She does. My daughter does stuff. All right. Good evening, everybody. Uh lovely weather out there today. Unfortunately, we have to be inside for this one. Um, but I'd like to welcome
everybody to the May 4th, uh, 2026 meeting of the Plymouth School Committee. Uh, 7 p.m. I will call the meeting to order. Uh, please rise. Join me for the pledge of allegiance. >> I alian to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which
it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Next, I'll read our land acknowledgement. Uh, we acknowledge that we are meeting on the unseated ancestral homeland of indigenous people whose
humbling endurance or whose whose enduring presence we humbly recognize. We honor the Wanoic people as the original stewards and the Herring Pond Wampaoic as the surviving tribe and indigenous to these lands. In our commitment to lifelong learning, we acknowledge historical injustices to the native people of this land and vow to
educate ourselves, our community, and our students on the first peoples and the hardships they endured. We offer this as a small but essential step towards building a culture of respect, truth, and accountability. Next up, we have uh comments from the general public. Don't believe we have
any, but we do have some special uh guests here tonight wishing to speak. Miss Representative Michelle Vadger and >> thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to be here to on um Mr. Morgan's last school committee meeting. It's was
an honor to serve with you for so many years. So, I'm just so honored to be able to honor you tonight. I mean, your work and your dedication, your time that you put into the school committee, having had the opportunity to work with you, the thought and your legacy is going to be long lasting. I mean, we did
full day K together, the the um biomed, like so many things that you've, you know, put your heart and soul into. So, I'm just really privileged to be here to acknowledge that work and to present a citation to you. Um, and so, let me read it.
So it says the House of Representatives be it hereby known to all that the Massachusetts House of Representative offers its sincerest congratulations to Robert Morgan in recognition of its 15 years of dedicated service to the school committee and the students of Plymouth.
The entire membership extends its very best wishes and expresses the hope for future good fortune and continued success in all endeavors given this day the fourth of day of May 2026 signed by myself and representative Latra who would be here tonight but she is um at
another event and speaker of the house Ronald Mariano. So thank you for your service and it's a privilege to serve with you and I'm sure I know I will see you around the community. And we also have Phoebe Flynn. >> On behalf of Senator Fernandez, um, who unfortunately cannot be here this evening, um, but sent me in his place
and I'm very happy that I could be here. As, uh, someone who has students in the school system here and also worked at PCIS, I really admire all of the work that you've done. I truly do understand not quite to the level of everybody sitting in these seats or Rep. Badger, the work that all of you do and how hard you work and how many hours it takes and
your dedication um, to our community and our students and our families. And so, um, on behalf of Senator Fernandez, I just want to thank you. And we also have an official Senate citation, and I'll go ahead and read that now. Uh, be it known that the Massachusetts Senate hereby extends its congratulations to Robert
Morgan, Plymouth School Committee, in recognition of your 15 years of service to Plymouth Public Schools, demonstrating exceptional leadership and dedication to our students in our school community. And be it further known that the Massachusetts Senate extends its best wishes for continued success that this citation be duly signed by the
President of the Senate and attested to in a copy thereof transmitted by the clerk of the Senate. It's signed by our Senate President Karen Spilka, the clerk of the Senate, Michael Hurley, and our state senator, Dylan Fernandez, this day, May 4th, 2026. Congratulations. >> Thank you.
>> Yeah. Open it up. And it does smell like poly. >> You smell it? You smell it from >> here? need to be edit. >> I can help you with all of >> Oh, there you go. That was spectacular. >> I don't know why my camera's being
strange because we were phrasing it and doing such high praises, but that's You guys look amazing. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Do this. Okay. So right. >> And and it keeps coming. >> It keeps Oh, it keeps coming. Yes. Got more.
>> So, but I mean, Mr. Morgan, you've been here since 2009, May of 2009. It's my first school year here. Um I think it was the height of the recession. We were dealing some with challenging times. Got through those. Um, but to Representative
Badger's point, you've been you've been heavily involved in so many initiatives in this district and really helped us transform the educational system that we have. Um, and one word that really sticks to mind when I think of you is is present. You were
always present. Um, I I rarely missed a meeting, always involved. Um, if you're invited to something, you were always there. um really going to miss uh your your your presence here. Um and you've had a uh as Miss Badger said a just a
tremendous impact on the school district. So we do have two bags of school sweat swag for you. Give to you in a moment. But we also have this plaque which I need my readers because the print is really small.
Um so in recognition of Mr. Robert Morgan for his service to Plymouth Public Schools and the community uh 2009 to 2012 and then a short little hiatus for two years uh from 14 to 26. Mr. Morgan dedicated 15 years of exemplary
service to Plymouth Public Schools and Plymouth School Committee, including distinguished leadership as vice chair and secretary. His vision and steadfast commitment have made a lasting impact on the educational growth and well-being of Plymouth students. Beyond his service to public education, Mr. Morgan has
demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the Plymouth community, contributing his time and leadership to the West Plymouth Steering Committee, Nuclear Matters Committee, Advisory and Finance Committee as a town meeting member, and to the building and master planning committees. His dedication to public service has helped shape and strengthen
the Plymouth community in meaningful and lasting ways. In honor of his enduring contributions, we extend our heartfelt gratitude and recognition this May of 2026. Thank you. still. >> You got to put all your swag down first.
>> Put my swag down first. too. >> You want me uh the black? We'll >> get one. Thank you. >> Mr. Mr. Chairman, I was going to save my comments for um matters of the
members, but if I can take a couple minutes, >> I'll take all the time you wish. >> Well, folks here. >> Um All right. Keep it together. Um it was Yeah, it was over um was 2009. We
moved to Plymouth in 2000. Um and um I wanted to volunteer. So I I uh applied for a position on the West P steering committee and got involved that way. Became a towning member and we had
our son and he was going to preschool and I thought I could make a bigger impact. So I ran for um school committee and got elected and um it's been wonderful ever since. It's been quite the experience. Um
um you know um tough times, good times, um the economy, co um but we did a lot. We had you know um um we mentioned pre um um full day kindergarten was a big one. Um I was um help championing bring
our students back to school. Uh I thought that was very important. Um I pr even though um I may not be politically aligned with everyone I always um was very respectful to everyone's point of
view and um and I felt that I worked well with everybody and um I thought that was very important because our ultimate goal is is for the families and residents of Plymouth. Um, and I want to
thank all current and past board members I served with. Um, Dr. Campbell, Dr. Mestus, members of the administration, um, and, um, most importantly, my family,
uh, my wife and son who put up with the, uh, multiple meetings. I remember two or three years into my first term, my wife, you used to say, uh, what nights do you have a meeting? And then one night she went, "What nights are you home this week?" So um
but um yeah, so again, I'm not leaving. Um told me in Plymouth, I'll volunteer for something here and there and anytime the school um department needs me, I'll be there for them. Um and um again, thank you very much for the citizens of
citizens and families of Plymouth for um trusting me on the school committee and elected me five times. It's hard to believe. Um you know, one of the things I like to say is like when I got elected, my son was in um um um um preschool and and I was here with him
his diploma. So that's how how long I was here. So again, thank you very much. I won't take up any more time. Um, and again, whenever you need me, I'll be here. So, thank you. >> So, Mr. Morgan, we have a card for you and a small gift in there from the
current current members. Um, you have to open it now, but I will, you know, >> say you have been a consumate class act. It's been a pleasure to serve with you all these uh years. And like you said, I think anybody that knows uh Mr. Morgan, I know is he and he and I are a lot of times on the opposite side of the
political spectrum. However, I couldn't ask for a better uh person to serve with. It's always been a pleasure to work with him and we've gotten a lot a lot done uh together and I think it's proof that you can actually, you know, work work together no matter what your you know what your beliefs are. So, >> yeah. DC could learn from us.
>> Yeah. No, 100%. Yeah. So, it's Yeah. >> A lot of people. >> Thank you. >> You deserve it. All right. Appreciate it. >> All right. You want a group or >> Oh, for the >> Yeah, you it's >> Yeah, let's do it. >> It's a shorter agenda. >> And just people know, Bob STM is technically not up today. It goes for
until the next election. So, he is still >> We may have an e we may have an emergency meeting. >> Yeah. Yeah. We might find a reason to have another meeting. Should we do >> funny stuff?
