Agenda Preview: April 25 School Committee Meeting
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The next school committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 25. Executive session starts at 5 p.m. and the general meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Actual start time depends on how long the executive session lasts. See the agenda here. You can watch it via zoom or Facebook live. Spanish translation is available on zoom. (Editors note: Or you could tune into the WCT3k Twitch stream and watch it with us!)
Here’s my preview:
This month’s Report of the Superintendent is titled “Culture and Climate Inclusivity: A Breakthrough.” The Office of Culture and Climate is a new one and focuses on “creating welcoming and inclusive environments that foster teaching and learning.” Culture and Climate is also a key priority for the district’s five year strategic plan, and based on the slide deck it looks like this presentation will address those aims. Here’s a screenshot from the slidedeck provided in the agenda:
Based on the slides it also looks like they’ll present about suspension rates, attendance rates, student mental health surveys, and a staff engagement “pulse check.”
Grant for Worcester East Middle window replacement. A $7 million grant from the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is up for approval. The grant will allow replacement of windows that are inoperable or at imminent failure at the school. The project will take two summers to complete.
Electric School Bus Grant. Also up for approval is a grant for 15 new electric school buses.
Demographics of Goddard Scholars and Hanover Scholars. As requested at the last TLSS subcommittee meeting, the backup of the agenda has demographics for the Goddard Scholars and Hanover Scholars programs. Hispanic students, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners are underrepresented in these programs, as compared to the demographics of the schools that house them.
Acceptance to special programs. Member Sue Mailman (at-large) has an item requesting demographic data for all programs that have lotteries or applications.
Voke teacher requirements. Member Maureen Binienda (at-large) has an item proposing that the teachers hired at the vocational programs at the comprehensive high schools have the same requirements as teachers for the Worcester Tech vocational programs.
Social Media Use. Member Kathi Roy (district E) has an item requesting members refrain from phone and tablet use to text or email during meetings.
Altercation Alerts. Member Dianna Biancheria (district C) has an item requesting that administration provide a communication when an altercation occurs in a school and to provide a summary of what occurred (It’s not clear to me if this means to the school committee or to the general public).
That’s it. Have a good week! If you have feedback you can always get in touch: aislinn.doyle@me.com