Franklin School Committee: Policy reminders on Public Complaints & Public Participation

Via Denise Spencer, re-elected to School Committee:

"As we begin a new term, I believe now is a good time for a refresher on two of our policies: 

1) KE - Public Complaints 

("...In case of a complaint(s), the complainant shall take the matter first to the staff member, and if unresolved to the Principal of the building, then to the Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee, who, if he/she is unable to satisfy the complainant, shall report the case to the School Committee for consideration and action.)

https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee-policy-manual/pages/ke-public-complaints

2) BEDH - Public Participation 

("Public comment is not a discussion, debate, or dialogue between individuals and the School Committee. It is an individual's opportunity to express an opinion on issues within the School Committee’s authority.)

https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee-policy-manual/pages/bedh-public-participation"

Shared from Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/460474210785489/permalink/2099535663545994/

https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee-policy-manual

Interested in Public Records Law? This discussion might be for you

Join us Nov. 18 along with @RappaportCenter for a Greater Boston Debate Series event exploring whether the MA public records law promotes democracy in the state, featuring  @Becca_Rausch,  @raylaraja, and moderated by @CommonWealthMag 's  @shiraschoenberg. 

Register here ->    https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oVQ9MRZ-T7GaWpSvurjGbA

Shared from Twitter: https://twitter.com/RappaportInst/status/1456360168443179051

Interested in Public Records Law? This discussion might be for you

Frequently Asked Questions - how to deal with rising heating and utility costs

The MA Attorney General's Office has prepared a Frequently Asked Questions page on how to deal with rising heating and utility costs this winter.

"Many residents are struggling to pay their bills, including their monthly utility bills. Electricity and Gas are essential services—that’s why it is important that customers know their rights and where they can go for help if they need it."

Visit https://www.mass.gov/info-details/frequently-asked-questions-about-electric-and-gas-utilities-during-covid-19

• English version PDF -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/17QqpZ0o9fkNhv3WBLVJ2jq-KJZYmaqvG/view?usp=sharing
• Spanish version PDF -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/17TQgZmfwrFKlTpi-8APKeA7sFLunvUge/view?usp=sharing

Frequently Asked Questions - how to deal with rising heating and utility costs

Tip of the hat to Tyngsborough for the info links ->

https://twitter.com/TyngsboroughMA/status/1456248576418500608

World Health Organization (WHO) shares video on the Journey of a Vaccine

World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) tweeted Thu, Nov 04, 2021:

👀 Watch and follow the journey of a vaccine from development & clinical trials ➡️ to manufacturing & cold storage ➡️ to vaccination

Video link 👉 https://t.co/oLeDZSpZj6⠀or  https://youtu.be/CrsnwQZIak8

Shared from Twitter: https://t.co/lrk6SNWnkq

More info on the manufacturing of a vaccine

https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/manufacturing-safety-and-quality-control

video on the Journey of a Vaccine

Franklin's Event Outlook: Nov 5 - Nov 11, 2021

A relatively quiet weekend to enjoy the good New England weather that is forecast. Don't forget to turn back the clock to get that extra hour of sleep on Saturday night.

Friday, November 5
10:00am - Blood Drive (Franklin Elks)

Saturday, November 6
10:00am - Historical Museum (always free)
7:00pm - FPAC Gala and Telethon

Sunday, November 7
Daylight Saving Time ends
1:00pm - Historical Museum (always free)

Find the full calendar  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:  https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar

The School district calendar is found   https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26

Community Calendar

Superintendent's Letter to Franklin Community - Response #2 to School Committee Discourse

Superintendent's Letter to Franklin Community - 

Response #2 to School Committee Discourse

Outlining Immediate Actions in Response to School Committee Discourse

November 4, 2021

Dear Franklin Community,

I am writing to follow up on actions taken and planned after last week’s disruption at the Franklin School Committee meeting as well as student representative comments related to bullying and harassment at school. We have been processing the impact and have been working to solidify a safe and respectful environment for civic discourse and promote healing.

We recognize that gathering student feedback is instrumental in appropriately addressing student needs. Members of the administration met with students about becoming a “No Place for Hate School” and had a productive dialogue that assessed morale and drove hope for a better FHS for all. In attendance were student representatives from A World of Difference, the Diversity Awareness Club, and the Sexuality and Gender Alliance. Additionally, we also reviewed historical bullying and harassment data. Our data leads us to suspect that incidents are being under-reported. We also listened for more information about perceptions of inaction.

