed Smith. Friday was also prom at Lake View Pavilion in Foxboro. It was a fabulous
night held by all. Senior events begin this week with class night tomorrow and the Six Flags trip followed by the all night grad party on Friday night into Saturday. The tour of elementary schools by graduates is on Monday with graduation on Wednesday. After graduation, engineers will do a spirit
week to claim the role of school leaders and congratulations to all the spring sports teams for their fine seasons. Boys volleyball and softball are competing in the tournament. At the middle school, we had um numerous activities taking place today. Our eighth graders visited Kimble Farm. We got great weather. where everyone had a
great time with lots of smiles on teachers and students faces when they returned. NMS had its annual best day ever event on May 16th. It was a real fun day that featured eight different inflatable rides and challenges like a Velcro ax throwing and spheres of doom similar to the show Wipeout. It was a
real fun day and the injury to principal Haywood's forehead is healing nicely. Tomorrow we will welcome Mallalerie from Minding Your Mind as our mental health awareness month speaker. Former NMS teacher Cynthia and her husband Mark Brenshan um sponsored a t-shirt. Thank
you. Um sponsored a t-shirt and poster contest along with a resource table at lunch tomorrow for students. All staff will be wearing Sarah's Village T-shirts. Through the efforts of NMS teacher Tanya Benoy, Mind Your Mind awarded NMS a grant to cover the cost of the speaker. They are a remarkable
organization. And on Friday, NMS will hold an assembly to reveal the contents of the recently unearthed NMS time capsule buried in 2000. Team leaders along with staff and students have been curated items to be placed inside our 2025 time capsule that will then be sealed and set to be opened in the year
2050. Former NMS principal Stan Cost, NMS student council president from the year 2000, Allison Nolan, and former grade 7 student from the year 2000, Peter Wiggins, will be in attendance. Yeah, we also have several former staff coming back next week. We will be we'll
have another busy week. Grade six will be visiting South Moo and grade eight will be going to New York City. And for the drama production last week, Annie um once again our students and directors delivered an incredible production. This time with Annie and left the audience absolutely amazed. More than just a fun
and entertaining show, Annie reminds all of us why we do this work. Eric Beer, Jess Holliker, Mike Kramer, and Heather Trayani consistently create opportunities for students to grow, to understand the value of hard work and teamwork, and to experience what it means to be part of something bigger than themselves. Our team of directors
lead at the highest level under pressure and in a very public space. That common confident energy transfers directly to the students with high expectations and unwavering belief in their cast. The kids rise to meet the moment and they shine. All of the kids did an amazing job. And from the yell last week for Memorial Day, our fifth grade student
council students did readings throughout the day over loudspeaker to help our students remember and understand why Memorial Day is so important and not just a day off or reason to barbecue. The fifth grade students started their transition to the Norton Middle School last week as they headed over for a play and a tour. It is always an amazing day
for them to help transition to sixth grade. For our upcoming third grade students from the LGN and JCS, we have many things planned as well for our transitioning third graders who are coming to us next year. In the coming weeks, they come they come to us for a step up day. There's a family informational night and Mr. Gagan and
Mr. Balawa will make their yearly visits to each third grade classroom to talk with them about their transition to the Yell. Then finally for the Yell, our fourth graders will also check out the second and third floors of where they might be next year. There are many more events we will fill all of you in on as we get closer to the end of the year,
including field day for both grades, fifth grade whailing museum field trip and our hey PTO buy one get one free scholastic book fair and more. We have a lot to look forward to for the yell and then for the LG we celebrated ummorial memorial day with the second grade concert on Friday, May 23rd as well as
the JCS. Um the second graders did an amazing job with the songs and poems to honor the men and women who have sacrificed for our country. We had special guest Norton veterans join us for the special show. It was a great way to kick off the holiday weekend. And our third graders are enjoying a field trip to Plymouth Pilmouth Pucket Museums
today where they stopped at the Mayflower, a replica of the ship which carried the pilgrims to the new world. And our third graders will also be enjoying their field day this Friday with Mrs. Kenny. And finally, um, yesterday, I believe, yes, um, all five of our building, um, buildings
participated in the Special Olympic day games, um, which we did at Foxboro High School, um, with their district as well. And that is all from us. Okay. All right. Take a deep breath. Um, thank you for that, Benson. And, you know, I want to welcome Leah. I
have known Leah and her wonderful family for several several years. Um, we won't say how long. I got you. Um, so Leah, I'm going to put you on the spot. What made you think you wanted to do this representative position? Oh, excuse me. Well, it was Benson who
originally approached me um with the idea and said that he thought that I would be good for it. And really that made me think about um I love to be able to represent uh the people in my community who may not have a voice and
people especially in my school. So, I'm really going to take this as an opportunity to um work with my peers and try to make things better for them. Great. Okay. Any questions for Leah? I think we may need you to have to sing
them national or the pledge of allegiance perhaps because that was a beautiful um rendition that you did. It was wonderful. Thank you. Um, and then I just wanted to to say a couple words to Ben or off of what he had said. Benson,
first, thank you so much for all of the photos that you've been posting. Um, I think it's it's really nice and really opens up the community to see all of the stuff that is happening in our schools. Um, and then also to echo Annie, I did go to see it and it was phenomenal. um I
had to remind myself that they were middle schoolers because it really was um such a fantastic performance. Um I actually went twice and so thank you to Dr. O'Neal and Mr. Hayward for letting me come in the afternoon for my um my middle child to go and see it. Um and
then I ended up going I brought my oldest later on in the evening and it was just a wonderful performance. I can't speak highly enough of how well they did. Um, so kudos to the entire NMS drama department and their families and the staff that supported them. Um, it
really was a great show of production. So, great. All right. Uh, moving on to our next item, our student spotlight. Uh, Dr. O'Neal. Good evening. So, tonight I am excited to uh showcase the Norton Middle
School woodworking club. Um, and I believe Mr. Kramer is in the audience with one of his students. Um, please come up to the podium and share your work. [Music] Good evening. This is uh Ev. I'm going
to mess up his name. Park He's one of our sixth grade students here. Um, he took part of the woodworking club and it's just one of the many clubs the middle school offers. But Mr. today when uh Met saw this project and he thought it would be a good idea to share it with you. Uh we do
variety of projects in the woodworking club but this one kind of stood out as something that uh he liked. So I come here to share it with you. Um I did bring some pictures so you can kind of see the process here um that we go through. So basically we we start with
an idea obviously and this year we decided to do an American flag so it comes out with all the flag stripes. um makes it easier to stain and stuff like that. So, the kids really enjoyed cutting that and making those parts. Um I think the highlight of the project is they got to go out back and add an
accent with the torches. Um so, that was a lot of fun. We obviously we contacted the fire department and all that. I didn't know what was going to happen with this idea. So, um it was a lot of fun for the kids to go back and do this. Um so, we have they don't do sandals
though. Didn't notice that. Um, we have 20 kids involved in the program. So, it it was a lot of fun. They're very patient with each other and helping each other. And, uh, we were talking like how it looks like toast. So, like, how do you like the toast, light, dark? And that's how we affected
that. Um, and then we set up out back at the middle school. We set up a lot of tables so that we could get all our pieces done with 20 kids, 13 stripes, and a a union there. It needed some space. So, it was a good opportunity to go back. Uh we had good weather every
day which we're lucky. So that's kind of what it looks like. Um they got their first introduction to using stencils. Um so that's what gave us the 50 stars. Um they learned a lot about how stars are placed. You got to have a point up things like that. So it was that was a great learning opportunity for the the
kids to learn about the flag. Um and then we came to Clampin. I can't say enough about our staff. We have Jason Sheret there. He's the custodian in my wing. and every day he would walk by and see these kids uh with all these parts and he would pop in every day and just
help any struggling student. Um he was just a a great asset to our school and helping all the kids um in my ring. So we're happy to have him there. But you can see all the kids working on clamping and uh trying to manipulate all the pieces to make sure they're lined up
correctly and um so they didn't pop or anything like that. Then they also were got to use a nail gun for the first time which was fun for them. Again, it was a lot of opportunities for them to learn different things in the club. Uh but these are some of the final results. We start putting clear coat on and you can
see everybody has their own characteristics with the burn marks which is nice. So um I did have other students and see Britain there. She was um one of the eighth graders there was one of the leaders in the club there which helped a lot of the other kids along the way. You can see some didn't
want to do the the burden there. So everybody gets to add their own individual touch to it. So um it was a great opportunity for the kids to to do a lot with clubs. So happy that we get the support that we do Haywood and everybody else here that supports clubs.
So happy to share that with you if you show them yours. Great work. Amazing. Amazing job, Evan. Good work. Great work. Good work, Evan. So, how much So, how much time did they have on each
like what was the time frame on the project beginning to end? It's hard to say because we do multiple projects so they overlap. So, like we kind of feed these in. So, they would go stain. Um, some pieces that would take time to dry and then they go work on another project at the same time. So, it's a timetable.