Get in front here if you need to get in if you need to get in front. No, I'm >> awesome. Yeah. >> All right. Thank you everyone for indulging us there. I'm sure it was entertaining to watch uh from home, but you know, Mr. Morgan deserves that. He's
uh put in his time. I think we can spare 15 minutes. >> Absolutely. >> All right. So, next up, we have our student representatives from North. We've got uh Emerson Snee. Uh, good evening everybody. Our DECA program sent 14 students to the International Career Development Conference last week. AP
exams kicked off today and will be going until next Friday. Midterms for seniors is next Friday. And senior events kick off this Wednesday with senior fest. And following that, their senior tech showcase is Wednesday night. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Emerson. And we have Shay Ros from from the south. >> Good evening everyone. We'd like to say congratulations to our girls discus relay team of Lilia Davies, Kenzie Kelly, and Sha Buchanan who won the division 3 state relay championship on Sunday. And they were one of the 13
teams that placed at the meet. So that was a very good day for a Puma South track team. Last week we had our biomedical celebration as well as our end of year art gala. Both events were an outstanding representation of our tremendous students. Tomorrow night, seniors Stella Jity and Zach Hog will be
recognized as the Patriot League scholar athletes of PSHs. The students with their parents will be honored at a league dinner in Hangingham. Congratulations. Along with that, Zach Hog was also unanimously approved as a recipient of the 9th annual outstanding citizenship award by the town diversity
committee. Thursday night is our annual senior CCTE showcase at 6:30 p.m. Don't hesitate to stop by. Congratulations to senior Sarah Karine and her family. Sarah signed her national letter of intent today to
Assumption University to continue her track career. This Friday is the junior prom and next weekend is our annual musical of Foot Loose. Our sports teams are off to a great start and finally seeing some warm temperatures. Many have partnered with
Morgan's message, which is a program that prioritizes the mental health of our athletes. We will have the second annual women in sports day on May 20th at the fields with all of our female athletes that are participating. Incredible job by our Skills USA award winners who competed in states over the
weekend. Our winners included Katron Ellis who was reelected as a state officer for Skills USA. Our gold medalists Gabe do Santos Terra, Logan Ryan, Kenji Gallow, and Wahlberg. Silver medalists were Danica Rusie, Cali
Golden, and Lola Summergelis. And our bronze medalists were Ruby Garrett, Brook Barton, Colton Straussel, and Brilland Seavoy. And Mr. Morgan, thank you for everything you've done for us. Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, guys. >> Thank you, Shay. All right. Any questions for either of our reps?
>> All right. Thank you, Shay and Emerston. All right. Tonight, we've got two elementary school improvement uh plans to review. First up, we've got Miss Stephanie Van Winkle from uh Cole Spring. Good evening everybody. Um, congratulations Mr. Morgan and thank you
for everything that you've done for our school system. Um, he's going to distract me. >> Want to make sure your slides are up. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Um, we were a little slow at getting our school council members together. We are now up and running
really well and have a great group of women. Um we have Amy Ole who is a parent. Heidi Zites um parent. Michelle Lombard is our EL teacher. Lauren Melanda is our third grade teacher. Katherine Jackson is the school
committee vice chair. Um and then myself. So our core goals, our core values are the same. Um we are re running the school in a very therapeutic based environment that strives to create a welcoming, safe and supportive
environment where all students feel valued, respected and safe enough to embrace challenges and see mistakes as opportunities for learning. Um all of our teachers have been um trauma sens trauma sensitive um trained
and these were our goals. Um this is the last year for this school improvement plan. So we will be renewing those again trying to look look at them but obviously we want to improve the outcomes of all learners through an inclusive and equitable education. This year we really f focused a lot on the
inclusive part of it. Um goal two is to integrate social emotional learning into the school culture promote a positive relationship and a sense of belonging um while promoting diversity and inclusion. And then goal three, establish strong partnerships with parents, families, and
collaborate with collaborate with community organizations to support our students and families. And goal four was to create a welcoming and inclusive environment, fostering diverse perspectives and ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities for all students.
um our report card um from DESIE was obviously 100% of our teachers are licensed and 68.9% are experienced teachers. 100% of our students have access to and participate in courses in the arts. This was the first year that we actually had our first annual um arts
night which was a huge success. 100% of our students have access to and participate in digital literacy and commun computer science courses. Um we really tried to focus on our attendance this year trying to make sure that everybody was present. Um and we did
improve uh again from our 2024 where we were 94.6% and we are now at 95.2% and hoping to continue to grow. Um on an average our student misses about 8.4 four days um out of the school year and
we have made moderate progress towards our targets. Our demographics are still um very similar. Where it has changed a little bit is our EL population has come down a little bit with the political um
environment right now. We did lose some of our EL students, but we still have 115 students that are considered economically disadvantaged. Um our English language population is 56 students and our special edge is 43 students.
Um as far as our ELA MCAST, we um have increased our ex exceeding expectations. So we are now above the district and the state um on exceeding our ELA. Our not meeting drops significantly by 10
points. um are overall there are fewer struggling students but more in the middle for math we are meeting the expectations it has increased um to 39% and we are above the district and the state um and
again there are fewer struggling students but more that are kind of in the middle range our science um MCCAST again we've increased the meeting expectations to be above the state um and then our partially meeting dropped significantly
by 20 points um and we're hoping to improve our science scores. We have a lot of activities that take place at Cold Spring. A lot of our teachers have um agreed to do clubs after school or before school. We have
our garden club, our band and orchestra, our early act club, our art club, game club, intro to sports club, chorus, and our children's business fair. Um all of which are heavily attended. Um and the
students really enjoy it. our special programs. Obviously, we're still a title one because of where we land um in our econom e economically disadvantaged. Um so, we get a lot of support. We have two title one teachers in the building. We continue to have big
brother big sister come and spend lunch and recess in um our building with our their little sister or brother. Um this year we really focused on the PBIS whole school dojo. So everybody in the building um has dojo and every adult can
give a dojo point to our students for doing expected behavior or going above and beyond what is expected. High Point is in the building for counseling. This is our second year with our um Cal volunteers. Um a lot of the ones that we
had from last year came back um and they are working with the same classroom teacher. So they've created a nice bond where they are working um with the teachers. They're able to take a small group in the back while the teacher's working in the front and the kids really
really enjoy having them in the building and our parent volunteers continue to volunteer at lunch and recess. So what's new and exciting this year we partnered with um Beth Israel Jordan um and we did a kids can cook. They got a
nutrition lesson um and they had different um cooking activities dependent on their grades. We did it as K and one, two and three and four and five. Um and they the um nurse from the
hospital came to do lead the lesson. Um I just talked about whole school dojo. We focused a lot on inclusion and co-eing um in the building. So, a lot of my faculty meetings and our building PDS were geared towards keeping our students
in the classroom um and having all of the teaching all of the stuff that they needed to get in the class stay in the class versus trying to move them from one place to another. Um and our teachers all um are co-planning and co-eing
and they were coached by all of our math coaches, our ELA ELA coach and our sped department. Um our school resource officer Dan um has been in our classrooms a lot. He will go in to read to the class. He'll do centers um with
the class or he'll do fun with friends. So now he's really a significant member of our Cold Spring family. Um, as I stated on April 1st, we had our first celebration of the arts night. Um, it was standing room only. The artwork and
the music was incredible. Um we did our first spaghetti dinner um last week and um we actually had Stop and Shop and has adopted Cold Spring. And so at the beginning of the year they collected um
school supplies for our students and this year they collected our spaghetti pasta and pasta sauce for the presentation. um our cafeteria team um stayed and helped cook it and um
our adjustment counselor presented a presentation on the benefits and the harm of screen time which was to introduce the screen-free week that we are in right now. Um that was awesome.