In response, we have done or are doing the following things:

● On November 2nd, all K-12 school adjustment counselors and school psychologists participated in a professional development webinar series on supporting LGBTQIA+ students and understanding legal rights. We have also disseminated DESE guidance to counselors and principals issued on October 28, 2021 related to the Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity. This will be an agenda item for an upcoming administrative meeting.

● We are developing an after school resource group for high school students to gather and talk about their experiences with bias-based incidents as well as actions that can be taken to make for a more equitable experience at school.

● We are accelerating the process of hiring a Director of Equity and Student Supports. We anticipate initiating this search within the next few weeks.

● We are accelerating plans to survey all students in Franklin High School for their perceptions of school climate and culture. We are in the process of preparing this survey with a highly regarded third-party resource (Panorama) and expect to be able to survey students the week after Thanksgiving. We anticipate surveying middle school students in the near future as well. This data will give us a greater understanding of the perspective of the student body and areas of focus for action. It will also serve as a baseline by which we can measure our improvement efforts.

● In response to potential under reporting and perception of inaction, we will revise our online reporting language and clearly define its use. Additionally, we will prioritize communicating the reporting, investigation, and response process.

● The high school administration is holding class meetings to start the beginning of quarter 2. Respectful, inclusive behavior of all will be a theme. They will also use this time to invite additional students to participate in the development of a series of activities for the school community towards becoming a “No Place for Hate School”. These activities will activate a school-wide effort that integrates productive dialogue and active learning on the topics of bias, bullying, and allyship.

 

The community can expect stronger protocols and processes during the School Committee meetings. The Chair of the School Committee will communicate the expectations for respectful civic discourse as well as the processes for handling disruptive behavior for both in person and virtual participants. These expectations will be readily available once enacted by our incoming Chairperson.

Our actions will not be limited to those above, but these actions are the ones most immediately tied to the meeting last week. We will continue to keep the community informed of our efforts to affirm diversity, promote equity and accountability, and foster inclusion throughout the year.

With continued respect for all in Franklin, 

Sara Ahern

Superintendent of Schools

Franklin Public Schools

Shared from  https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/news/superintendents_letter_to_franklin_community_11.4.2021.pdf 

Franklin Matters is leaving Facebook; your alternatives to consider to remain "in the know" (part 2)

Effective Nov 30, 2021 the Franklin Matters Facebook page will go away. You are given notice to find one of the other options to obtain the valuable information shared but not longer directly by me on Facebook.

• You can subscribe via email to the daily update (an easy way)  https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/welcome.html
• You can subscribe via RSS and get everything as it posts (actually the best way)  The 7 best RSS Readers for 2021 (I personally use Feedly)   https://bloggingwizard.com/free-rss-feed-readers/
• You can follow Franklin Matters on Twitter    https://twitter.com/FranklinMatters

Someone can also set up a way to take what I share and share it themselves to Facebook. I have no way to stop that. Folks occasionally do so on their own today.

My personal account will remain on Facebook to maintain my family and network connections. I have limited what is posted and shared in that way and am willing to take the risk to maintain those family connections.

I can no longer take the risk exposing your information in this way. Facebook needs to change and only actions like this will get their attention to do so.

Why Nov 30?

The Franklin election is important and as divisive as Facebook is, for those who depend upon it for info, I will provide some time for them to begin to make their move to one of the alternatives.

If you need or want help setting up email subscription or RSS, I've scheduled a few Zoom sessions to walk through the options to subscribe.  There are two sessions scheduled for day time periods and two for evening time evening periods. Hopefully one of them will meet your schedule. 

Zoom options to learn about alternatives to remain "in the know"

• Monday, Nov 8 - 7:30 PM
• Wednesday, Nov 10 - 9 AM
• Monday, Nov 15 - 1:00 PM
• Tuesday, Nov 16 - 7:30 PM

If you need or want help, sign up here ->   https://forms.gle/x4gWma8PgrmDD1i66

Franklin Matters is leaving Facebook; your alternatives to consider to remain "in the know"  (part 2)