We have to run I I don't even know 20 days. I don't keep count. I just keep going. I'm not nitpicking time. The kids seem happy and they do their work. So, I was happy to do that. Great work. Thank you. Um, but before I leave, I we did
make an extra one for the superintendent. Thank you. Um, Evan, what was your favorite part of this project? The burning. The burning. Well, you stand on one side, right? And then just don't take credit
as everyone that knows me knows I could not have made this. This looks awesome. Very, very nice. And do you like working with them? What other projects have you done? Oh, yeah. Oh, a candy machine. Are those at school
that I can come by and check them out or are they already at home? Oh, okay. All right. Let's go. And is it sixth, seventh, and eighth graders? Yep. Everyone has the opportunity. We limit it to around 20 safety manipul. What grade are you in? I'm in sixth
grade. Very nice. And I think your sister's a senior, Lily, right? What? I thought awesome job. Thank you so much for coming out. Thank you, Mr. Kramer, as well. Thank you. Um, just real quick, so I was actually at the middle school last week
helping out with Annie and I was back um in the in the arts wing and I went into the woodworking shop to grab a chair and I saw one of these and I was like, "Wo, that's impressive." So now that now I've seen the whole thing from start to finish, it's like, "Wo, that's really
impressive." So you should be very proud of yourself. Those are super cool. So, good job. Can we order some for next year? Ready for supplies. [Music] Great work.
It looks like we've got a couple more kids walking in to show flags and girls. All right, we'll move on and then when they come in, we can All right, next is the class of 2025 recognition. Dr. Um so as
uh Benjen mentioned earlier tonight we are kind of kicking off senior week uh tomorrow night with our class of 2025 class night. Uh this is a great event where we um all gathered together at Norton High School to review the success
and achievements of the class and um it's also a scholarship night. So um I know many of the school members are attending and then next Wednesday night we have a graduation at the Exfinity Center. So, I just want to share some quick data with all of you about our
class of 2025 postsecary plans. 72.5% of our students will be attending a 4-year college. Another 10% will be attending a two-year college. We have about 9% of our students that are going into a trade or
tech school or an apprenticeship. Um, some some some of these include the carpenters union, Penn State turf management certificate. We might need that to come and check out our turf. A 911 operator, a welding program, and a
cosmetology program. Uh, we have about 8% of our students that are either entering the workforce or taking a gap year. We have one student who is going to be working for the Sharon DPW and we have three students that have earned their CNA certificate and be working in
that field. And then we have 0.5 or one student who will be joining the US Air Force um through the air US Air Force Academy. Um so super super proud of all of our kids. Um they have done an incredible job. This is a is a great
class, class of 2025. I've also included some sample colleges uh for you. I'm not going to go through the whole list, but um we've got Bentley, Bridgewater State, Bryant, Florida State, James Madison University, Mass College of Pharmacy, um
Renelier Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Stonehill. I have to say that one cuz that's my um Union University of Nebraska, University of North Carolina, University of Tennessee, Vasser, and Leslie. and those just to name a few. Um
so kudos to this awesome awesome group of seniors. I am very excited to celebrate with them over the next week and um looking forward to see what they do after Norton High School. Um having been on this committee for a
few years, this is this is the favorite time of year for me cuz I love to see what what the next step is for these kids. Um I used to talk to Mr. Cersium like where are they going? What are they doing? And he's like it's all on social media. Follow them there. And it's it's
so funny to see like names you recognize and kids will post where they're going with their senior picture. Um and I follow it every year and I can't wait for my my youngest to be posted there next year with whatever she decides. So um this is always and this shows the
hard work these kids put in to be some of these are you know tremendous universities. Um, and then there's the ones that decided that maybe college isn't for them and maybe they're taking some time and um, and all of this is really good work by our senior class and it happens every year. Uh, which is a
testament to our staff at Norton High School and our staff throughout the district. So um, congratulations to our seniors. We look forward to celebrating with you. Right. Me too. The mayor will be so senior sunset. It was awesome.
Thank you, Peter. All right. How many Sorry, can I just How many uh graduated? Do you know off the top of your head? Sorry. 168. Thank you. In my last 20 years, it was 135. We've grown a little bit.
So, I know we have some other guests that want to join us. Miscommunication, but it's the stadium will have written. There are this uh eighth grader and the sixth grader sisters that joined the woodworking club. You've been with us three years.
Yeah, she's been with us all three years. Made a variety of projects with us. So, um I just want to give them an opportunity to share their work and you can see their taste in Burning and their work. Those are absolutely beautiful. You guys did an incredible job. Is this
going to turn into a side hustle? Oh, Nancy is crazy. All right, we got to ask. What was your favorite part of making it? What about you? Maybe like painting it cuz it was cool. Like we stained it and
then we like wiped off the excess stain and nose. Sorry. They look great. So, where are you are you hanging them both at home or are you putting them in different locations? Both at home.
They look great. Nice job. Great work. Our families that are here for the student demonstration, you please do not have to stay the whole time. we will not be insulted at all. We should just add that as we get to this part of the meeting, we usually say that. It's usually like our break. Thank
you so much for coming and sharing. That was incredible. Thank you. All right. Next is our college and career pathway updates with Mr. Cersei, Mrs. Pru, and Mrs. Kazikas. Oh, don't let him talk for
you. All right. kind of low here. Okay. Um, thank you very much. All right. So, um, before we get, we're going to cover um, all the pathways and and the ways uh, that we get our students prepared uh, for for
college in the search process, the application process. Um, but I just wanted to state this, these are absolutely the keys to the cog, but there are so many other folks um that have created some of the pathways and and support our students both um, the administration, the AC's and the
teachers. it really we wouldn't be able to do some of this work without them. So, um just real quickly because we have a lot of slides and and Dan told me to go fast. So, um this is kind of just an outline of what we do for our college counseling and uh events. As you can
see, there's there's quite a lot that goes on from uh senior assemblies and seminars that we do with them to senior college nights for students and families, which is a repeat of a little bit of a repeat of what we do for for families and students um their junior year. So they get kind of a double dose.
Um some folks and some of our our students are really ready um come May of of their junior year. Other folks maybe not quite there yet. So we we do both. Um we meet individually with all of the seniors especially. Um and we do kind of prioritize based on their um their needs
and what uh what they're doing in terms of are they going early acceptance, early decision so forth. Um and their deadlines. We do a college financial aid night um for families uh 11th and 12th. We've had a college fair as you can see. We have over 60 colleges and military
representatives. Um but we don't just you know focus on the junior seniors. We also do stuff for the 9th and 10th graders introducing to Navian and the career exploration seminars there. Um we have PSATs for all our juniors. And then throughout the fall we have college reps
coming in and uh meeting with students. they can sign up individually during usually LLB. Um and then in November we start for the junior parents uh in families the college career planning and we do this in two parts. The first part is um really about the search process.
Um back when kind of Jen and I first started uh we did it all at once and you know it's like drinking from a fire hose. So we decided to break that up a little bit and then in December um we have a partnership with BCC in um BSU for our our college 101. So, it's kind
of an introduction for parents to what it's going to look like, what to consider, what you can do as a freshman, and what you can do as a sophomore uh to get yourself prepared. Um, then we move into our our calendar events for the the winter and spring. Uh, again, we
continue with some of those individual senior meetings. Um, 11th grade assembly for course selection expectation. I'm really focused on getting making sure they understand what the college is going to be looking for, why junior year is so important. Um we do uh the ACS do
presentations on AP courses and list selection for those. Um we meet with our 9th, 10th and 11th graders uh to do seminars and lobs to cover the course selection process but also again thinking about okay what are you looking for? Are you looking to go to college? Are you looking to go to trades? What
kinds of opportunities are there for you? Um we have our senior scholarship resembly um which we beg all the seniors to fill out the one Google form that we do for them. Um so there moms and dads will come back and yell at us later. Um the uh then we do uh individual student
meetings regarding course selection. So that's really where we delve into you know okay what are you thinking? Um do you have enough courses you have you have you challenged yourself but also we talk a lot about balance as well. Um so we ask them about their extracurriculars
and so forth and so on. We have a second financial aid night um for for 11th to 12th grade parents. again, uh, the 12th graders, you know, they're starting to get their acceptance letters and what does that mean and what's that look like? Um, and then, uh, we do our part two for the, uh, 11th grade families.
Um, again, we have a representative, we do our part about what it's going to look like to actually follow through with the process, but then um, we have somebody, the one of the deans comes from BSU and really talks about what the colleges are looking for and, you know, how to how they should interact with the
colleges to be um, successful in that way. Um, and then they say we do we do uh 11th grade college career uh seminars and then um 11th grade does their college essays in their junior classes. So that's kind of the rundown real
quick. Um some of the things we really want to highlight is we do have dual enrollment. I think everybody knows about our AP classes, but we do have dual enrollment. Um right now we have partnerships. Um these are all places that students are uh currently um going
to be or should say next year we'll be taking courses. Um we have somebody taken through Harvard, Bridgewater State, Weaten, Masoya, PCC um and so forth. Um we have a pre-ol program that we've been very lucky to work with wheat college the last few years. Um they've
offered 10 students um both this year and last year uh full placements in their pre-ol program where they get um I think it's three full courses um that they take over the summer along with a lot of activities that kind of get them the understanding of what it's like to
be in college both social and then u careerdriven as well as it's an athletic component that they can take. Um there's swimming, there's weightlifting. um kind of giving them a dose of what it might like be like to be a college athlete. Um so that's great and anybody that
commutes there it's free but they also have a residential component if they want to and we had 10 students and um they were stars to be honest with you high high marks from week um we've also had early colleges I think you know for a while um and uh we've worked mostly
with Middle Sex Community College we currently got three courses um that are being offered um and then next year we are going to be partnering with Quinsey College um and it's going to be more of a concurrent uh program And so currently there's uh four courses uh that they've
approved. Um we haven't quite made that public yet which courses are going to be because we're still kind of finalizing that there's going to be some additional courses as well. Um these are uh both teachers have to um you know they they they some of our teachers are are willing to do this others are waiting to
see how it kind of plays out. Um but it's been very successful. Students have really given them a leg up on their college credits. Um, again, just uh other things that we do to help students. All of our uh presentations are recorded. Um, they're all done on on Zoom and then they're
presented and we add additional things uh as well. We have a college planning guide that's pretty um intense. You can you can fast link all kinds of pieces all of the various parts from first generation uh financial aid, just about anything you can think of is in there.
