I want to wish our families who celebrate Diwali a safe and festive holiday. Diwali, also known as the "Festival of Lights," is recognized as India's biggest holiday and takes place over the course of five days. The festival occurs annually each autumn, can be summed up as a time to remember and embrace good over evil and knowledge over ignorance.
10/28 PD
● Elementary
○ ST Math
○ 30 minutes for Hill survey
● Middle Level Building-based
○ 6-12 Keys to Literacy for new teachers
○ Content specific-curriculum collaboration
● High School
○ SS Gr. 11 Civics Projects Collaboration
○ Keys to Literacy for new teachers
Student Behavior
We have seen an uptick in student behavior across schools in less structured areas such as on the bus, during hallways transitions, bathrooms, and in the cafeteria. I am enlisting the support of all families to help us address the issue.
Here’s the ask:
● Support us by reinforcing appropriate behavior throughout the school day with your child.
● Remind them to choose to be kind and respectful.
Our administrators and staff are working hard too.
Spectators
Once again, our outstanding FHS athletic teams are competing at a high level this season. As a community, we share an expectation that our athletes demonstrate sportsmanship and integrity on the field of play and our fans exhibit the same behavior.
I am enlisting the support of our fan base (students/parents/community members) to ensure that Franklin represents a welcoming environment that is safe for all.
Here’s the ask:
● If your high school student is attending a varsity game please remind them to demonstrate appropriate behavior during sporting events.
Fan cheering and team support are welcomed facets of sporting events and can positively impact our athletes.
● Appropriate cheering, done in good taste, can contribute to a positive game environment.
● Inappropriate cheering, excessive jeering, especially taunts and offensive slurs do not represent our school or community values. It has an adverse effect on the players, the game, other fans and creates a negative impression of our school and town and it will not be tolerated.
We have experienced increased behavioral concerns with middle school students attending games who are unsupervised by an adult.
● Specifically, the area behind the home bleachers during varsity football games is an area that our middle school students frequent.
○ This area behind the bleachers is now off limits for the remainder of the season.
A tremendous amount of planning and coordination goes into organizing a safe event.
● Our athletic director, principal, administrators, ticket collectors, event supervisors, pep band staff, and police officers have a tremendous responsibility.
● The athletic event is the priority and we do not have the capacity to monitor other areas.
○ All non-Franklin High School students, including Franklin middle school and elementary school students, must enter the event and be supervised by an adult throughout all varsity games.
○ Unaccompanied students who do not attend FHS will not be admitted without an adult.
○ Any student who is in attendance without an adult will need to be picked up by their parents/guardians.
My goal in communicating this is to avoid any issues moving forward. We have big games across multiple sports and we appreciate your cooperation.
Vaping PSA
My first priority in communicating this is out of concern for our students and their health and the risks associated with danger. It is why we Partnered with SAFE Coalition and offer the
“Hidden in Plain Site” program at multiple community events, In addition, we have hosted vaping prevention events for families.
● In November, 2021 FPS Substance Abuse Task Force (SATF) hosted a Critical Conversations: Identifying and addressing mental health and substance use within our community which SAFE’s Executive Director, Jennifer Knight, providing information about the risks associated with vaping.
● In January, 2020 the District hosted a vaping education parent night with speaker Corey Mashburn from the MA Partnership for Youth Organization for students and families.
● We revised our responses to substance use to provide treatment supports for students struggling with substance use in conjunction with our disciplinary response (PASS model).
● Two years ago, we were awarded a grant for vape detectors at our secondary schools which are installed.
I am equally concerned for our administrators and how monitoring/addressing vaping among other behaviors taxes our system. As a District, we are often asked to solve this problem. We are dedicating staff at the high school to assist with the monitoring of our bathrooms, but we need help.
Here’s the ask:
● Vapes arrive at our schools because individuals bring them into school. Please continue to speak to your children about vaping.
● Keep an eye out for vaping devices. They can resemble traditional tobacco products like cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or everyday gadgets like flashlights, flash drives, or pens and are easily disguised.
Students in possession or determined to have vaped in school will be subject to disciplinary consequences.
Social Media
In March, 2022 The FPS SATF hosted a Critical Conversations event on this topic called The Impact of Social Media: Identify strategies to establish a healthy relationship with social media that maximizes the benefits and mitigates the negatives. You may recall Georgia Wells from the Wall Street Journal participated in a facilitated discussion with State Representative, Jeff Roy. The information our students receive on a daily basis can
The administration across schools spends a significant amount of time investigating throughout the school week. We’ve seen physical conflict result in these forms of online communication. We need help from families.
Here’s the ask:
● Please talk to your child about their online behavior and remind them to communicate in a positive and respectful manner.
● If they are experiencing difficulty please encourage them to speak with a trusted adult.
Parent Communication
As parents/guardians we recognized that school-related concerns regarding our children can create a level of anxiety, worry, and frustration. Unfortunately when these issues are escalated, our administrators and staff have found themselves at the receiving end of angry and/or aggressive parent emails or phone calls that typically ended in frustration for both and, ultimately, did not resolve the concern about a student.
Here’s the ask:
● If you have concerns please start with person closest to the issue.
● Please communicate in a manner that is respectful and professional.
You can find more information regarding communication on our website.
11/8 PD and Election Day
November 8th is a full day of professional development for teachers. In the morning teachers will complete grade specific professional development. At the Pre-K and Elementary level we will have teachers in professional development focused on reading instruction. Teachers at the secondary level continue to focus on building-based professional development. In the afternoon teachers will be engaged in individualized professional development led by their colleagues. Over 70 educators will offer sessions for their colleagues to learn and develop practice. Sessions are designed to present ideas and strategies, to facilitate roundtable discussions, or to collaborate in the design and creation of curriculum. Teachers will attend three of these sessions in the afternoon.
Lucas Giguere
Superintendent
Franklin Public Schools
Shared from the FPS page ->
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| Superintendent’s Report to School Committee - October 25, 2022 |
