School Committee Update - August 26, 2024

Posted Date: 9/03/24 (2:06 PM)

Meeting Update | August 26, 2024

For Reference:

Upcoming School Committee Meetings

School Committee Policies

District Strategic Plan

School Committee Contact Information

Meeting Highlights:

Dr. Dwight shared that the district hosted another successful New Hire Orientation on August 22nd for 16 new staff members. They spent the morning learning about the vision, core values, strategic plan, district demographics, and highlights of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Social, Emotional, Learning (SEL). They were then given a van tour of the district before spending the afternoon with their principals, departments, and mentors.
Dr. Dwight shared an update on the closeout of the HES Building Project and said that there were a few items that prevented the project from being closed out sooner which included the additional fencing at HES and the drainage issue from 39 Mass Avenue. Now that those items have been completed, the appropriate parties will sign off on the necessary paperwork before it is submitted to officially close out the project.

Members learned about:

Jim Lee, Chair of the Open Space Committee, presented to the School Committee on the details of the proposed land swap. He discussed what the Open Space Committee was tasked with doing and outlined the two parcels of land, Stone Land and Small Land, being considered for the swap. If the swap was approved, Small Land would become permanently protected for conservation use and Stone Land would be available to be used as playing fields. Mr. Lee outlined the paths forward and said he is not expecting a vote from the School Committee right now. He just wants to gauge interest before moving forward. As there appears to be interest in exploring this option, additional questions from Committee members will be collected to share with Mr. Lee before continuing with the process.

Other noteworthy agenda items:

School Committee members approved four new clubs which include: Pickleball Club, Future Health Professionals Club, World Computer Exchange, and the Asian American Alliance.

Future meeting dates and agenda items:

The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for September 9th at 6 PM and will be a strategic planning meeting for the upcoming school year. Agenda items will include: School Committee norms and evaluation, meeting dates, liaison assignments, subcommittee handoff, and goal setting.