Um, and I think having it recorded, a lot of parents, you know, can't make it that night. things are going on, they can go back and watch it. Um, I thought about going back to live presentations, but I had a dad reach out to me. He was stationed overseas and said it was the first time he had been able to take part
in something um, and then be able to call back and have a conversation. So, I was like, you know what? I think we'll stay with what we're doing. So, that was a pretty cool thing. Um, you I'm not going to go too much into this, but I mean the other pathways, right? So there's college and obviously you know
almost 73% of our students have gone actually higher if you think about our two-year programs are going on to postsecary. Um but I think it's important to give uh students opportunities and we've had the business technology program available. Um and
um that's a chapter 74 program. Uh we're one of the few high schools that have that kind of program uh within our within our uh system. and they have three different pathways as you can see there. Um, and some of those kids go on to college. Others decide that they're
going to take up and start their own business. We actually had somebody in the parking lot today who uh started his own business detailing business and he was out detailing some uh staff cars today. Um, so you know, mobile mobile detailing. Um, and he's done very well
from what I understand. So, um there's all kinds of components, not just the academic pieces of it, but also the work-based learning component. So, there's internships, there's professional mentoring, um work based learning opportunities, job shadowing, etc. They also do u a senior project or
they can do a senior project as part of their outline. So, um those are just a little bit about those that program and there's currently over 50 high school students kind of consistent. Um and that's just 74. So budget-wise, that brings us a little extra money in as
well. That doesn't hurt. Um, and those students that are part of the program also have the opportunity to go to BCC and take some uh early college uh dual enrollment programs for free, at least for now. Um, and then, as you know, we've been growing the advanced manufacturing pathway. This is really
something that Dr. Dullman and uh Carrie Murphy have really u been a big part of, and that's advancing with some new technology coming in next year for our students. Um, and this kind of just goes over what they need to do, um, the courses that they need to take, um, and the kinds of opportunities they have.
Um, the great thing about the advanced manufacturing is that it really, uh, opens up doors for students who, you know, maybe they want to be an engineer, they can do that. Maybe they want to go into the business realm of that particular industry or if they they're more looking to work, you know, um, in
the manufacturing component itself, that there's opportunities there. So, it really um opens doors for all of our students in all their various interests in uh academic levels. All right, I'm going to turn this over to Miss Crew now.
[Music] I will try. I'm not that good at this. Okay, the pre-apprenticeship program. We are the first nontech high school to bring the pre-apprenticeship program into um a non tech school. Uh the
chapter 74 is the loophole that I found. Um so we were able to bring it in. The mass uh do comes in for a week and they do all the training and uh Dale is one of our students, one of our success stories. Um he's up there on the
website. He went through the program, got ranked very highly, um and got a paid co-op this past spring for a share in EPW and they offered him a job at the end of the year. He also what else he's done now? He's done
a couple of programs. Yeah, Dale's been um was one of my youth work students. Um he worked over the summer here for the um Norton facilities department mowing lawns, helping them fix lawn mowers and that sort sort of thing for a summer. And then the following summer I helped
him get a job at the Norton um Department of Public Works um helping them out there. The following year he went to um Sharon Department of Public Works where he was working this year and we will be going when he graduates. So
and he also does work study as well. So yes, so he took advantage of a lot of the opportunities that we have. Um so I think the other important thing is the staff this year. Sorry. The staff this year because he was working uh at the DPW this second
semester, staff really worked with him with our rotating schedule to make sure he's able to meet his graduation requirements but continue to have that opportunity to work and lead to a full-time job. So, there was flexibility needed by the teaching staff and they really they they did a lot to help
support him in this process. And there's been other students as well. I know last year we had one that presented. So these are just pictures of some of the students and essentially it's a full week. Um Monday they come in, they do introductions, they work with the
resumeumés, um they do cover letters, they meet with people from the DPW, they do um just work zone safety, all the different particulars. They have Zoom meetings with a bunch of people um from Mass DOT. Uh Tuesday they do more construction
math. They go out surveying. The students get all their PPE. We don't pay for anything. and they come in and they give us everything. Uh, Wednesday is a field trip to Hopping and it's all hands-on. So, whenever we go, whatever they're doing there, the kids go in and
they participate. Um, they had me driving an excavator one time. The kids were driving, they were laying pipe, they were jumping in. So, it's all hands-on experience. Um, Thursday, they get their CPR, first aid uh training, and then Friday we do concrete forms. Uh
we actually talked about next year typically they just do these the framing and forms and then we can't leave them there so they end up like picking them up bringing them home or doing something with them. Next year what we're going to try to do is build something that can stay in the school. So um we need to
kind of figure out what exactly it can be. But they're talking about probably bringing in like a concrete truck or something like that a little bit bigger. Um so again trying to make it hands-on and experience for them that they don't
necessarily have. Um it is limited to 15 20 students. It is something where they get ranked throughout the week. Um if they do well there are different benefits that come from it. So we've had students that are continuously ranked
very very high and a number of them I think this year 3/4ers of them were ranked high. So they get if they go into the laborers union, they get 3 hours of credit towards uh that year's class. Sorry, 30. What did I say? Yeah, sorry. 30. So they essentially get like a pay
raise. Um they're also eligible for a four-week paid co-op. We've had three students do that right now. Um the students that were in it this past spring, we have three of them that are going on interviews in Marbor. Did I say
that right? Um yeah. uh for our summer paid co-op. So if they also are going to have the opportunity for paid co-ops for our next year as well. And two students that have done they did Sharon and where did PJ go?
No, no, no. Um PWM, he went somewhere Mansfield. I think it was Mansfield. Both of them were also offered jobs. PJ ended up going to the carpenters union, but um again, opportunities that they necessarily wouldn't have had. They also
are eligible to get their class B license, hoisting, drone, all that other kind of stuff. So, and this is them. They're out in the back of the school learning how to survey. And this is some of the field trip stuff that we do. And then I've also partnered with
the carpenters um union. So we called it shop days. There were four last year. This year we had three just because more schools were partnering with them, but we can take about 10 students, 10 to 12, and we go up there and they spend the entire day and they go through the
facility and they train them on different things. So um they'll do finish work, they'll do um framing. Um, yeah, they use all the equipment
there. Yeah. So, it's a lot of fun. But again, this is some pictures of the students in Malbury. That's me. All right. These are just some of the um flyers um that I I send out to the kids. We put them all
around the school inside for them to see for the different things that we're doing. um which my question. Thank you. Okay. Um so I get um a grant that I can help some students do youth works um for kids that have
some obstacles to maybe getting a job and need a little extra support. So I work with them to find them. I work a lot with um the facilities department here with Ray Lazat and he's very great and he takes on some of the students and they work in the buildings helping to keep them clean. We work over the summer
and during the school year to help with our custodial department and they've been great mentors to these kids and the kids love it. They love this job actually and it's really worked out well in addition to that. They do some um I do what's called signaling success which are work readiness skills that I go over
with those students as well as part of it. And we also had some of the kids go through a CNA program where they got um a full CNA program paid including their scrubs, their textbooks, their clinicals. They do the whole they get the whole thing um paid for through with this program which is a great
opportunity for some of our students that are interested in going into the medical field and a few of the um people that have gone through this program are going on to college to be nurses now. So which is great. Um so this is um sort of my year sort of
a snapshot of the things that we do throughout the course of the year. In October I do a career day with we have all the sophomores um go through this where they meet with local businesses. is they come in and talk to them about careers or what they do um and how they got there. And we rotate the kids through and they get to hear three
speakers. They get to pick which um what they're interested in in different fields and they go and get that opportunity to see what they might want to do when they graduate. So see different things. Um in December I do a job fair. That's for all the students in the cafeteria. A lot of times um local
businesses come in if they're offering part-time jobs for the kids for like the season or whatever. Um, and the kids really like that. They've made some good connections. I've actually had some kids get hired right out of these job fairs in the cafeteria. So, which is which is great. February, we do the um, credit for life for our juniors. It's financial
literacy program sponsored by Northeast Savings Bank and other banks come and help them as well. And it's um, all the juniors go through that. They pick an occupation, pretend that they're like 25 and they've gotten on to a little bit of adulthood and they have to decide how much money they're going to spend on
housing, cars, food, entertainment, and that sort of thing to give them a real life sense of, you know, money doesn't grow on trees and when you run out, you have to make some tough decisions. Um, in March, we do start a career series for our juniors and seniors. These are small groups um that will come in such
as like electric boat will come in and talk to the kids about those opportunities. I've had realtors come in, hairdressers come in, trucking companies come in, just a variety of different things. We kind of decide and guidance like what kids are interested in and what they might want to see. Um,
and so I then I reach out to the community and get those people to come into school and they meet in um, you know, a small groups and the kids have the opportunity to hear what the these careers are like and they also ask questions um, in a very nice environment. Small group is nice for
them sometimes. And in April is the main event, the opportunities fair. Um all our juniors and seniors go and um again local businesses, technical schools, community colleges, and the military all come in. Some of the jobs are for students that are underassmen need part-time jobs for the summer, but they
also uh some of these people are employing full-time after graduation. That kids can go right into these jobs. Um so those are basically a snapshot of the year and the different ways that I interacted with all the students there. Um, in addition to that, I spend a good
part of my day writing resumes, reading resumes, correcting résumés. Um, I do that with um both my um I go into the internship class and work with the students that are in internship and I do cover letters, resumes, elevated pictures, interviewing, and those types
of things with them. I also do that with all the work study students that I work with and any other kid that just needs some help with that. Um, including helping them write college um resumes. Sometimes some kids need a college resume, so I can help them with that as well. Um, we do, um, I practice interviewing a lot of kids. If they're
going on a job interview, they'll come in and they're all very nervous looking at their feet. So, we do a few dry runs on what questions they might be asked, um, what answers they might want to give. Um, and, um, that really seems to help. I do have about 25 or so kids
coming through the work study program. I meet with them once a month to do all these activities with them. They all work a minimum of 10 hours a week at real jobs where they get paid and um and they keep we keep track of them a little bit which is a great opportunity for them to start doing that work life
balance of school and of jobs and also um helpful field trips. I think Jen to one of those excavation things and workshop days and I also taken them to DPW field trips at the beginning of the year. help kids find the part-time jobs, give the internship classes, one-on-one
meetings for whoever needs it. I facilitate all the military visits when they come to the school during lunch blocks and um come in, meet with the students. Um I set all those up, help them with job searches, teach them how to use Indeed. Um and then I am also on
the steep uh community showcase. Oh, okay. So, just a little bit snapshot of community partners. Um, so during the course of the year there's more than over 50 companies. Sometimes I get told that I'm having too many come in the cafeteria and the customers tell me we've run out of tables. So So
um that's a good problem to have. Um so these are just a snapshot of a few of the companies that come and partner with us um on a regular basis. Every year I try to find new different companies to come in and find new partnerships. Um and the kids really seem to like it and these people love coming um into the
school and interacting with the kids. So, I think we're really lucky to have the support from our local community as well. Um, and then this is just um one of the things we did um was the the core reporter program. We had students come in and actually learn how to use those machines and they came in like once a
week for a couple of weeks into my office and we sort of showed them how to do all of that. And that's just another one of those things we did for juniors and seniors. A career that nobody ever thinks about um but it can be a very nice career for somebody with the right um skill set.
