FM #401 School Committee Meeting - 11/24/20 part 1 of 2 (audio)

FM #401 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 401 in the series. 

This session shares one of two segments for the Franklin, MA School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, Nov 24, 2020. 

The meeting was conducted in a hybrid format: some of the School Committee and Central Office personnel were in the Council Chambers, the remainder of the Committee was remote via conference bridge, all to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

I’ve split the two hour meeting into two logical segments:

• First - covers the opening through the Superintendent's evaluation (about 1 hour 18 minutes)
• Second - picks up Discussion Only Items through the remainder of the meeting. (about 42 minutes)

The show notes contain links to the meeting agenda and to my notes. The meeting packet folder will hold the Superintendent’s Report and Portrait of a Graduate presentation copy. Those are usually posted to the folder the day after the meeting. (Given the holiday weekend, they won’t be available until later on Monday, Nov 30, 2020)

Let’s listen to this first segment of the School Committee meeting of Nov 24, 2020. Audio file =  https://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HV52YD4S

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Agenda doc
https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/scagenda_11-24-20.pdf 

Meeting packet folder
https://www.franklinps.net/district/meeting-packets/pages/november-24-2020-school-committee-packet 

My notes from the meeting
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/11/school-committee-meeting-recap-nov-24.html  

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. 

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Superintendent Sara Ahern provides an update

FHS Panther Hockey: annual decorating of the Town Common

Thank you!

"Our annual decorating of the common at Christmas!  Thank you Hillside Nurseries, Beth O'Reilly,  Ryan Jette, Tina Connelly, Vanessa Blinco, Dan Sheehan, Coach Sarno, all the parents who brought ladders and all that helped today!  Awesome day! @FHSSports @FHS_Puck @PanthersJvPuck"

Shared from Twitter =  https://t.co/n9YXHmqMTo

FHS Panther Hockey: annual decorating of the Town Common

Think Franklin First - gift cards now on sale

"Today is the day! Think Franklin First gift cards are now available for purchase both online and at Dean Bank!  

You can redeem the gift cards at the local businesses pictured below beginning next week!  

www.franklingiftcard.com #thinkfranklinfirst #GivetheGiftofFranklin #localsupport #shoplocal #keepitlocal Dean Bank, Random Smile Project"

Buy your gift card online = www.franklingiftcard.com

Or in person at the Dean Bank branch office on Main St, Franklin

Use the gift cards at these participating Franklin businesses =   https://franklingiftcard.com/participating-businesses

Shared from Facebook =   https://www.facebook.com/groups/shopFranklin/permalink/3334797786630718/

Think Franklin First - gift cards now on sale

CommonWealth Magazine: child care “holding our economy hostage”

From CommonWealth Magazine we share two articles of interest for Franklin:

"CHILD CARE’S CRITICAL importance to our economy was obvious as the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the Commonwealth. Some parents scrambled to work remotely while caring for children. Others rushed to secure care so they could perform essential work, much of it on the frontlines to ensure the health and well-being of Massachusetts residents. 

But even as the pandemic revealed the essential nature of child care, it’s also made it more vulnerable than ever. Lawmakers are entering a critical moment for the early education and care sector as they debate the 2021 fiscal year budget. And the pandemic may be coloring perceptions about the demand for child care that could hurt children and families in the long run. 

The fact is that the child care supply has dwindled in Massachusetts during the pandemic as providers closed in the face of fiscal challenges or limited enrollment to accommodate new safety protocols. The Department of Early Education and Care recently reported that enrollment is at 66 percent of pre-COVID numbers. This sharp drop includes parents who have chosen not to send their children or who now need very different arrangements than they did prior to the pandemic. As lawmakers account for these changes in the upcoming budget, do the current COVID-related trends signal decreased demand and justify a reduction in investments to stabilize and secure the sector? 

The simple answer? No. "

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/education/state-leaders-must-invest-in-child-care/ 

"IF THERE WAS ever any doubt that the state’s system of early education and care for very young children was on the brink of crisis with far-reaching consequences, the COVID-19 pandemic has erased it. Congresswoman Katherine Clark, whose bill to  invest $50 billion in the sector was passed by the House of Representatives in July,  recently said that a COVID-19-related lack of access to child care was “holding our economy hostage.” 