Um, last year we raised 17 $1,718 for um, childhood cancer and we were named the gold school. Um, our nurse, nurse Riannan, visited classrooms to talk about healthy habits, washing our hands, um, making sure that when you
sneeze, you're sneezing in your elbows, and she did really cool um, experiments with them that they thought were were really, really interesting, and they had a lot of fun with it. Um, and then when it was um dress up as your favorite literacy character, we um turned the
main office into Charlotte's Web uh with webs and spiders and pigs and it was lots of fun >> and pigs. >> Um these are the Cold Spring meetings. So you can see where all of our code teaching modeling and inclusion um PDS
were taking place. Um we really really did focus a lot on that this year and um we were really excited because we saw that it was working. Our um English as a second language students um their access scores really really increased. Every
student that took the access test improved but one um and when they improved um that 12 of those students met or exceeded their progress targets. Um, and of those who did not meet their targets yet, most were very close,
missing by 0.5 or less. Um, and additionally, three students um, met the exit criteria. So, I think that's a really good representation that um, the inclusion model is working. Um, that's probably the greatest that we had done.
All right. So for our my goal one and two, our goal one and two with the dojo system, we really launched this um framework of everybody in the building using and having the same expectations. So the kids knew wherever they were, what we
were all looking for. They could earn points from any of these adults. And then the points were redeemable in our brand new school store that we have in there. And each um item it has a point value. It promoted consistency, positive reinforcement, and relationship
building. Um, and the data monitor to track behavior trends and impact on student outcomes. So, the kids love the dojo. It dings, so they know when they've got one. Um, and it's a great way for us to communicate with families. A lot of our families have adopted it in
the home, so they're hearing the same language at home that they're hearing at school. Goal two was to integrate the seal into the school culture to pro promote positive relationships. Um so we are trying to foster positive inclusive
school culture that integrates um social emotional learning into all aspects of school life promoting um relationships and a strong sense of belonging for all students. Our teachers in the building have a great do a great job at creating amazing relationships at trusting
relationships with our students. And for a lot of students, this is where they feel the safest is in our building. Thanks to our staff and um teachers, we do a whole school monthly meeting um that reinforces the core values of Cold
Spring. Um and it has our social emotional mini lesson, our reading incentive awards, our positive peers awards, our attendance um certificates and staff of the month. Um Miss uh Dr. Campbell actually got to join us for one
of our um whole school monthly meetings which was a lot of fun. Um this year's theme was color our world with emotion. Um, so each month we studied a specific emotion and we discussed what that emotion looked like, how we managed the
emotion and then we w wore a color to represent it. So the um, gym became whatever color that emotion was. Um, implementation of the cold spring morning mantra which we implemented last year. The kids now know it by heart. It's announced every day. Um, and then
weekly case management meetings with the school psychologist, school adjustment counselor, registered behavior technician, the nurse, and myself to identify any students needs and match them with supports and services with the goal of keeping our students in the general education classroom whenever
possible. Our morning mantra is meant to remind each student that they belong, they are special, and most importantly that they are loved. um promoting positive relationships and a sense of belonging. Um our RBT dressed
up as the Grinch um and went from class to class and then um our teachers dressed in these crazy costumes to do a turkey trot um and in the inflatable costumes. It was really difficult, but
it was very funny to watch. in each te each class had a um teacher to vote for or cheer on providing students with practical tools and strategies to keep themselves safe. Nurse Riannan's health lessons were
reinforced hygiene practices and health awareness. Um and it taught teachers uh students to be empathetic and respectful when peers experienced health related challenges. And it was also um promoted a culture of care, dignity, and shared
responsibility. establish strong partnerships with parents and families and collaborate with community partners to support students. Um, every week I send out a weekly newsletter on um, Mondays that
will tell the um, families what's happening in the building. um that week. We are open and regular communication channels will through our social media, the newsletter, community meetings such as our Portuguese translated open house, safety and well-being of our immigrant
students meeting, etc. to keep families and comm community members informed. We identify and engage stakeholders such as Cal, um the American Legion, Big Brother, Big Sister, and the YMCA mentoring and volunteering opportunities
in the B um in the building. That beautiful little lady in the bottom right hand corner is um 100 years, 99 years old, almost 100, and she comes in and reads to our kindergarten teach students um once a week, and she loves
it. Um, one day she came in actually during a fire drill, which was interesting. Um, but it it's so fun for the kids to have them in the building. Um, mechanisms in place to ensure that information is presented in clear, concise, and accessible format. So, we
always consider the language barriers and make sure that anything that goes out of our building is translated. um and then refine our practices in showing tangible specific examples of how learning successes and challenges are me manifesting for individual students.
We talked a little bit about um our school resource officer. As you can see, he's there doing centers. He's reading a book with our students. um for our demographic, they really needed to see the um SRO in the building in the
classroom with them reading books and playing games with them because for some of our EL students um somebody in a uniform can represent fear for them. And so we wanted to make sure that officer Dan made these connections and he's done a great job and he's been more than
willing to do it. He actually loves it. and when they're not when he's not in the building, the students are looking for him. >> Um, which has been really great. Um, it this also supports our goals two and three by strengthening school climate
and community partnership. Oh, this one got all messed up here. So, hopefully I can read it right. Um, community engagement. We have the stop and shop that has adopted us. Um, and which has been really great. They've done so much for us and want to continue
to do more. Um, and this impact has been incredible on our families and our students. So, the spaghetti and pasta sauce that we did not use for the spaghetti um, dinner, it ended up going in our food bags that go home weekly.
So, now families were able to have a nice spaghetti meal. Goal four, create a welcoming and inclusive environment. Um fostering diverse perspectives and ensuring equitable access and resources to opportunities. Um our teachers are
really really good at doing this in their classrooms. They have libraries that um where their books are all diverse. Our students are able to see themselves in the books. Um, we continue to broaden the use of culturally responsive sources in an effort to
provide diverse perspectives. Um, we continue to use the PBIS to promote safe and supportive inclusive learning environments. Um, and we review the CST process and RTI to guard against overidentification in special education. We want to make
sure we support the students with what they need um, and making sure that everybody gets what they need. Goal four. Um yeah, goal four, um we did the fifth grade wax museum. So the students had a voice in perspective
taking and so they dressed up as their favorite historical figure of interest. It could be an athlete. It could be um somebody in history. It could be um a former president. They chose what they wanted to do and they conducted research
to deepen the understanding. They presented as their character during the grade five wax museum and they um were able to share their perspectives with their peers and families. Families were able to come in and see the wax museum which was really actually very cool. You'd push a button and they would give
you their facts and then they'd go back into this wax character. Pretty cool. Um goals two and four PTA sponsored assemblies promoting belonging and inclusion. Um, once again, our wonderful PTA sponsored the Brazilian
Beats Assembly, um, which we held right before Carnival, um, and it celebrated the cultural diversity and created a welcoming, inclusive environment for all students. Um, this was really important for especially our Brazilian um, students. They were able to see their
culture celebrated um, in in front of their peers and they were able to share their culture with us as well. And those are our crazy teachers in the background dancing. >> Um, one district, one Arthur. We, thanks
to Mrs. Dolan, our CTL, and her husband, um, the Arthur Lauren Tari's, uh, historical fiction novel, I survived the sinking of the Titanic. Um, and C courageous creatures has come to life.
um that we had the sinking Titanic in the middle of our hallway um during the whole time and the kids were in awe. I was in awe. Um it was incredible to see thanks to Mrs. Dolan. Um we also um
decorated a wall in honor of Grace Lynn's book Bringing in the New Year and Ling and Ting's Lunar New Year. Um which highlight cultural traditions such as eating dumplings, cleaning, wearing red, and dragging dances. Um
going for gold. Um it has it was always a big deal for us to try to raise as much money as we could for childhood cancer. A lot of us at Cold Spring have a personal connection to this, but this year um our can um sponsors or our the
students that we were really out going out there for was um in the top right h can c uh right hand corner was Finn. Finn is um a um fourth grade student who was diagnosed with cancer at Christmas
time and he is doing well, thank goodness. and he is a fighter. Um, but he was one of the reasons that we were raising money. And the other reason was um, for Naddie, who is our one of our fourth grade teachers, Mrs. Bushnell's
son, who was diagnosed with cancer right around Christmas time as well. Um, obviously in doing so, we celebrate care, compassion, and teamwork, which is what makes Cold Spring um, special. And these are some pictures from our
first annual arts night. The little ones um were singing. Um so our music teacher u Mrs. Carrera um who is very very pregnant um was sitting on the floor teaching and directing these students as
they sang. Um as you can see it was um standing room only. And this is our first year that we have Mrs. Katakus as our art teacher and she turned um the hallways into a museum of art. It was
amazing to see what our students could do at such a young age. Um and our families really enjoyed the night. We haven't had a night like that. So it was really special. And that's what I have for you. >> All right. Thank you so much, Miss Bam.