That's it. I had 14 questions. I I did have one question though. Um from your experiences and I know things have kind of go up and down with this particular topic. Are we seeing more colleges looking for SATs or
is it kind of I know for years they weren't and now I'm hearing they are coming back. Yeah. um like to the top tier top colleges especially um are going back. Um there's always been or their departments are so the college may be hey we're test optional but we're
always telling the kids make sure like for example nursing um engineering like you're not getting in if you don't do your SAT. So yeah, anything else? Um, with the wheaten stuff, do we have any concerns
about I don't know people have kind of seen their funding levels. Is there any concern about cutting of the programs or anything along those lines that we should be kind of on our radar when you know we not that I know of. I mean they they approached us last year to do this
program. Um I mean I'm guessing there's a benefit to them, right? So they're getting 10 students that they they can kind of trust are being referred for the right reasons um that then are part of the classroom engage with the students taking part in the um in the uh
activities and you know I think it helps let's be honest you know nobody does nothing for free here but um they've been a great partner in that um and uh it's been like I said the students that went last year raved about it um we had a number of students who wanted to go again but we had to tell them you
couldn't do that. But so no, I I think it's been a good thing. I haven't heard any This is all great stuff, by the way. Phenomenal job. Thank you. Um I I think number one, I want to thank Jen and Heidi and Vinnie for being here tonight. And you know, as I said,
there's so many other people that kind of support all of these programs at the high school. Um I think that it's incredible to the see the amount of things that we offer to students. Um, you know, as we said earlier tonight, we've got about 82% of students going to
college next year, whether it's a two-year or four-year program. Um, but helping kids to understand that there are so many opportunities out there for them. Um, I love seeing um, our student Dale and all the success that he's had
um, going through the youth works program and some of the other programs. Um, there truly is something for everyone at Norton High School. Um, one of the things that we've, you know, talked a lot over over the last few years is how challenging is for students to get into Southeastern Regional, um,
as, you know, eighth graders, rising 9th graders. Um, and I'm really proud of the work that the high school has done to develop programs and really find other things for students at Norton High School. Um, I also want to mention the schoolto career partnership that Heidi
was sharing with us. Um, for those of people in the audience that aren't aware, um, it's a group, a consortium of five communities. So, Norton, Adelaro, North Attboro, Secon, and Mansfield. Um, and I get to attend meetings two or three times a year as part of the board
um, as the superintendent of one of those communities. And this year, Norton had the most students participating in programs that are offered by school to career. And I don't mean the the highest percentage like the most students. Norton High School had more students
than Adobo High School participating. Um and so when we think about our small community and our smaller high school, um it's really a testament to to our staff and to these programs that we're really able to provide um a comprehensive experience for our students. So, thank you to all of you
for being here tonight. I'm proud to share with the school committee and with the audience all the great work that's been happening. As as Nick said, this is really great work. Um, and I think it's something that doesn't get showcased enough. Like we're doing really great things at Noring High School and and you know, I wish more people in the
community realize that. Thank you. [Music] All right. Our next item is review and vote on high school handbook updates with Dr. Do and Mr. Shay.
I'll take this opportunity too just to publicly thank those who presented here today. Uh definitely Heidi, Jen who brought amazing programs to Northern High School. Um the Adro School Career Partnership has been one of the best relationships that we've had as far as the things that they've brought to our school and some of the sneaky things that you didn't realize up there. You
know, they have Subway pitching for summer jobs alongside Electric Boat, which is actually a General Dynamics company for kids to work on nuclear submarines if they want to right out of high school. Uh get their college degree while they're working there. just the the broadest array of opportunities for our students. So, thank you very much for for them for uh presenting here
today to to bring some highlight to that. Um so, we're here just to talk about some of the changes or uh adaptations and additions that we'd like to bring to the uh Nord High School handbook for next year. Um on the memo that you have in front of you really just covers a little bit of the process. It's the same process we've used for the
last three or four years. Um where we just essentially put out a handbook uh for comment all of our faculty. Uh we discuss it at our academic coordinator meetings um as well as our site council. Um this year we actually built in professional learning communities which is every teacher in the building who meet for one period uh to take a look at
some of the the features that we're proposing this year. We bring together students through an ad hoc group um solicit feedback that way. Uh then we obviously approve it through our site council and submit it here. Um so the way we try to get as many different constituents as possible giving us some input on what we'd like to do for our
student handbook. Um and this year uh kind of lead it off there. There's there's a few of them kind of just going right down through. Um the first one that we had up here has to do with cell phones. Um and this is something that actually we we have brought up a couple times here as far as as a as a practice. Um and we're kind of coming back again
um looking to add a little bit of a caveat for the high school. Uh in this case it is to have students um codified in the handbook that students are expected uh to place their cell phones in a rack that is basically provided in every single classroom. Um, this is something that we, you know, looked at
the school committee policy which is in the handbook right now where the operative phrase there is the manner of enforcement for student compliance often away. So teacher discretion. This year staff we talked about how important it was for a myriad of reasons for distraction connectedness, paying attention obviously to instruction, but
also eliminating some of the distractions like social media that might lead to negative behaviors happening in bathrooms, things like that. Um, and so we set it as a common expectation throughout the building that teachers would manage it this way at their discretion. We're all going to buy in to do it. Um, and we'd like to really
I think we had some successes of that and we'd like to continue to strive to make it more consistent across the board. Um, this is really one of the proposed things from uh the state commission there which released um some guidance on this. Uh, the very lengthy title the master's attorney general came
out with was cell phones and social media in schools, a toolkit for school leaders and communities. This is kind of the middle ground that they proposed in that um you know different from off and away um kind of puts it between no policy essentially or um having no cell phones at all in school. So it's kind of
a way to to really limit um the use of cell phones by students in classrooms um while allowing them to have them passing time cafeteria um during our flexible learning blog as well LB. Um, so that was the just that couple of sentences what we're going to add to the existing policy which is on their way and just
remove any ambiguity for our teachers um as far as what they would be doing to enforce that in their classroom. Should I go through all of them or should I wait for questions on individual ones? Mr. Chair, sorry I was actually reading it.
