13 Takeaways from the Jan. 10 School Committee Meeting

A major focus was an update on the district’s goals by Superintendent Regan

Member Nick Parsons was not at last night’s meeting.

1. TMHS adaptive ski club members Jared Cohen and Maddie Degrechie were recognized, with club advisors Patrick Galligan and Anne McGregor-Fay. The club was founded in 2006 and has had 70 students as members since its inception. Members Connor Fullerton and Brennan Hancock were unable to attend the meeting.

Members of the adaptive ski club, advisors and family with Biagioni-Smith, right

2. Rania Elouahi’s Student Council report began by noting that winter sports are almost over, with one month left. The TMHS Theater program is currently practicing Law & Order: Fairy Tale Unit. DECA has been practicing for district competitions. The TMHS Esports team won another Rocket League championship in December.

3. A big thank you to maintenance and the custodians for the snow removal began Superintendent Brenda Regan’s report. She also thanked the DPW, police department and National Grid. Regan shared that there have been phone issues at the Ryan and Wynn, but said staff is always checking email, so in the future if there are phone issues to send an email.

The halfway mark of the school year is quickly approaching — yesterday marked the 81st day. The district accepted a donation of a Flashforge Creator Pro 2 three-dimensional printer and a pair of hot ends for the Robotics Team from Josh Nichols.

Regan has also been chosen to be part of a superintendent leadership opportunity called Leading Now. Per Regan “Leading now is currently supporting approximately 175 superintendents. They provide district school system leaders with strategic communications, resources and strategies within a trusting community of peers.”

4. The first standards-based report cards went out in December per Assistant Superintendent Lori McDermott. Parents were also sent directions from principals on how to read them. So far there have been no issues reported. The first Kindergarten report card will go out on February 14. Member Rich Russo asked about being able to access report cards in Aspen for longer than two weeks; that will be looked into.

Kindergarten registration will begin on January 16; more information can be found on the district’s website here. Parents can also find the MCAS schedule on the district’s site here.

5. There was another update on the Ryan and Wynn HVAC upgrades from Business Manager Dave Libby. The district received a $1.2 million ESSR grant to pay for work in both schools. The estimate for the Ryan came in at $2.6 million, and the Wynn was $3.8 million. The district will be moving ahead with the Wynn because it needs the most repair. There is $300,000 in unencumbered funds left in ESSR that can be moved to be used for the HVAC. This leaves a $2.5 million shortfall, which may be raised through a warrant article at the May Town Meeting. There may also be an article on the October Special Town meeting warrant for the Ryan HVAC. The district will be rebidding that project in the hopes of getting a lower bid.

The work on the Heath Brook greenhouse rooms continues. Repairs from the flooding are ongoing, and there will also now be renovation of the HVAC system in that area of the school since it’s been failing for quite some time. The project will also include more energy-efficient windows and new doors, ceilings and portable walls. The district has hired an architect, and work can start as soon as a general contractor is chosen since it’s an isolated area in school.

Vice-chair Kayla Biagioni-Smith questioned the continued renovations and what the best course of action is with this school. Libby says these renovations are a good test to see if the Heath Brook can accommodate students long term. Russo inquired how much is covered by insurance. Libby said that all areas touched by water, like the floor and walls, are covered. But work done to mitigate flooding, like drain work, is paid for by the district.

6. School Committee Member Reports:

Tewksbury SEPAC: Biagioni-Smith shared that the family support meeting this week was postponed due to the storm; the new date is TBD.
Wellness Advisory Committee: Russo said they haven’t meet since the last School Committee meeting, and he’ll have an update in February. Biagioni-Smith noted a recent workshop to discuss the policy the committee has been working on.

7. Policy Sub-Committee (changes can be found starting on page 17 of the packet)

Second and Final Reading: Policy reviewed and recommended to revise (unanimously approved)
- KDBA – Notices to Parents/Guardians
- KBE – Relations with Parent Advisory Councils and Booster Organizations
- KCD – Public Gifts to the School
- KDB – Publics Right to Know
- KDD – News Media Relations/News Releases
- KE – Public Complaints

8. Regan gave an update on her District Goals as Superintendent, which include Data-Driven Decision Making, Strengthening Instructional Support for Improved Student Learning, Implementation of Vision of a Learner, Improve Literacy for All and Improved Communications.

Regan gave multiple examples of ways in which she has been working towards these goals. Some highlights were collecting various data to see whether student learning goals are meeting the district goals and tracking social-emotional learning data to see what steps to take next. With this additional data, teachers can make better decisions around curriculum.

There have been more opportunities for teachers to take on leadership roles, like creating rubrics for the data needed for the new standards-based report cards. There has also been work on creating a new system to track interventions for students as they travel through the schools.

There’s a district implementation plan for leaders on how to best implement the Vision of a Learner. One way the Dewing rolled this out was, when administrators visit classrooms, they are told what their target is in the class and what standards they should look for. Then administrators could see what children were doing and how activities fit into the standards. This is merely a way to see where the frequency of implementation exists and not to judge the teachers.

By using data from DIBELS, the district can see where some students may need more support in literacy. This creates an opportunity to try interventions, then circle back at the end of the year to see where progress was made.

As far as communication, each principal sends out regular emails to parents, and there is a district newsletter for both families and staff and a new Facebook page highlighting activities in the schools.

9. Year-to-date spending can be found starting on Page 30 of the packet.

Wynn drama director Jon DiPrima and TMHS drama director Celeste Pellegrino requested permission for the Wynn and TMHS Drama program to take an out-of-state field trip to New York City to see Wicked. The trip would also include a Broadway Workshop and lunch at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. This was unanimously approved.

10. District enrollment as of Dec. 1, 2023:

Class sizes for TMHS can be found starting on page 50 of the packet. There was a discussion about possibly shifting staff between grades due to the fluctuating enrollment. And, per a question by Chair Bridget Garabedian, Regan confirmed that enrollment does not rise significantly based on the number of multifamily developments in town. Most of the district’s students are not living in apartments or condos.

11. The 2024-2025 School Calendar draft can be downloaded below:

2024-2025-Draft-Calendar Download

12. School Committee matters of interest: Russo was able to take part in the DECA experience at UMASS Lowell recently and thought it was a good opportunity to see what students in the Merrimack Valley are up to. Garabedian attended an MASC Board of Directors and Presidents retreat to learn more about how the organization supports School Committees. And she’ll be attending a training for division leaders in February, which is paid for by MASC.

13. Future Meetings