We have questions. >> Miss Jackson. Oh. Um, I love everything that you talked about in particular because I'm now newly in uh the mental health industry. your color by emotion >> thing I think is really powerful because
so many kids don't understand that piece and um like teaching them where their emotions come from and like that piece of it and how to handle that and how to build resilience and those coping tools is something that's a really strong foundation to build in middle school.
So, um I really appreciated that. And then I just had one question, the science scores. Um, do you feel like the same like you have like a parallel? I know school came and talked about how, um, with the EL
population like math and English kind of have this trajectory that if it's broken, it's, you know, like you can still make it up sort of, but science doesn't have that same thing. And if you miss pieces, it makes it much harder. Do you >> I I think I would agree with that. that I think it does to make it much harder
for them. Um, and I think we spend a lot of time on ELA and math, which is great. Um, and we're trying to figure out how to combine the science and get more time with the science. Um, because I think
the kids love it, but it is definitely um a harder concept. Yeah. >> For our EL students, especially. >> All right. Thank you. Great job overall. I love the question. Thank you. >> Um I think
>> the fact that the science is a three to five assessment. Yeah, >> you'll see the ELA you'll see the ELA and math >> uh progress more immediately where it may take some more time with the science. But I think to um to
Stephanie's point about the inclusion, we've seen a significant >> significant change and um which makes sense when you think about that and when we're providing the resources in the context of the general education classroom and all the supports there and
providing the supports when the kids need it, >> they're more apt to success rather than pulling them out. >> Yeah. No, that's very important because they're not missing Yeah. Good question. That was actually the only critical question I I had because
it's 99% positive. I did I did wonder about that with that the increase in the not not meeting. Um question. How's how's attendance? I didn't see the numbers in there. I know that's been a focus. >> Our attendance is about 90 I think it was 95.6%.
>> And that's improved in attendance. >> Yeah. Um, we've spent a lot of time meeting and making sure that we're sending out notices to families to let them know that if they need support and getting their students into school that we can help them. Um, the majority of
them it's, you know, we got sick. There was a lot of like sicknesses and but for the most part, um, nobody's, we're not missing a lot of school. There's on average I think it's 8.4 days. >> Oh, great. Great. And how's your, uh, how's the immigrant population doing? I know it's obviously it's a one of the
one of the bigger concentrations for you. >> They they they're there all the time. I think they now are feeling much safer um because Dr. Campbell had sent out the letter last year about our schools being safe and um and I I had an assembly for
them um right at the beginning of the school reminding them them of that again. Um so our their population is probably the better in the attendance. Oh, great. That's cool. All right. Any questions over here? >> All right. Great presentation. Appreciate it, Miss Pam.
>> Thank you. Thank you so much. >> All right. And then from Nathaniel Martin, we've got Miss Chrissy Chase and Company. >> Hello. We were Stephanie and I were talking just before um we started about last year when we presented it was um Dr.
Sorenson's last meeting. So we don't know if it's us or not, but >> that's right. >> Um I did want to just start by thanking Mr. Morgan for your your time dedication. Um and just a personal connection when um Mrs. Badger said
about the full day K. Um so my daughter was the first class of full day K. So, um, as a community member, that was awesome. And then as a as an employee, it was great, too. Um, and then mentioned biomed and my daughter's in that program as a freshman. So, two things as a community member to say like
my family has benefited. So, thank you, um, personally for that, but then just, you know, all you've done for the schools for so many years. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Um, so here we are, year two. Um, I'm here with Taylor Soul, our assistant
principal. um just to kind of do an update on where we are at if I remember. Yep, there we go. Um where we are at for our school improvement plan. So last year was our first year of this plan. Um so no, yes, last year we wrote the plan,
right? So now we're this is um going into year two. So similarly uh what Stephanie said, we kind of had a slow start um to our our school council and then we kind of hit some weather challenges and so lots of rescheduling.
So the winter months were a little bit tricky. Um I will say this is a group of parents that with a single call, a single email, a single thought of, hey, what do you think? Any one of them will jump in ready to help and I know moving forward we're going to be able to do great things with them. But it was a
little bit of a slow go this year and had some had some hiccups with uh weather reschedules. Uh so Nathaniel Morton demographics we are down uh quite a bit in our student
enrollment. I remember years where we were up in the 600s. Now we're really we've held steady really in the 500s for quite a while and dipped down underneath 500. So we're at 582 students in K to5 92 staff who are having that ratio of 5
to1 studenttoteer ratio currently have 89 students so just about 18 and a half% students identified as special ed um needing special education services we have about 44 students or 9% of our
population that are their home language is not English we have about 174 students 36% % who are economically disadvantaged. And then we do have some special programs. Currently, we do have
title one with two superstars uh who support across our school in both reading and math. We still do have Bridge sort of, but we've really re readjusted or uh looked at bridge a
little bit differently to have it far more inclusion than a subsparate program. So students that were had been identified as students who would benefit from the bridge program which was you know needing additional pull out um
academic support. We really said can we switch it? Can we have them be assigned to a regular home room and then still get the pullout support that's needed for their instruction but to be assigned to and really connected to a home room. It has worked in a lot of ways. you know, with
any change, there's going to be some growing pains or whatnot, but I will say overall the students seem to feel much more connected to the school in general. They also I think it's a little bit of like that that peer um peer interaction
where or like that when you when you want to you you you want to try hard to impress your friends near you. Um and we're seeing that a lot more. We've had a far better behavior outcomes from our students in this in this population and
it's been a real positive change. I do think though that it it's it's definitely it shows the benefits to to inclusion practices but still needing that pull out for that quiet instruction time in that small group when they need it. And we're happy to still provide that obviously. Um, moving forward, we
are excited to be bringing a Strive program on the to north side of town. So, we're going to have the North Side Strive at Nathaniel Morton opening up for the upcoming school year. With this, I I think we're we're excited for it for
a whole lot of reasons. one is just I think our staff can always learn from from new staff um and new ways of approaching students or ways of approaching learning. Um so I'm really excited for that. We've been able to tour the building. We walked through
both um Dr. Campbell, Dr. Rogers. We have space. We have um an idea of how we're going to set up the space and we're really going to uh embrace it and and move forward with that. Um, so all good things.
Continuing with our core vision and core values, continuing with our crew message where we, you know, we say the crew pledge every morning with our with our students. And we really look to have competent students, resilient children, engaged learners,
and welcome individuals. So that has not changed, and we're still working hard to create that. what's new and exciting and upcoming. So, this year still really working on, you know, the building renovations and
improvements. So, with a school over 100 years old, um we, you know, just call it like our Thomas's English muffin, right? With like nooks nooks and crannies everywhere. Um, but we love it. We do we have there's been a
ton of money put into the to the building and it's really looking nice. So we had a few new special improvements this year. The enemy of snack shack opened up um and that came out from the beginning of the year when the um the
SNAP program was was going away and families were really struggling. And so we provide the school provides breakfast free of charge and lunch free of charge. But snacks really has always been on the the responsibility of the families. If the families aren't bringing the snacks in, then it kind of falls on the
responsibility of the teachers, right? So teachers were doing their weekly groceries and getting another box of granola bars or another, you know, box of animal crackers or something for their class and it was getting more and more and the burden of the families to feel badly like they're not sending
their kids in with snacks. So we started the snack shack. We had an amazing turnout of support from the community. I would like to just publicly thank the Oasis um apartment complex. So I had sent out letters to some of the apartment complexes that support our you know that where several of our students
live and Oasis has always been they bring in um uh school supplies in the beginning of the year. They're always saying if you need anything reach out. So we thought about it. We're like we reached out. Uh, and next thing you know, their manager and assistant manager came with a car full, like a
BJ's run, car full of snacks, and they really filled our snack shack for the right right from the get-go. Our PTA bought the shelving, and um, and we had that going. And then later on in the year, we had a contact from um, the representative of the class of 1957, and
they wanted to donate to our school, and they donated $1,000. So, that's been keeping the snack shack running. So it's been in that in that way that it's really just you know PTA has donated one family donated from their neighborhood um Super Bowl squares they decided to put money towards this enemy a snack
shack. So it's been a great program that I just think like homegrown we ran it and it's been a really cute a cute um idea. So, um, cooling stations. Our building is really steamy in the in the summer
months. Um, really humid, um, and warm. So, our cafeteria did get the, uh, mini splits. And now it is a nice steady 72 degrees, >> uh, which is lovely or cooler >> or cooler sometimes depending on the day.