Um, no. Um, if you want to kind of give us the highlights of each one and then we can circle back with any questions. Sure. Um, so the next one is just a tweak to our eligibility for athletics. Um, currently what our language is is is what it is in the MIA handbook. Um, which is this idea of passing the
equivalent of four core academic courses. Um, and that is something that's that's pretty broad and pretty big uh, from the MIA that covers also schools that do um, called block scheduling where a student might actually only take four classes per semester. Some schools have that type of schedule. Um, we'd like to to raise it
up here to at least five classes being passed. Um and if there are two failures, one of those can't be in a core academic class. So something like uh English, history, math that are required for graduation. Um so this also allows our athletic director to more easily kind of sip through who might be
ineligible. Um finding basically students who might fail two courses, taking a look at those courses. You know, if there are two electives, then that student would remain eligible, but if there are something that is English and uh business course or something like that, they would not be eligible. So making sure that um those failures are
not taking place in some of our core uh requirements for graduation. Um the next thing uh is something that actually uh again we we had in our handbook previously and have taken out. Um and it kind of goes handinhand with the next one which is students in good standing. And essentially what we're looking to do is
to encourage positive attendance. Um this year uh we have sort of our attendance our critical attendance team um that that met with some students who uh exceeded thresholds of critical attendance. So, which we define as basically 10% of the school year. Um, that comes from the state as well. Um,
we sent some letters to students who had surpassed that threshold as well. Um, but what we're seeing is that we kind of need something that's an incentive, which is being in good standing and being able to exercise a bunch of privileges. Um, as well as somewhat of a consequence. Um, and previously we had the consequence in our handbook. Um, we
actually took it out 2 years ago. Um, and we're looking to to hopefully kind of reinstate it. And essentially what it is is if students are absent unexcused, which is an acknowledged absence. In our handbook, we kind of divide uh between something that's documented from a medical provider or bereavement um
versus something that is an acknowledge handbook or an absence, which means that a parent is excused that person, but it might not be for an approved reason like going on vacation for instance, it's one of those. Um and so that's not an excused absence, but we are not going to say that you're truent, that you're, you know, skipping class or skipping school
entirely. Um and so basically those are unexcused absences which we'd like to institute a grade reduction. In this case if a student's grade was higher than um 59 and we lowered to a 59. Now that would also come in in into play with a attendance improvement plan which
could restore that grade if the student's attendance improved. Um so the idea here is is to have some consequence for um attendance that is sort of universal um but also ways that it can be uh recovered. um having a a you know uh previously when we looked at this
policy um we kind of surveyed all of our area schools and many schools uh have this practice um some of them do grade reductions some of them do credit reductions um we find that the grade reduction is a little bit of a neater and more recoverable thing um we don't
quite know if if we were to reduce the credit uh in an English course let's say um and a student had 3.75 credits as opposed to five what that actually would do when a college looks at it um you would have answer that question whether that would actually fulfill our graduation requirements. So that student have to take another semester of
English. So uh we have opted really to lower um the grade as grade reduction um as a consequence there really because it is easier to recover um and build forward. Um so that's goes hand in hand as I mentioned with good standing. Um
the idea here um is that we have a privilege system at Northern High School. Um some of the things that we talked about with uh school to career work study internships um we have other opportunities VHS and also we have something called senior privilege which allows students some to basically choose
what they want to do with their time. If they're enrolled in work study they work after school but they get a block of release time at school and that allows them to leave campus and return. Um but what we'd like to do that's a privilege. Um we like to put in place sort of common language um this idea of a student in good standing to be able to
exercise that privilege. Um, so they would still be able to do work study, they would still be able to do VHS, but in order to exercise that privilege of being able to leave campus, um, those types of things, they would have to be in good standing. We have this, uh, language in many different ways are handled already. Um, for instance, if a
student wants to go to prom, um, they have to have basically all this criteria fulfilled. Um, if they want senior privilege, they have to have good academic standing, um, and kind of laid out there. The addition this year in kind of keeping um and trying to have actually some similar language to the middle school um is to develop a rubric
that we would look at a little bit more holistically. Right now what we do is we generate a spreadsheet of students fitting those criteria and we look at if they've missed one criteria they are ineligible. What the rubric would allow us to do is just basically create the same list but take a look at a student
who's struggling to meet the attendance expectation might lower them but at the same time uh they're tardy quite frequently but they're getting all A's. on the high level. Um so in that case they would not be eliminated from being in good standing because of one criteria because of how much they are exemplary in another. Um so it would be basically
done again to as a way to reward um or provide an incentive for students to improve attendance, improve academic standings. Obviously behavior is part of that as well. Um whereas our attendance penalty would essentially be um a a consequence and more of a a stick versus
carrot type of mentality when we're trying to improve attendance. Um the last or the next two um eligibility for international travel and overnight travel. And so where this uh comes from is we really didn't have anything in our handbook when we're
talking about international travel um or al also some activities that have um overnight travel out of state um to different conferences or uh um other trips. Um we wanted to have something in place that sort of said who it was that was eligible. The attending those trips
is also a privilege. um and therefore we believe should be tied to the good standing. And then there's additional language in there uh because over the years um we have had situations where as a school district we were concerned for the safety of students on trips. Um and we really didn't have any language to have a collaborative conversation with
the family um about who would be attending and why. We're not trying to exclude anyone with this language. Um and often times this would be something that might be acute. Um that we really can't accommodate certain medical needs or mental health needs on a trip abroad in a foreign country. um and it's very difficult for us to have a conversation.
So, what we're looking to do is put in place some guidelines um that would allow us to have a conversation about how we could accommodate those things, which is our practice right now anyway. But that if it's something that we really feel is going to put the student safety in line in jeopardy or even the safety on the trip, um we want to have
the ability to to basically not allow that student to go that time and work with that family um in order to find an alternative, maybe a future trip um when this acute need has resolved. And then um lastly uh we have some language just around credit recovery um that we're
altering um that is traditional summer school um but we're just uh altering it slightly um in order to have some recovery programs at the end of the year um heading into the fourth quarter um where students might have a very low grade um in multiple classes. they might be able to withdraw from one of those
classes in order to do some concentrated coursework in one of them in order to become eligible for uh summer school or um even to pass potentially. Uh so the idea there is just putting language in there that's a little bit more uh fluid and allows us to to come up with some creative solutions for students in order to stay on track
graduation. And then uh just some miscellaneous changes. the the competence determination uh language which we talked about in March will be put in um the language uh that as far as some of our current club offerings for instance our personnel uh supports rock band as opposed to jazz band um just by
their expertise or changing those types of things um and obviously current fees dates and things like that updated. Okay. Um, so I'd like the committee to just
entertain my idea if we go through any questions regarding everything but the cell phone and kind of work backwards and maybe take the cell phone up last. So, um, kind of looking at the list, the
first question I had regarding the the MIAA, um, you know, eligibility, does that does every student get like a clean slate every term? So, like if they're not doing well in first term that closes and they're, you know, could they not
then potentially play a winter sport because of their eligibility? Yeah. Determined by the previous quarter. So, for the fall sports, that's actually the fourth quarter. um from the previous year. So yeah, that's the way that the MIA looks at as the previous marking period. Um you know, first quarter, most sports are ended by the
time first quarter grades come out. That would really impact winter sports. Um winter sports is a tricky one because often times your report cards come out in January, like right at the tail end of the season where students do sometimes lose eligibility. Um and you know, spring sports were three basically. Yeah. Okay.
Um, so again, just kind of I don't want to say confining, but if we're looking at everything other than cell phones, do we want to proceed there? That works. How nothing like five. Yeah. Okay. All right. So um we will open up the
discussion for the cell phone um portion of this. So kind of refresh our memory. Currently it is off and away is recommended but at teacher discretion. So off and away is
the policy but the manner of enforcement is at teacher discretion. Okay. Um so previous to this year that could really be anything. Some teachers did utilize hanging folders. Some just said, you know, I don't want to see it. Some just said, put in your bag. Um, depending on the teacher, that was how it was managed. Um, as I said, sort of we took
a poll of our staff. It was actually unanimous in the poll anyway that thatu teachers wanted more guidance to have like a common one so that students transitioning from class to class wouldn't have different expectations. Um, and that was implemented this year. It's a mixed success. I think it definitely was success. And teachers who
needed that common expectation definitely utilize it. Um, and just being in classes, I've seen fewer cell phone distractions. um out there. What we're looking to do is again there were some that you know as the year went on there would definitely be some backsliding on that and and sort of lack
of consistency. Um and really what we're looking to do is just make it more consistent by codifying it in the student handbook as the expectation. Okay. So I guess my my next question is if there here's the part I don't like and this is not a knock against some of these teachers but I kind of don't like
the discretion. I would like it to be off and away is the expectation or I don't want there to be that discretionary piece. Is that part of this discussion? Because you know I can think of more classes where there shouldn't be a cell phone out like a um you know woodworking math or any class
where you're taking a test you know things like that. So I guess that was kind of where I'm kind of stuck on you know so if if you or Mr. Sean as he is kind of doing a spot check on a class and you see them out then is there repercussions on the student the teacher or I guess kind of take me through what
that would be in this with this scenario what does that look like? So I mean that's part of the issue as far as not being in the handbook. Um is generally when I observe a class if I don't see cell phones out I don't necessarily comment that you know there's 10 of 23 cell phones in the holder. Um but if I
see self puts out, we comment on you know within the sort of observation framework um about safe um learning environment and sort of classroom management practices and certainly why sort of the cell phone is out being a distraction to learning there. Um those types of things and those conversations are had there. Um in this case, you
know, a lot of that comes from that teachers have tried to implement it or they've been very sort of uh I don't know what the right word is is making sure that they're very zealous in doing it initially. Uh and then as the year winds on, they sort of lose some of that desire to do it. Um or it becomes a little bit of a battle that's not worth
fighting. Um some students in those ways. Um and so that's what this uh really is trying to do is just to make maintain that give us something that we have uh consistently in the handbook that we can refer to as far as the expectation for everybody. I think this I think this is great and
absolutely needed. Um I just my main concern is how do we enforce this with all staff? Yeah. At the beginning of the year with the expectation um we talk about just common language and common approaches to managing it versus the expectation when students come in. Um
and then how to have conversations with students if they're being disruptive about it, how to handle it as far as asking them to leave the classroom. Um if students are just not putting it in there and not being disruptive, how you handle that where you have conference with the student where you then uh consult with administration and those types of things. Um and really just
building up kind of progressively if a student doesn't live up to expectations just like they would in any other expectation in the classroom and how you manage that. Um but really it is kind of working with teachers on that making sure that's something that's consistent throughout the course of the year. Um and that it's something you know ultimately what we'd love to get to is a
situation where students just all walk in automatically and put it in the holder and they're not an issue. Um and that would be the the dream. Um and that just really takes a lot of work of consistently working uh to make sure that that occurs. Um, and that's what again we're trying to move towards with with this modifying example.
