Live reporting: School Committee - Jan 9, 2018

Present: Linden. Douglas, Scofield, Bergen, Schultz, Zub
Absent: Feeley


1. Routine Business
a. Review of Agenda
no changes

b. Citizen’s Comments
no comments

i. In the spirit of open communication, “the School Committee will hear public comment not related to an agenda item at the beginning of each regular School Committee Meeting. The Committee will listen to, but not respond to any comment made. A Committee member may add an agenda item to a future meeting as a result of a citizen comment” – from Policy BEDH

c. FHS Student Representative Comments
online store has opened up for Franklin wear, not just school logos, open to all the community

d. Superintendent’s Report
Welcome back
Keller update - sprinkler head burst, Dec 11
removal of materials before break, no mold growth expected
construction over break repairing walls and carpet
teachers were back in classrooms to set up yesterday
students were using the classrooms today
some cubbies remain out of service in some areas, on order will be several weeks for delivery
insurance company investigating root cause

application out for use to apply for School Start Advisory Committee, due Jan 17
40 applications as of this morning
http://franklinschool.vt-s.net/pages/FranklinCom_StartTimeAdvCom

website to curate information, a subsection of the School Committee website
Superintendent report in District news

commend effort to DPW for clean up of the storm
thanks for their efforts on the weekend so we could open on Monday

school and district report cards distributing this week (State provided)
distributing via email 
link to district report card as part of Superintendent's report


2. Guests / Presentations
a. Social Emotional Learning Presentation (DIP 1) – Peter Light, Deborah Dixson

update on the District Improvement Plan for Social Emotional Learning
video shown copied here



5 items from the CASEL framework, adopted by MA State

4 components to strategy

1 - school climate and culture
responsive classroom - K-5 teachers trained, training also moving to middle school
expansion of advisory program piloted last year
partially different among the schools due to the personalization
World of Difference training for 6-8 as well as 9-12 (2018-19)
discrimination and harassment awareness and training
mandatory training for all on Wednesday

screen capture of presentation (hopefully doc will be available later)

2 - focus on classroom practices

screen capture of presentation on 2nd focus on classroom practices

leadership framework expanding to include K-12 school and district respresentation

CASEL Framework = https://drc.casel.org/

3 - Identification of students at risk

Identification of students at risk

assessment in its infancy, how to identify properly
shouldn't be first adopter of the assessment system
balance assessment and cost

4 - Ensure a Robust System of Support

Ensure a Robust System of Support

drafted tier level support for 16-17, communicating to educators, then to parents

William James partnership, Lesley Univ are resources to be used in this arena
also works with substance use referrals

Y.O.U. Inc. possibly to provide some counseling during the school hours, only in discussions at this point, not ready for prime time yet

Q - how does this work with the technology the students are using, i.e. social media 
digital learning standards are being incorporated, also working on the Wellness Advisory Group with screen time and how that fits with overall students health

C - thanks for this

C - we are doing this in the corporate environment as well

Q - is this info being shared with the parents to let them know of the issues with social media on the students life

A - each school newsletter has items on this, sometimes the information is incomplete
book club using "Distracting"


b. FHS Program of Studies Update/ School Improvement Plan Update – 
Paul Peri, Principal; William Klements, Deputy Principal


involved in multi year journey to incorporate curriculum changes
new courses being added
Ceramics 3, Theater Workshop, Art and Narrative through Podcast

incorporating art and unified studies
English teacher writing on narrative, creating a podcast at the end of the session

highlighting an over 100 pages of courses, briefly presented

courses would be added as necessary as part of the overall puzzle of what to offer and what is wanted

screen grab of presentation of the FHS school improvement plan mid-year update

Working on time and staffing, will use video (shown earlier) at a staff meeting

Deputy Principal Klements and Principal Peri addressing the School Committee

focus on inclusion, looking for 2-way communication, meaningful and tangible

full circle of communication happened today, a question from a parent on hand sanitizer, lead to phones calls and ten 8 sanitizer stations were distributed around the school and celebrated via social media

Thanks to a parent recommendation and a quick response from Franklin facilities we now have these at 8 strategic locations around the building. Doing what we can to combat cold and flu season! pic.twitter.com/MJ55WrHh2u

— FranklinHighSchool (@FranklinHS) January 9, 2018

crossing fingers, but numbers on underage drinking and substance abuse are down

suggestion to have a student driven African-American club; first meeting Friday before the break, attended by some adults and a number of students; happy to have it underway

exciting to see the student voice come forward

C - happy to see the NEASC recommendations woven in, looking at assessments together admin and faculty; all budget implications, keep pushing for that

A - we are happy to hear you repeat that, staffing has not increased, class sizes are going up; some students are coming back from private schools to FHS. The faculty will be happy to hear