Her observation is borne out by testimony collected in September by the state’s Commission on the Status of Women. Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of women reported that COVID-19-related changes to child care arrangements had affected their ability to work. Included in this group were early care and education business owners themselves, who explained that if their own children could not attend school then they could not keep their businesses open. One reported that she was on the verge of losing her child care center, which had been serving her community for 17 years. 

Solutions such as Congresswoman Clark’s bill, which treats child care and early education programs as an essential public good requiring public investment, are key to ensuring that the sector doesn’t collapse under the weight of urgent needs from young families and their employers. Given the complex problems facing the field and early educators’ expertise and innovative approaches to problems of practice, it’s also important to center early educators in the policy making process."

Continue reading the article online

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/education/crisis-in-early-education-and-care-demands-action/

The report on childcare and the workforce referenced in this article can be found here:  https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.umb.edu/dist/3/4418/files/2020/10/UMass-Boston-EEC-Workforce-Survey-Report-October-2020-Final-Updated.pdf

“It is totally reasonable to have your own beliefs, but when those beliefs get in the way of yourself, your children, parents, or other people, that’s when it becomes problematic”

From the Boston Globe, an article of interest for Franklin: 

"For as long as there have been vaccines, there have been people like Winnie Harrison who shun them.

Harrison, 67, a former educator and mother of four, became an ardent disbeliever in immunizations after her first child had an adverse reaction to a measles, mumps, and rubella shot some three decades ago. But it wasn’t until recent years that she and other skeptics began to forge online connections, fostering fear about vaccines and what doctors call a growing ecosystem of health misinformation that has only ramped up amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The founder of the Connecticut Vaccine Rights League, Harrison administers her group’s Facebook page, one of hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands, nationwide that dole out testimonials from antivaccine activists and celebrities, memes of doctors sharing now discredited claims about vaccines — and, more recently, warnings about the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccines. "

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/28/nation/theres-big-obstacle-looming-coronavirus-vaccines-stronger-antivaccine-movement/

Someone special celebrates their 100th birthday in Dec, if you can send a card it would be great!

We have a very special lady celebrating her 100th birthday this Dec. 24th right here in Franklin.  Her name is Ethel Pizzi and her family would love nothing more than to have Ethel receive a hundred cards for her birthday!  

If you are so inclined please mail a Birthday Card to:

Ethel Pizzi
131 Wachusett St.
Franklin, MA 02038

Let’s help Ethel have the BEST birthday and know how loved she is! 

--

Ariel Doggett

Virtual Program Coordinator

Respite Coordinator

Franklin Senior Center

"We rise by lifting others" - Robert Ingersoll

There is no act of kindness too small

FM #400 Franklin (MA) Rotary Club - 11/17/20 (audio)

FM #400 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 400 in the series. 

This shares my interview and discussion with Franklin Rotary Club members Dan Genitle and Bill Koplin. Our discussion was conducted via conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.

Dan Gentile is Co-Treasurer and Foundation Chair for the Franklin chapter of Rotary. Bill has had several titles over his years of service and is now a regular and active member.

We talk about the Franklin Interact Club, the nature of the Rotary itself as a service organization (service above self) and some examples of what they have done over the years. Some of the visible marks they have made are the annual Memorial Day parade, the benches in the Town Common, and the bronze plaques on the light poles along the Common walkways to name just a few

The recording runs about 22 minutes, so let’s listen to my conversation with Dan and Bill and find out more about what the Rotary does for Franklin.

Audio file = https://player.captivate.fm/episode/57aeba14-e035-4e4b-8695-457e68f42b01

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Franklin Rotary Club page  http://www.clubrunner.ca/portal/Home.aspx?accountid=3689 

Franklin Interact Club page  https://franklinmainteract.weebly.com/ 

Franklin Interact interview  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/08/franklin-interact-delivers-100-masks-to.html  

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. 

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------
You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

FM #400 Franklin (MA) Rotary Club - 11/17/20 (audio)