I think another point of this too that this isn't new. You know, a lot of schools have gone to this um, you know, hanging pocket folder, whatever you want to call it, where, you know, as we all know, you can put a phone in your pocket, you can put it away. The temptation is always going to be there,
especially if you think you're missing something. You know, I can guarantee everybody in this room at one point or another has checked their phone probably when they're not supposed to. Um, you know, so I my biggest thing is is to have everybody everyone's phones in one spot in the front of the room hanging on
a thing to me kind of just wipes out any of the discretionary stuff. You know, I think there's going to be points in classrooms where the teacher might need them to have their phone, whatever that may be. You know, maybe calculator wise or something. you know, um, everything's kind of there, but I feel like once we
kind of take that and put it, um, you know, where everyone's doing the same thing and it's across the entire school, you know, quite frankly, I hope the entire district that this is kind of ingrained. So when by the time they get to the high school, they're used to doing this already in middle school. you know, if we have to already adopted at
the Yell School. Um to kind of get this motion in place that cell phones are important. They're great to have. Um but at the same time, we know how much they affect learning in the classrooms. You know, um that's not just us saying that every single research that we read, you know, has has that exact same uh you
know, that mentality. So, um I I think this is a great step in the right direction. Um you know, I don't think it's overly burdensome. I don't think it's, you know, over the top in terms of not having a phone at school at all. You know, place in a locker, stay in your car, whatever. I think this is kind of a
happy medium. Um, I know we had kind of this exact same thing come forward in 2022 when I was for it then, and in 2025, I'd be for it again. So, I I did have one question. So, but the current policy before we make a change, if a student doesn't want
to like if if there's a teacher that requires it in as part of their classroom and a teacher or sorry, a student refuses, could they be referred to the office? So, so where I'm going with this is on the flip side, if if it's not required
of that teacher in their classroom and they just say, "Put your phone away. Put your phone away." Could they also then be referred as well for disciplinary? Because it's I I guess what my my question is if the expectations aren't clear and present for the students from
the teacher, could they still just refer that student? I mean, they have to make the expectation clear and present. And we do it at the beginning of the year. We have class meetings where we talk about this is going to be the expectation. Um, and again, it's really just about doing everything we can to make sure it's as consistent as possible across the board. um and making sure
that everyone is is following it with it with it being in the handbook there. So um we we do really try to put it front and center so it's not surprising students where they come into a classroom and I have to pull my phone away like no that is the expectation um everywhere we go. So I think just to clarify that. So our the plan with this
proposed change would be every single classroom has some type of hanging folder. I'm just going to say in the back of the dark that all the students every single class period have to get out of their hallway. The phone goes in that folder. Doesn't matter what the teacher says necessarily. That is the expectation of this high school. That's
the expectation with this change. Oh god. Sorry. Please. you know, it does it does put by putting in the handbook, it shifts the some of the responsibility to administrating staff to make sure we're enforcing that as well as as a classroom manage behavior. Um, so we kind of divide those two things. Yes. I
I think the um thing that I really like about the addition of this language is that um the cell phone stays in the holder during the entirety of the class period and may not be removed when the student leaves the classroom. Um, I think that is probably one of the biggest challenges just from me being at
the high school, talking to our high school staff, um, is the things that happen when kids have their phone and they meet each other in during class, right? Whether it's in the bathrooms and you know the issues that occur there or in the hallway. Um, one of our former principles used to call them hallway
dates and they would text each other and go on their little hallway date. Um, but I think like to me like if you're getting up and going to the restroom, you don't need your phone. like you can stay in the in the holder and quite honestly um this change is all enforcing
common expectations which is what we do with PBIS within the constructs of our current cell phone policy. So we're going to talk about the cell phone policy tonight. I'm going to share some ideas with all of you. Um but we can do this under our current structure as well. So I think that's it's a good as
Nick as you said a good step in the right direction. that is the benefit from off and away could be a pocket therefore it's accessible for the student outside I think it would be pretty easy I haven't seen a scientific study but trips out of the classroom with a phone without a phone I guarantee without a phone it's not
short I I have one final question um I know at the high school there is the e-ass program and there is the option that the students can have this on their phone if they leave the classroom so I guess what is the And if this policy as
approved says they can't leave, is there another option for those kids who are excused from class for a valid reason to then So the the passes work on Chromebooks as well. I mean that's that that was our guidance at the beginning of this year is that Chromebook passes should be made on Chromebooks, not on cell phones. They still can be during
like lunch or during LLB. Um if they're making a pass or if they're doing something like seeing a teacher after class, they have their cell phone, they can make a pass to go to another class late. Um but yeah, leaning on the uh Chromebook is is what we would do. Um depending on availability of devices,
that also has what's called a kiosk mode. Um you know, we've talked about teachers actually having a dedicated Chromebook at the door that a student can sign up and leave on that dedicated Chromebook. We don't have the devices to do that right now, but um work with Karen and sort of see if that's a possibility as well as having that kiosk
in both of those. So the question was so the question I had was we do have students with a medical need that may need a phone. I know for example you know the diabetes um scanner. So obviously those would be
the exception to this policy which would be clearly articulated and and likely I can see his hand raising and Casey nodding that they would probably have some sort of medical note or a health plan or something like that that would be the exception to
all students 504 ID that that have that accommodation built into it would automatically super that was my only question actually that was my final Anybody else? Uh, yes. I had a question about So, as a
student, I find that I focus better when I do have my phone away from me because when it's in my bag, I do check it from time to time. But when it's up on the wall away from me, I'm really able to get my work done better. But, how would you suggest dealing with the issue of like fake phones? Um, because people put
up like empty phone cases and calculators and all kinds of things. So, how would you enforce that it's an actual hit the ground running. Yeah, I mean there there's no good suggest. I mean I don't have a great suggestion for that. I I certainly we're
not going to have teachers sort of making sure that that phones have you know current text messages on them or something to verify that they're the actual phone that a student's using. Um I mean definitely it would be if the student then has a phone. Um that the kind of sort of parallel policy with this or parallel thing is when we have
teachers on bathroom duty or hallway duty is that if they see a student with a phone like they shouldn't have it should be in the classroom. Um so that would mean that either that student put a fake phone in the holder or there's not a consistent expectation within that classroom. Um so it's really just working through those situations and
talking to those students figuring out what class they are and kind of tracking down what the situation would be. And obviously if a teacher does discover that and like a student has a phone out in the class and there is the right number of phones in the holder then that's obviously an issue to prefer as well. Is there anything consequence in second place if say there is a student
on the call with their cell phone? Sorry. So uh as far as like we have this question from staff a lot as far as like automatic consequences and things and we do shy away from having like that language in our handbook just because there's always some difference that does
it and we'd rather investigate what that is. So, what we would suggest, and we'll definitely have language for teachers, is to ask, you know, what classroom you're coming from. Is there a reason why you have your cell phone? Is how you can start that conversation. Um, and then it might be the student put a fake one up there. It might be the teacher didn't have them put them up. Um, so
therefore, it would be sorting out and figuring out, you know, what the situation was and dealing with it appropriately. If it's a consequence for the student for putting a fake phone up there, certainly, um, we do that all the time with referrals and detentions and consequences students for that. um if it's something that we have to reinforce that expectation with the teacher then that would obviously be a different
situation. So just trying to get to the bottom of why a student would have a fun situation. Something that like students have the opportunity to do at the high school is that they're able to bring their own device. Um and like personally what I've seen I I do it too is that a lot of
students have iPads and Macs now. Um and I feel like most students have an iPhone. um even if you put that iPhone up and this is like for Apple watches too like they is a fully functioning phone just in a bigger device. So I don't know if there was like language
around how we were going to go about that because that maybe you were missing whisper but yeah there are Chrome extensions that allow for for messaging as well that are operable on cell phones things like that that that we continually try to work on. might want to advertise some of the workarounds of
GoG Guardian which is uh what we use to try to manage like Chromebook and even devices that are school owned. Um, and so yeah, there's no great answer for that other than, you know, we have to be present in the classroom, walking around, seeing what are on student screens, uh, making sure they're working on what they're supposed to be working on, doing a mix of in paper, um, as well
as, uh, on the on the device. Um, you know, having routines around the Chromebook devices or your own device in the classroom as well, that, you know, they're only open when I say, "Okay, it's time to take that out and do this activity." You know, just sort of have it open on your desk. So, there's classroom management techniques that would hopefully help with that. Um, that all teachers are pretty well verssed in.