>> Um, and it really it makes a difference. And so all of our students obviously circulate through there and then it's an open space for kiddos um or teachers to take their classes from like the 9:00 time to the 10:45 when we start reset or when we start lunches and then from the 2:00 time to 3:15 time that they can
circulate through if they really need to cool off. Um and the maintenance also got us um some cooling stations for teachers. So, we have like the big industrial size um air conditioners for some rooms like the teachers room and a cooling station up on the third floor
for teachers. So, that's been a welcome change. We've added some security cameras. So, all of our outdoor exits. Um all of our out outdoor all our doors to the outside are now under surveillance cameras. We do have v video
of that. And we also do have now uh some security cameras. one on our third floor that's like a fisheye. So, you can have a pretty good view of like the main hallway up on the third floor. So, we much more uh visibility in with security cameras around around the campus. Our
second floor hallway and bulletin boards are a new improvement. So, the main hall and going down in between our library and our um gym area, we have the new ceilings, like all the plaster work, um
the walls all plastered and and painted. It's looking really, really nice. My favorite part though are the bulletin boards that Jake, our um district carpenter, he took the original wood floor of our original gym and he spruced
those wooden pieces um to look beautiful and he made bulletin boards along that hallway. So it really really looks great and it's kind of keeping in with the history of the of the building. Um, so that's the inside and the I think biggest most exciting project that we
have is our new playground for not just our school but for the community in general. It's amazing. It would have taken us I don't even know how many years to raise the funds for this for this playground. Included in it is the matting like the the soft kind of
cushiony matting. Um, and it's, you know, accessible for all students. It's colorful. It's safe. It's fun. It's incredible. Um, and that really is a thank you to PGDC and Park Plymouth for um, sponsoring that and the partnership
that we've, you know, agreed to work with them. More to come is definitely the parking lot next phase and really really incredible. It's it's a definite highlight of the year and years to come. Um, like I said, continuing ceilings and
walls, moving past the second floor, getting into the classrooms on the second floor. Eventually, we'll get to the first floor, but looking at the lightings and the stairwells, that project is going to be happening. Um, hopefully in the summertime, our beautiful, majestic flag pole did
not make it through one of the biggest winter storms that we had. So, we have a flag pole project coming up and but we're thinking of redoing it some of the with the pole of the uh flag pole falling. We had some cracks in the in the cement walkway. So, we're really
thinking about re repurposing it and maybe doing like a donate your for bricks patio and and bring up something like that to uh to >> I don't know work on work on that a little bit. So, beautify it um and help. But that's that's a a bigger project I
think than initially thought. And that that was something that was something else seeing that come down. It was like I was like taken aback like no when Mr. Rosie sent the picture I was like no that's not that can't happen. Um but it it'll it'll be replaced. It will be good. Um
so moving into some goal areas. Our first um goal area was the academic achievement. So we're con continuing to follow this model where we're analyzing the student data. We're implementing timely targeted instructional interventions, holding the students
accountable, having the teachers be really responsive um to the student learning to increase student proficiency across our content areas and state assessments. So I will say this is something we really put into practice
last year. We held data meetings, which we had done before, but really with a more targeted plan, uh, with some more targeted progress monitoring and really trying to boost up our our academic achievement and and focusing. What we
focused on mostly in the meetings as we were going through last year was the growth and talking about how a growth percentile between 40 and 60% is really the goal. And so when the accountability data came from the state,
it was it was pretty pretty impressive to see. So on the next two slides, I'm just showing some of the data that came from the state with the with our growth in math and ELA. So in math you can see on this slide that we're either
exceeding typical growth or we have high excuse me typical growth in all the subgroups. So you know subgroups where students might sometimes be you know it's a challenge to to really show that
that growth everybody is well within that 40 to 60% growth. Um, and that's that's I think just something to to really celebrate and I just wanted to make sure we highlighted that tonight. In addition,
we have our ELA growth. So, from the same uh from the Department of Ed um accountability, this came out. So, again, exceeding the typical growth for all students on this slide. But I just, you know, English language learners to
have a high typical growth in ELA, I think, is is really impressive. There is um the English language learner category is not in math u because they get um >> accommodations. They get accommodations. So then it's not necessarily a category,
but um we have that category for ELA just was something for sure to to celebrate that we still hit the typical growth within our students with disabilities. That was low, but I think still 48 and a half um percent growth is is still really really pretty good. So
definitely wanted to highlight that and celebrate that. And I know it's I get to speak to it um but I I can't take the credit for it. That's that's the work of our teachers and and our and our students and and families. It's a it's a whole big effort to have this kind of
success. So, just wanted to really reach out and say congratulations to to our students for for that growth. Our MCCAST data reflects kind of that growth. We did pretty well um across the board. ELA
um above both state and district in um three and five and above state in grade four. Pretty close to district in that category in that on that grade level. And then math again um three and five
are above uh district and state. And our fourth grade was a number that we kind of had a little concern about. Um, and that was something like uh, you know, just to share like earlier in the school year, starting off the year kind of talked
with the staff about, you know, and there's something to be said. We're going to have those hard conversations if we need to and, you know, to talk to the fourth grade teachers like, hey, what this is not okay, like this doesn't match up, you know, kind of a thing. So, we had a conversation with the fourth grade teachers. We pulled in our math
specialist. We sat down. like something, you know, whether it's the the planning of the math um workshop, if it's the rigor of your math menus, whatever the case may be, the progress monitoring, the interventions, the what what what what failed, something didn't doesn't
look right um for this. And so had some had some good conversations and our entire fourth grade team signed up to work with our uh math coach um Jen Marxiani. and just to show kind of where we're where we're at on that. So, we did twofold. So, we kind of talked to the
fourth grade teachers and then we shared it like with the fifth grade teachers to be like, "Hey, these are this is the cohort of kiddos that we need to see some some growth um because the performance wasn't really where we're hoping." So, just to look at current data based on that. This is a growth um
chart from Star. So, from our STAR math, the circles represent each classroom. So you can see in our four fifth grade classrooms that we're in the high growth um high performance looking at it the lower one that's more central that's our
inclusion classroom at fifth grade but still in the typical growth on the edge um you know working towards more the high growth. So definitely something we're tracking and looking for and hoping uh that our our interventions are working and we are being responsive to to the kiddos in front of us. And then
looking at our fourth grade um star data for math. So these are different cohort of kiddos but still saying like the accountability for the for the teaching. And so we're looking at that and seeing that our students that were at or above in the fall was 56 and we've bumped that
to 62. Um and then like that urgent intervention was three it's down to two. Intervention needed nine is down to six. So we are seeing the growth that we want to see moving in the right direction. So, I'm pretty excited to share that and think that we're going to continue working in that and you know the
academic goals pretty pretty consistently. I'll turn it over to Taylor to talk about social emotional. >> All right. Um so our social emotional learning goal um is something that last year Chrissy and I you know being a new
team together really wanted to focus on um especially in the current climate in the world we live in and um Nathaniel Morton is really kind of a a melting pot of Plymouth. So um just looking at where our kids come from, what they need and where we can boost them up. So, we put
into practice last year a weekly um meeting and that includes our school nurse, our counselor, our school psych, um myself and Chrissy, and then anyone else that kind of, you know, needed to be there >> and new this year is our RBT. >> And our RBT, you're right.