um and we can kind of work on some of that consistency with that as well. But um you know really that's that's going to be a constant issue. I don't think it's going away. Wearable technology is only going to advance more as we move forward and there's going to be more opportunities to access it. Um but we just have to adapt and do the best we can. I think you know obviously
implementing something like this and asking for consistent expectations from classroom to classroom. the biggest problem is going to happen when we roll it out, right? For our current high schoolers that have been used to having their phone on their person um you know,
wherever they may be and I have a lot of middle school teachers here tonight and my understanding is that the middle school students should not have their phones in the in their classroom at all. They should be either in their locker or in their backpack. Is that correct? All right, I'm getting some thumbs up in the audience. So, the first couple years are
going to be challenging. Um, but our the hope is is that when you're as your middle schoolers, you know, rise up to the high school, you have, you know, a new crop of freshmen coming in that they've already been used to not having their phone in their purse. They're used to having in their backpack or in their
locker. And so, it's the other students that we're going to have to, you know, primarily work with. But it's, as you know, Dr. Dolman said, it's consistent expectations from classroom to classroom. It's finding out is it a student issue where they're not like
where they're being I don't want to say sneaky but ultimately they're putting something in the pocket that is not a cell phone or a functioning cell phone or is it um you know resetting expectations with with teachers and we're going to absolutely
run into some of these challenges from time to time um but until we kind of get there and and hash it out and see how it goes I think Um, you don't know what you don't know. Well, I mean, I think we have to start
somewhere. So, you know, as as as mentioned, Benson mentioned, um, you know, that might be, you know, the policy 2.0 down the road when we see we can kind of start with this policy. It looks good. We're getting, you know, buying from the teachers, which it
sounds like they're on board with. Uh, and then obviously, you know, the students, you know, will buy in eventually. Um, but I think, you know, starting with a good policy in place and then building upon it is probably the best way to go for for this type of scenario. Um, and then we'll see if
there's um more guidance from the state cuz I know there's been some bills introduced and things like that. So, um, I was just going to think, D, that top top down approach I think is the best way to do this. um you know I have a middle schooler right now so you know I kind of know the
lay of the land and and again I think you know the current lack of consistency is not you know the onus of the teacher itself it's just again it's difficult when you start dealing with teenagers how to enforce these things I mean any parent of a teenager knows that so I think having you know us working towards
that universal policy and then that kind of takes that pressure off of the teacher to trust have to balance of you know Well, you know, when the kid argues back, well, so and so, let's do that. You know, it's it's really gets very muddied and difficult. So, I I'm glad that we're having this conversation and
we're going to work from the top down. I also just want to mention that we re the school committee and myself received a letter um yesterday from a number of high school staff members that um encouraged the school committee to support this policy change at the high school and the sample change. Um so,
thank you to um Dr. Kefir for writing the letter and for sending that to us and you know thank you to the teachers that um shared their thoughts and and and signature with the committee as well. I just want to recognize that. All right. Uh at this time I will
entertain a motion to approve the student year handbook updates for Norton High School as presented. So moved. Second. All those in favor? I I thank you. And Dr. Dolman, I want to publicly thank you for your time here at
Norton. I know you're moving on to bigger and better things, but we do thank you for your leadership here at Norton High School. Right. The next item is our district alignment discussion and vote with Dr. O'Neal. Okay. Thank you. So um
at our last meeting um we discussed the um district alignment study and the challenges that we were having kind of doing this work internally. Um and I had shared with you two different proposal proposals. One was from Dillis Dillinger research and applied data. Um and that
was as we discussed a little bit more in all car project um with an hourly rate um and the other was Ross Habber and Associates um with a set rate for the entire project. Um the biggest challenge for us right now is really looking at
the way that um our lines are drawn specifically between JCS and LGN and with all of the building that's happening in town. um looking at enrollment and trends and data. And while um you know we have a fantastic team and we have a fantastic group of
community members that have worked on this um none of us are really familiar with the geom mapping component um which makes it a little bit more challenging. So um what we had decided to do last time was to table the conversation until the committee had a little bit more time
to look at both proposals overall. Um, as I shared with you last time, both companies are very well known across the state of Massachusetts. I, um, shared, you know, the recommendations of where I received them from, some of the work that they've done, um, and the communities, uh, the school districts
where they've worked. I think, you know, we really couldn't go wrong with either of these proposals. Um, Mrs. Hatfield and I um are fully aware that regardless of you know which way this goes that um we will be spending a good chunk of our
next 6 to 8 months like really elbow deep in this work um and you know working alongside the um school committee the consultant and then the district alignment working group that we have that is has really done a great job so far. So, um I'm happy to answer any
questions that the committee may have or we can take a motion um to move forward. Um I'll just do my quick two cents here that to me um when doing the research on both of these uh Dillinger and Ross
Haver. I feel like Ross Haver is this is their meat and potatoes. This is what they do. Um they obviously had a ton of different um you know things all over New England, New Jersey, New York. um for different districts that they've done this for. Um obviously the alakart
does sound great because it could save us money. Um but you know, as I said to Jen yesterday, I feel like this is such a monster undertaking um for what Norton could look like, for what our district could look like, for what the town could look like. Um that I really wouldn't want to try to play an alleart game and
try to say, "Hey, you know, we're going to try to skip out on this. We might we might think we know something, but we really don't know it." um and try to pick and choose, you know, what we think we know and what we don't know. Um so again, you know, the 75 to 150 hours, if
you got 250 hours, it would almost be the it would actually be a little bit more um from Dillinger than what it would be from Ross Haber anyway. Um you know, so I I think I was a little bit more comfortable with Ross Saber. Um, I know there was some concern
about, you know, how much input we would have and all that. And like I said last meeting, I think, you know, and as Jen just reiterated, um, you know, this is going to it's norm, you know, and it's going to fall on our administrator, school committee, honestly, some of our town officials as well as well to make
sure this project is is done and it's done correctly for Norton. Um I feel like with Ross Habbury, they've done Adabal, they've done Stone, they're kind of, you know, a little bit more um you know, what we are and how we do things. Um and then Adro's continuing their
project as we speak right now. So um I definitely I I would definitely lean that way. I just feel like they're a little bit more of a reputable company. Uh they've been doing this for years. Dylan just started in 2022. Um you know, so so on and so forth. But you know, I guess uh you know, that's kind of my two
cents. Um so I had done a lot of googling and a lot of um that research from your no um and also just looking at the packet and the information that you um had provided us. So first I want to say
thank you for giving us the extra um couple weeks to really dive into this. Um uh when looking at both companies, you know, like Nick had mentioned, Dillinger did start in 2022, 2021. Um Ross has
been around since 1995. Um and I know that their paperwork packet, I think, was a little offputting where they just listed all of their um towns that they have and communities and districts that they work with. Um but I at the same time at the end of their packet they had
a list of about 15 or so um specific business administrators and or superintendent that they have worked with that you can call or email to speak with um to provide you with a review of how they've done. And um although I did not call them I imagine that if I were
to submit a resume and I put down um you know recommendations and people to call, I would not be putting down somebody who's going to give me a bad review. Um, so I do think that that was um I I was impressed by them being able to kind of outline that information. Um,
additionally, I just think Ross Haber, the background, um, he was in education. He was, um, he worked in all levels, I believe, and he also was an administrator, um, and then also post-secary. So I feel like he has this perspective of not just let's type in
these numbers and and throw it into a computer system and see what pops out and then analyze the data. I think having that real world experience also is really important. Um especially understanding how does the classroom work, how does the school work. Um
whereas I didn't feel like the same kind of background was there with the Dillinger associates. Um, and then when I thought about the alleart and you know the potential financial savings, sure, but then I also thought I'd rather know
that if we're doing something, we are doing this soup to nuts like we are getting every aspect that this these companies can provide us where I thought well if we decide to pick and choose certain aspects are we going to miss something because we don't maybe
understand fully what you know I guess we know what a geom map is, but maybe there's like another part and we're like, "No, I don't think we need that, but we actually do need it and then we're not really getting all of the information we need." Um, so for me, I thought Ross Haber, I guess it's a
little more, I guess, initially, but again, Dillinger, we don't know what it would cost us. Um, I just feel like we're getting the full package. I think another concern that was brought up was about the community involvement. I Googled and I looked up Attboro. Attalboroough right now is in I believe
according to their website they're in phase one but they may be a little bit further but it is directly listed on their website. They have a specific link that's for redistricting. It is very outlined. They have all of the phases. There's several spots where there's
community forums, community involvement. Um, and I do think that is going to be on the Norton districts, like our team, in order to make sure that we are including the community as much as possible and keeping them informed. Um,
and I felt like, you know, what I saw through Attelboroough who is using Ross Haba right now, that was very apparent to me. Um, that the community has many opportunities to be involved and they had this whole outline. Um, so I don't think Ross Haber probably is the one
that put that together. I think that that particular part of their website. I'm sure was gathered and put on by um their web department or tech department um through Attelboroough. But the fact that it was there I think really just um says a lot that that they are willing to
work with the community. Um, so again, my I would have to echo uh Nick's um, you know, kind of two cents and but I feel like Ross Haber would be a better um, option for us. Anyone else? I think Justine said it
well. Sorry. I'm sorry. I told you a lot. Spent a lot of hours on this one. Okay. Um, I just can I know we were talking about doing this through school choice funding, correct? Is there a
reason why I know we can't probably do it now. It's probably a little late in the game because we don't want to wait either, but why wouldn't we have put this through capital? I think it was too late in the game cuz um the spring capital stuff is due in November and so we weren't at that
point. It was too late cuz we had a different come through. Yeah. Yeah. I guess again, you know, I I know things come up and obviously something like this is um you know, critical to to what we're trying to do and we don't obviously want to wait and it's not
$19,000 is a lot of money, but it's not a, you know, $1.2 million thing or something along those lines. Um, but I would just kind of like to, you know, make make sure that if if we are planning these things that we do take advantage of some of the abilities we might have with with, you know,
offsetting some of our our cost. um you know doing type these type of things obviously um where it is going to affect the entire town of Nor I think would definitely be something we could put you know on capital in future obviously I don't want to hang this up any longer in the past
okay all right um so I'll entertain a motion to lost it um approved district realignment using Ross Hab and Associates so moved Second. All those in favor? I.
Anyone opposed? No. Sorry. Hi. Thank you all. All right. Next um is our district policy on cellular phones and similar electronic devices. Okay. So, um I
actually shared a section of the um document that Dr. Dolman was referencing earlier, the cell phones and social media in schools, a tool kit for school leaders and communities. Um, so this is actually um a new document that just came out in January 2025. Um, and as you
can all see, the section I included for you was around policy. Um, so there are they are focusing on three different types of policies here. So the first is um the most restrictive which is a phone
free bellto bell um which basically means that cell phones are secured upon entering the building and returned to students at the end of the day. Um and that students do not have access to their phones at all during the course of the day. Um you may have seen um
Brockton is one of the communities that has done this most recently. Um at Brockton High School they have something called wander pouches. So, as students come into school in the morning, they put their cell phone in the wander pouch and they do not get it until they walk out of the school at the end of the day.
Um, which leads me to Leah's question earlier. Um, how do we know that they're putting their actual phone in the wonder pouch or you know, anything else along that line. Uh, the second one, which is a more middle of the road policy, which is actually um what our current district
policy aligns with now is the off and away. Um, cell phones are expected in an off and away policy, cell phones are expected to be powered off and stored out of sight during the school day. Um, and so this is something similar to what we talked about with, you know, using
the pouches. Um, and students do have physical access to their phones. Um, and then the, um, limited use is the really the least resp least restrictive, excuse me. um you know, instructional periods
might be used between designated times in specific areas. Um so we're a little bit of a cross between the two and the three. Um because right now our students are able to have their phones during LLB or during lunch. Um I would say that the middle school probably more closely
aligns with the middle off in a way and they you know don't have them during lunch or um other points during the day. Um, so I thought that was really important for us to kind of start by looking at um, how our policy aligns with these three recommendations. Um, the committee also has our current
policy which was last updated in October of 22. Um, and it, you know, really talks through, you know, the importance of minimizing cell phone use. Um, all devices must be put away and kept out of sight for the entire duration of each
class period. Um and then this is where we talked about, you know, kind of the teacher discretion. So what um both the middle school and now the high school are attempting to do is to take our policy to the next level and really say
this is what off and away is going to look like at the high school or the middle school. We are now prescribing that and taking away that component of teacher discretion. Um so that is something that I think that if we're
moving forward with a new um policy around cell phones and other um you know personal electronic devices that component of teacher discretion should at least um be considered. Um I also have shared with you um there's a whole
chart in here about like the benefits to each of these and the drawbacks and the challenges and the age group considerations. Um, and there are also links to specific communities that have implemented each of these policies um, for um, just a reference point for us as
well. Um, so it's it's interesting that we talked about cell phone policies tonight at the high school. I think the committee was um, fairly pleased with the changes that are being made there. It helps us kind of find, you know, a good middle of the road. One of the
things that we heard from families last time was concerns about getting hold of their student if there was an emergency. Um we have phones in every single classroom in every single one of our buildings. Um if there's a true emergency, parents can call the school office and we will absolutely find your
child. Um but there potentially could be some updates that we could make to this um current policy around since we are now prescribing what this looks like in 6 to 12. Okay. So, this is the first reading of
the policy. So, I guess the committee will have a little homework if they want to see any changes um bring them to the next meeting uh and implement it at that point. But this is just the first reading. But this does kind of align us with what we were discussing with the
high school earlier um as well as the middle school is a little bit more I'd call it strict. Um but again, it's about expectations as they move schools. So my recommendation for the committee would be to eliminate the last sentence in the first paragraph which says manner of
enforcement of student compliance with the district's off and away during class. Expectations will be at teacher discretion. Um we could just simply eliminate that sentence right there. Or we could even say um please refer to the school handbook for specific
guidance on how this will be done at each grade level. Um you also saw must have been two weeks ago the elementary um handbooks also all updated their um language around cell phones and
personal devices. So um it is expressly prohibited at JCS and LGN where the Yell school does follow the same policy as the middle school where the they should be either in this child's backpack or
the um locker for the course of the entire day. Yeah. And that was going to be one of my recommendations is you know striking the teacher discretion then as you mentioned adding you know please refer to your school's handbook for
further clarification. And ultimately we all know how challenging or how cumbersome it can be to actually update policy over and over again because of the first reading, the second reading, the going back and forth. So, if we were to take out that
last sentence, I think we've just discussed that we kind of agree with the body of the first paragraph. Otherwise, it's much easier for us to update the handbook. And, you know, now that we don't print handbooks and send them home with every single
child, it's just updated on our website. Those we could update a little bit more regularly if were as needed. I mean, I feel like we're going to make a change to a policy. I think this policy is pretty
self-explanatory in the Northern High handbook. Mhm. It's simple. Students are supposed to place their cell phones in a rack blah blah blah blah. Our policy as currently written has a lot of words and and stuff on a page that just makes no sense in terms of what we're trying to
do. um at the high school level if you will. You want something really simple. Yes. Because like I'm reading this, right? And it's like all such devices must be put away and kept out of sight for the entire in the entire duration of each class period. Well, yes, because if
we're going to adopt a policy for the entire district where they're going to be put away, we don't have to worry about that. Students are not permitted to utilize such devices for calls, tech, social media, games, blah blah blah blah blah, uh and other activities during class time without express teacher permission. Well, they're gonna be put away for the class and that sentence is
gonna be deleted. Teachers may allow the use of cellular phones or personal devices for educational purposes, that probably stays in. Um, should there be an urge for a family member to, you know, contact the school's main office, I think that one's fine. I just feel
like when when I think about Yes. When I think about written policy, I think the more simple and defined and straightforward it is, the less questions and people going back to our policy saying, "Well, that's not what the policy says. He wasn't texting or
playing a game or or doing that. He was who knows what they're doing on the phone." So, like, I just feel like don't even open up Pandora's box. Keep it simple. Students are expected to put their cell phones in pockets throughout the entire district of Norton. And that's kind of what we roll with. And then the high school hopefully after 3
years or so won't have any of these. Won't have as many issues with cell phones because it's going to be ingrained in their heads from the start of yell school on middle school. I don't even know kids in third grade and second grade have phones now. So, so my recommendation would not be to say put
them in the pocket because the middle school and the yell school are even more restrictive than that. Um but what I would say is I would keep the language about minimizing cell phone. Um as such the district expects all students to to um or basically something along the
lines of the district expectation is that you know cell phones are not used in school except with the expression permission of the teacher for educational purposes. Please see your child's handbook for more specific information about how you know the you
know about what cell phone rules look like in their school. And then you say should there be an urgent need for a parent, guardian, etc., etc. You include that there and that's it. There's the under the phone free belt bell description, you can use that part too
in the chart that you had. Yes. Thank you, Audrey. Are we good with that? And I'll bring that back with new language for the next to for the middle school. They're not supposed to have their phones on. Supposed to be in a backpack
all day long or in a locker. Yeah. So they do not have them at lunch. They do not have them at passing time. How does that go? It's the expectation. Oh, Timmy's Timmy's Wait, I just I saw a lot of smirks over there, so I'm kind of
wondering level. Well, I mean, again, as we mentioned, we have to start somewhere and, you know, we'll keep working at it. And, you know, I know you said it's worth even Nick, but welcome to welcome to policy
readings 101. The best is when we do all of the sections in a year. That was so much fun. That was all right. All right. So, I think we've kind of given the feedback. Everybody did their homework early, which is great. Um, so we can
look at those changes. If we have to run it by legal again, just to do cross, then we'll do that. Um, all right. So, next is a vote on FY26 budget as approved at town meeting.
Mrs. H. Um, very simple. That's pretty much it. We need a um a spot. That's fine. Um we need to um vote on the approved town meeting um budget amount for FY26
um which is 37,1,669. Um first I want to thank all of those at town meeting. It was in my 22 years in town. It was a very unique experience at town and I'll just leave it at that. Um, so entertain a motion to
approve the budget as approved at town meeting when the amount of 37,11,669. So move second. All those in favor? I thank you. Uh, next is other business
topics not anticipated. Nothing on my end. I have nothing as well. All good. Correct. Um, all right. So, we'll do a roll call vote as we are going to enter into executive session
not to return to our regular session. So, entertain a motion to adjourn our regular meeting. So, I Mrs. Galler, yes. Mr. Leer, yes. Audrey, yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you all.
Have a great night. Thank you.