>> Welcomed welcomed new staff member. Um, and so weekly we sit together and we have just an ongoing note sheet of like kids of concern, kids we want to check back in on, kids that, you know, are kind of on our radar, maybe need a
little boost here or there or we've got to dive a little deeper in the CST process. Um, maybe they're coming up for testing or things of that nature. Um, their family's going through a tough time. That was huge for me as a new person to our our school because I've
really gotten to know our kiddos on a deeper level just from having those conversations. Um, and I think that it's like sharing that load, getting to know each other, getting to know our kids, and where we can show up for them. Um, we've definitely seen um, behaviors
decrease. Last year, we talked a little bit at this meeting about um we had put together a discipline committee and a way to um look at getting our kids to follow common rules in common areas of our school. That was something we looked at in community meeting with the kids
and just filling out having teachers fill out um more formal write up forms so that way we could track behaviors, we can talk to parents, um we can look back and see like has has the child's behavior improved or has it not? and
what can we look at? Um, same with the bus disciplinary reports. We have done a really good job of having community meetings around um, bus rules, talking to parents about our bus expectations. Um, even starting as soon
as like last week we had our kindergarten information night and we're going over the bus rules with the parents already. Um, but it's just so important because it is riding the bus is a skill. Um, and we we want to make sure that kids are safe. Um, decreasing
the number of chronically absent students. That was a big one for us. And just targeting our kids that do have frequent absences, making sure school is accessible for them. Increasing students feelings of belonging. Um, this is one I can say coming into Nathaniel Morton.
Um, there is a very strong sense of belonging. I don't know that we need to do much work on that, but always just double-checking that. um we are showing up for our kids and making sure that they feel like they belong there. It our school has a very strong sense of community and I think that's that's
something to be proud of. Um this is something that we put into place last year too, just reaching our grade levels and having conversations across grade levels. And so this was kind of myself, Chrissy, our school
counselor, our school psych, just talking about areas that we noticed kids needed um to be having conversations in a broader way. So um you can see up here we put community meetings. We go over expectations, bus expectations,
and then I decided to kind of split it. And I'll just give an example to speak to it. But um through our learning walks this year and last year for me um I noticed, you know, we refer to the engagement continuum quite a bit as we do our learning walks. Where are kids on
the continuum? Are they engaged? Are they driving their engagement? Are they disengaged? Like where where are they at? Um, and we had a really great conversation about bringing this to the kids so that they can also start to identify that. It's great if teachers can see it, but it's also great if kids
can reflect on that. Um, so from grades K to three, I did a whole meeting with them um, each grade level on their own about productive struggle and what it feels like to struggle and it's okay to struggle. Um, and just kind of being that struggle feeling that actually
means you're learning. You're in that learning zone. and how we push through that and just relating it to the younger kids with, you know, silly stories of like when I learned to water ski and and letting them share, you know, their productive struggle stories. So, that
was a great way for us to start that conversation at the younger grade levels. Um, but then with fourth and fifth grade, we wanted to kind of go in a in a little bit more structured direction with it. Um, so we actually did show them the engagement continuum. talked about where they're at and then
we played a game of scenarios and it's like gave kids um a scenario of where a student was what a student was doing in their classroom and the kids had to figure out where they were on the continuum. Um all of those resources were shared with teachers so that they could also bring them back to the
classroom. So that's just a small one example of what we've been doing in community meetings. Um but it's been really beneficial for common language across the school and I think it's been beneficial too um for kids to feel again like they're part of that community.
>> I think community meetings also has given us an opportunity. So a lot of times during the community meeting we'll give teachers a time to work on like have data meetings. Um, so they can run them kind of simultaneously, but then sometimes we'll ask the the teachers to come to community meeting if it's something that's directly involved in
the in the classroom or or set expectations or um things like that. So, we kind of mix it up, but it's it's it's a I I think one of the best things that we've added in >> put into place. Yeah, for sure. >> And I try to be um very mindful of making sure that whatever I teach in
community meeting to the kids that there is carryover to the teachers. So if they're not in the meeting, they're getting a resource that connects to the meeting to have their own morning meeting that backs it up, talks about it, and it gives the kids a chance to tell their teachers what they learned. So kind of that
piece there. We're starting to put it into our monthly newsletters to families, but we don't always remember to put it in. >> We'll get there. >> The one that went out yesterday, I forgot to put it in. >> But we're that's that's the next step. And that was a suggestion from our school council was to share that out in
with families. So, um our next goal um goal area was the family and community engagement. And similar to kind of what Taylor talked about, we do have a big um a big community and family engagement. We are our community is is engaged with us. We do a lot with our community, but there's always more that we can do. So,
increasing the communication between school staff and families. I'm continued um with monthly newsletters, but really trying to be more targeted and purposeful with what's being shared in the newsletters, adding a component into the newsletter of like community air community things, different signups,
different activities, sometimes linking to things that are at the public library, just different ways for helping the our students not just build within our classroom community, but Plymouth in general. I think Plymouth is a big town, but sometimes you don't know how to, you know, oh, I missed I didn't know that
the football signups were in the spring for the fall. Like, who thinks of that unless you know? So, like putting those kinds of um messaging out to to families just to to help everybody be part of the community. Um so, that's um you know,
something that we've been working on, continuing to work on. We do have lots of clubs and activities with our fifth grade drama. We're going to be um having Shrek Jr. um in our for our drama uh musical this year. I cannot wait. Uh
chess club, kindness club, game club, coding club, garden club, chorus band, orchestra, crew ambassadors, VIPS, the new the volunteer program had been wonderful. We had a woman from uh Plymouth coming, a senior citizen coming
from Plymouth to teach our kids ma jang. Um and it was so cool. and missile and it was just great and she loved it. Unfortunately, health reasons had to take a little bit of a break, but building that kind of connection, I melted when I saw the
slide that Stephanie shared with the um volunteer, the senior volunteer that's 99. That's incredible. But I think there's something about staying young when you work with kids, too. And so building that and and improving that and keeping that program going, I just think is is amazing. And um I didn't put on
here too, but the children's business fair is one of the one of the best nights in in Plymouth for our fifth graders and uh and all of the incredible businesses that they that they come up with. Family events. So these are events that the school puts on for families. So we kind of have our PTA events and they
put on events for our families that we work together with them. But these are school-based events or events that are just like traditions over the years. So, um, we had the Nathaniel Morton literacy night where we had, um, therapy dogs come and students could read with the therapy dogs. We had different reading activities, how to support your reader
at home. Our, um, reading specialists kind of helped with that program, like that support for families, and it's just, it was a really well- attended, really great night. Thanksgiving feast is just an annual tradition that we have during the school day, but we invite families to have be part of our Thanksgiving feast. We started um
something this year that we're pretty excited about, the scholarship swap. So, it was a it was a swap. It was like a um yard sale kind of a kind of an event which was super fun. The kids, the community or really community, but the um the teachers
>> bring in items to donate. Everything's really pretty cheap. And we raised between the sale of the yard sale items and then with the um we sold some pizza that night. And then we also that was donated and we also um had raffles and
we raised uh over $3,000 um that night. So that is going to the crew scholarship. So we're super excited to have scholarship opportunities for students at both north and south and with the description of being like a crew member. So, you know, following the
collaborate and cooperate with others, respecting self, others, and spaces in our school, putting forth engaged effort and welcoming others, but then expanding that to like what does that look like in in the world, like beyond elementary into middle into high, and now you're going off into the into the world. And
so, the criteria will be for a student who attended Nathaniel Morton as a as a elementary student and really embodies Crew. So, we're really excited to have that have that scholarship and we're planning to have different events, whether it's a yard sale or different things moving forward to keep that
scholarship going. It's something that we're really excited to be to be bringing uh to the community. Rainbow Run is something that our PE department runs in the beginning of the year. Just a fun activity. Kids run through get squirted with different rainbow um dust and come out looking like Smurf and
they're they love it. Although one day a kid was described, the kid with the blue ear. I'm like, "What kid with a blue ear? What are you talking about?" It was the day after the rainbow run and there was a kid with a blue ear still. So, the kids do love the rainbow run, the winter lights uh fun run that's run
by our PE department again. And then title one has been having reading activity nights that coincide with our PTA nights to in um encourage more parents to come. So they can come but they can bring their kiddos and the kiddos go off to do a reading craft and activity with our title one teachers and
then our our attendance at title one I mean I'm sorry our attendance at PTA meetings has really in increased and improved so that's been a great help. Our PTA continues to be amazing. Um the big events that they have the big family events fall festival winter wonderland
book fair coming up this month is our talent show. We had an art show earlier in the year that was just outstanding that they support. And then the Ninja Fund Run is our biggest fundraiser of the year. So, we wrapped that up with raising uh just over $14,000. So, all
really great events and fundraisers so that our PTA can support us in some great ways. and they do support us tremendously with different, you know, initiatives, activities, something like field day shirts, yearbooks for fifth
grade, teacher appreciation week. Just really, really great. We we really appreciate our PTA and then our families who support them. >> So, last is just this slideshow if it works this year. And that's um just a
kind of a collection of pictures throughout the school year so we can see some fun that's been had. Heat. Heat. Sorry. Heat. Heat. Always good to end on a cute pictures. >> Yeah.
>> Yeah. Yeah, great presentation and thank you for the the slideshow. Do we have uh questions from the board? Anybody? >> Just a statement. >> Yeah, please. M Jackson. >> All right. I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to explain like the math thing because that would have been my only like thing that and you
took a lot of time to explain everything. Um so I appreciate that. Um, and also I'm very excited that you'll have the Strive program because I know you've been a champion of inclusion and uh, you know, like the night that you
hosted when Lucy was still in elementary school with differently aabled people coming into the school and talking about their experiences. I think like the work that you've done in that area really sets the stage for it being a fantastic program. So, um, definitely in the right
place. So, thank you for your presentation. >> Anybody else? Does anything? >> Sure. >> Yes. Um, I also want to say thank you for the presentation. I hope everyone can hear me. Um, I I wanted to just ask a question. I um just in terms of the
the fourth grade math, I know that um you you um spoke about like some of the solutions um and I do remember years ago um where we had a presentation not necessarily from Fullspring but um from another elementary school where there
was this dip. Is there are are there new um uh I guess um um are there new items that are being um learned in in in fourth grade? Because I remember when I asked the question,
there were new concepts that were um being brought in in fourth grade and so that was some of their issue in terms of their dip. So I'm asking that question. Are there new concepts not not for this year. Um the okay I
don't know the the last time the frameworks were revised but it's it hasn't been we haven't had new new real curriculum changes the you know as far as the frameworks and the standards go but our approach we were bringing in
like the workshop model and the math menu um that approach to math was different a few years ago um and that's something that we were we I wanted to just refine what what the expectation is during the math workshop time frame and
that that having that clarity in like that independent work time making sure that it's it's purposeful, it's rigorous, it's something, you know, it's it's practicing when you need to practice, but it's pushing when you need to push a little bit. It's not just fun in games like do this and then go off
and play, right? So, it's I see >> it's it's really making sure that we have the balance of of the practice but also with with the rigor which ties in really to the engagement that we've been talking about like when kids get to that level of like active engagement and then
driving like that's what we're really you know they can they can work for what they know that they need to work for. I think too the jump from grades three to four um it's not necessarily new content like you were saying but it is a little bit more complex. It goes from you know
they're learning their basic math facts addition subtraction multiplication division and then that problem solving component really pumps up for them at that age. And so we're starting to use larger numbers larger concepts more in depth. We're bringing fractions in. Um,
and so I do think you do sometimes see kids really start to face those challenges in math at that time. So sometimes that is where that fourth grade piece comes in >> and the push of independence too. Yeah. You know the scaffolding and the independence they have to they have to start owning their learning a little bit
more. So it was just supporting that. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anybody else questions? Nothing? No. Great. present uhation. M uh objection read asked what I would have which is your scores are insanely
impressive and so that one that sticks out our thumb. So I'm glad you went in some detail and explaining that one. So but otherwise great year. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> All right. Next up we've got a out of town uh overnight uh field trip request.
We've got uh Miss Groo and Mr. uh cable up for a trip to Florida for the VPA. >> Hello. >> Hello. >> Good evening everyone. How are we doing? >> Great. >> Good. >> Good. Okay. Excellent. Bob Morgan, I'd
like to say thank you for your time, your service. I think our time here has been similar. Uh but uh you've been here the whole time. So I'm not sure what we're going to do without you. But um really in all sincerity, thank you for all the time and hard work and support
you've given all the kids, but certainly uh in in my world in my department in the visual performing arts. So thank you very much and congratulations. Really >> thank you. >> Uh so I'm Mike Cable, coordinator of visual performing arts. Uh this is
>> Coralin Groo. I'm the band and orchestra teacher at Plymouth South High School. >> Um, and we are here to uh present uh and look for your approval for a trip a year from now, just under a year from now,
Plymouth High School trip. So, it' be 9 to 12 uh again for concert band, marching band, uh orchestra um for a uh cultural and performance tour in Walt Disney World in 27. Um
uh if you had a chance to take a look through the um presentation um one reason I think we all know this but I think it's just worth saying we try to do this as soon as possible um we're a year out and we um you know if this gets
approval we're going to have a parent meeting next week um to let parents know give them time and what that does it just stretches the payments out. So as we want to make these things as affordable as we can. We can get more
into that. Um but we also want to give time because if you gave 6 months instead of 10 payments obviously that increases the payments and and pushes people to a point where it would be much more difficult. So time is definitely
consideration. Um I think it's a great it's a great trip. again, August 15th through 19th, four nights, airfare. This um trip actually has more included in it than most trips we've put together uh in in
recent years. Everything but maybe two meals, >> just the airport meals, uh and that's about it. Everything else is uh included. Um so it's it's all in. Um, yes, it's a little uh expensive, but
again, it's uh we have time to spread the payments out. Um, Corey has done a fantastic job putting together different opportunities for fundraisers. Lots of different fundraisers in there, you'll see, with a pretty high goal of 500 plus
per student as far as fundraising goes. Um, and I think you all know this, but I think it's worth saying as well. um during our parent meeting and we we do this for every trip. We just did this uh
for Nashville. Um where we will do what we need to do to um help kids go and we will say at the parent meeting, if your child is interested in going and you need some financial assistance, talk to us, come to us. We will find a way to
make it work. Not just through fundraising, but through scholarship as well. With the Nashville trip, we paid uh fully for one student. Um and another student we paid 50% of the trip. Um and that came internally from Plymouth South
High School in the visual and performing arts department. Um we are in a unique position. Um certainly Corey is in a unique position. We know our kids. Um we we have a group of students that would be eligible for the trip. We know our
kids. We know the community. We know their needs. um we're very open create a culture of of uh you know openness and acceptance and that leads to saying this group I'd want to go here but uh I I can't do it uh my parents can't do it
can you help me um so we are fully on board with that um as well um I think it's a great trip do you want to add anything about the opportunities uh at the um performances or at Walt Disney World >> um we have an opportunity to have both
marching band and the orchestra perform. Um, orchestra would be a stage performance in one of on one of the stages throughout the parks. Um, and then the marching band has the opportunity to parade down Main Street. Um, right in the middle of everybody that's there. Um, so we get a really
awesome opportunity, very high-profile. Um, we just kind of >> strike up the band and go. Um, and it's really it's a really neat opportunity that the kids don't necessarily get other places. Yeah, I it's a pretty exciting trip. Um, and a and a and a great company that
will help put it together. Um, and like I said, we'll support our kids the whole way. >> Anything else that I missed? No. >> Questions? >> Yep. >> Worries, comments? >> That's right. >> I don't have any questions.
I'm ready to go. >> Me too. Like just like go like all the things. >> If you're ready to go, I I don't have a question. I have a comment and this is probably more for everybody else that submits these not for you but it's a thank you. >> Yes. >> You the amount of detail that you guys
actually put in here with regards to what can be expected from fundraising the not just the payment schedule um but the details on the fundraising all that how how the funds will be distributed all that. Everybody else comes through
here everyone says they're going to fund raise but it's much much more vague. this is this should be the template for what should be presented. So I thank you and like I said this is more for everybody else listening because this is what I expect because my my questions are usually because I'm having to like
guess this is exactly what I would want. It's very clear and transparent to the families of hey it's 2500 if you do nothing. >> Mhm. >> We expect to be able to give you at least 500. Okay. It's a realistic expectation. not saying, "Oh, you know, it's everything." Like I said, it's it's
always a lot more, you know, a lot more gray. And if they put in some work, this is this is the clarity that should >> plenty of opportunity there for it. >> Yeah. And it's not just, oh, well, there's we can, you know, here's here's an example. You have like 15 20 different examples of what you're going to do. So, so I mean like this is this
is great. So, I appreciate that. I I should have led with that because it honestly it's always easy to really make a decision in this space because it's very clear as to the why. >> Yeah. >> And how >> I appreciate that. But also thanks a lot
for now having all these other departments and teachers getting mad at us. Mr. >> We'll make sure they know where it is. >> What's that? I'm sorry Chris. >> We'll make sure we'll make sure that we they know where it is. >> Yeah. >> It makes the discussion a lot easier. No, we we've done it a long time.
>> Yeah, we've done it a long time. And and and again, we we do have the advantage that we know the community that we're working with and we know our kids um from a much earlier age and and it's it's great. We love doing it. It's a
great thing that we're able to do. So, >> so for the record, >> I will make the motion that the proposed PNHS and PSHs out of town field trip to Orlando, Florida for the Walt Disney World music performance be accepted and
approved as presented. >> All right. Do we have a second? >> I'll second. >> All right. Mr. Chaw seconds. We can vote. Are we >> Are we logged into electronic schoolboard? Miss >> Haywood, are you able to uh vote online? See,
>> I should be able to I'm just going >> This is the Jeopardy theme, right? >> It is. We keep them. >> Can you work on a song? I >> know. I keep saying it every time. >> Would you work on a song for us? >> Either we need a Jeopardy theme or I've asked Dr. Campbell to do his best Steve Tripflet say nobody. admit the tall,
>> you know, because he always keeps it. >> Now we're voting on >> We are now voting on >> 5.1. >> We are live from Lincoln Street at >> Exc Thank you all very much. And again, congratulations, Bob. Thank you. >> Good work.
>> Bronze, just let me know. >> I I already called it. >> I already called it. >> I know more about Disney than she does. >> That is true. >> All right. Next up we have the superintendent update. >> Thank you very much. We met last week be brief but we have a couple things to
share. Uh first today this afternoon we had our MSBA uh owners project manner owners project manager review panel meeting with the MSBA that school building authority. So um as just for the public sake and OPM owners
project manager is something that is required for every for every project. It's it's a great um thing that was put in place when MSBA was revamped. Um very beneficial to communities. So really um so part of the selection process there was uh members of the school building
committee that served on the OPM selection committee and I thank you all for for your work. And then um the u excuse me I can't even see my I need my glasses and I have an 18 font on my screen for my notes. Um so we we we um
the OPM uh was moved forward. CHA consulting was chosen and should be approved by MSBA very soon. We need to wait for the official um letter but we look forward to that to start the process for feasibility and schematic design uh which will take quite some
time but we're eager to start there. So just want to thank Dr. to Blazeell and the other committee members for um the work that's been put into that that process and we're just really excited uh moving forward. Um as I think one or two
of our students mentioned this evening, we have our senior showcases uh Wednesday and Thursday this week. It's a great opportunity if you want to see our seniors in our career uh technical education. Showcase that the work that they've been doing and the learning that's taken place uh in their four
years. Uh north will be Wednesday at 6 and south is Thursday and they start at 5:30. Um you can stop by for a brief moment or for the entire time. It's a great opportunity to engage with the kids and and see the work that they're
um they've been involved in and we're so proud of. Um, also just a reminder if you haven't gotten tickets and you and you can make it, the Plymouth Ed Foundation fundraiser gala is Saturday the 16th. It's actually at the um Plymouth Hanger at Plymouth Airport. Um,
and we'll be on again Saturday the 16th from at 5:30. Just a couple of things that we I know we have another meeting before this, but just to kind of put it on your radar if um if it wasn't already, our senior awards and scholarship nights um we we
have great support where literally hundreds of thousands of dollars from our uh local community will be provided to students uh our graduates. Uh, South High School is June 3rd at 700 p.m. and North is June 4th at 6:30 p.m. And we'll
do another reminder on that, but just to put that on your radar. Um, also in June, Wear Orange Day will be Friday, June 5th. So, um, as the committee knows, this committee in 2021, uh, was the first school committee to pass a
safe gun storage resolution for the Commonwealth, and there are dozens others now, um, thanks to the the example that this committee has um, has made um, and shared with other school committees. So, that resolution really put a focus on um, gun violence
prevention, but also just smart ownership and safe ownership, you know. So through that resolution um putting out information sharing, empowering uh and really educating the community on uh responsible gun ownership. Uh we had
some um other organizations during the fair, which I'll talk about in a minute. Um who also helped reinforce that education to our local community. So, National Wear Orange week day takes place, excuse me, weekend takes place from June 5th to 7th and we will
recognize it as a school community on Friday, June 5th. So, I want everyone to be wearing their orange to promote gun safety and gun violence awareness. Um, I mentioned the health and safety fair. So, we had our fifth annual health and safety fair this past Saturday. Uh, the
weather held out beautifully. It was cloudy, then it got sunny, and it was cloudy again. But just a great um great event. Um the early childhood fair I think has been going on for over almost 30 years if not more. Um but the health and safety component has been in it in
its fifth year and great attendance. I really thank um Dr. Rogers here and and her assistant uh Miss Butters and and and just so many people for um the work that they put into helping that fair be a success. And then lastly, uh, this is
teacher appreciation week and just want to I sent out a brief message to our our staff this morning, but just a um, you know, a thank you, a public thank you to our our teachers, our PAR professionals, our specialists, for everyone who's frontf facing with kids for the work
they do for for our students. So, um, we'll be celebrating them this week in many different ways. >> That's all. >> Thank you for that. Lots of good updates. Any questions for Dr. Campbell? All right, we will move on. Uh, retirements. Dr. Dr. Bel,
>> we have one retirement to report tonight processing admin assistant at South Middle School is retiring on June 30th. >> All right, Miss Jackson. >> We would like to thank Miss Arpenin for her 26 years of service to the district
and wish her good luck in the next chapter. >> Thank you, Miss Jackson. All right, next up, uh, committee member reports. Do we have any uh any updates any uh members want to give today? One.
All right, keep moving on. Uh building committee has not met since we just had our last school committee meeting on last last Monday. Uh personnel reports back to you, Dr. Basil. >> Tonight we report one appointment, two leave of absences, and two resignations.
As you know, we'll probably be those numbers will be much higher in the next coming weeks. All right. Thank you. All right. Any unfinish any unfinished business or new business members would like to uh bring up or add to a feature agenda?
Nothing. All right. We're cruising along today. All right. That brings us to our consent agenda. Um there are no minutes, just a couple of homeschooling plans and some equipment uh disposal. So pretty pretty light agenda. I have a motion to move that. >> I'll make a motion.
>> All right. >> The consent agenda. It's only appropriate that Mr. Morgan gets to move the very last item in the last meeting. Is that all right, do we have a second, Miss Jackson? All right, we can vote on that. All right, that is unanimous.
All right, before we close, Mr. Morgan, I think it's only right that you get the last last word at this meeting. Any parting messages. >> No, just keep doing what you're doing. You're an asset to the community. So, >> all right. It's been a pleasure uh serving with with with you. We'll all
we'll all miss you and look forward to Well, we'll see who who your replacement is, but it's been a been a absolute pleasure. All right, with that, I will call this meeting to a close at 8:37 p.m. Thank you, everyone.