Agenda Preview: February 27 School Committee Meeting
Reconsideration, Indoor Recess, Library Volunteers
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February 27 School Committee Meeting
The next school committee meeting is scheduled for February 27. Executive session starts at 5 p.m. and the general meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. See the full agenda here. You can watch it via zoom or Youtube Live. Spanish translation is available on zoom. A reminder that this is a quick preview and does not include everything on the agenda.
Reconsideration.
Member Sue Mailman (at-large) filed for “reconsideration” on the LGBTQ+ Safe Schools Resolution, which failed to pass in a 6-3 vote at the February 6 school committee meeting (Alvarez, Johnson, and Mailman voted for it). Reconsideration can be filed within 48 business hours of a vote and according to the school committee rules, a reason needs to be supplied by the requesting member. Here are Mailman’s reasons (provided in the agenda backup):
For context, read up on what happened at the February 6 meeting in my February Brief or read Bill’s play-by-play. Reconsideration is voted on before public comment, so email is the best way to communicate to school committee members before the vote.
Report of the Superintendent.
This meeting’s report is on Culturally Responsive Policies, Practices & Learning Experiences.
Recess and Weather.
Jermaine Johnson (district F) has an item asking for more information on recess time in elementary schools as it relates to weather. Indoor recess can get complicated, and with 33 elementary schools, they all have varying access to gym space. Some schools have no gym, some have a multi-use cafeteria and gym, and for larger schools the gym is almost always being used for phys ed, so indoor recess in the gym is not an option. This means there’s a huge variance in what indoor recess means. Some schools are able to have it in the gym, some are able to have kids play board games in the classroom, some have kids watch movies. And when you have days in a row that kids don’t get outdoor recess, sometimes whole weeks, the behavioral issues increase. (When Worcester builds the next new elementary school—probably not for at least the next 30 years—let’s see if MSBA will let us include an indoor recess playspace?)
School Library Volunteers.
Kathi Roy (district E) is requesting that the district acquire volunteers to operate elementary school libraries.
Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students.
Molly McCullough (district A) is requesting that the district might offer the Safe Schools Program as a professional development option. According to the website, “Founded in 1993 in response to concerns about LGBTQ youth suicides and other risk factors, the program now offers a range of services designed to help schools implement state laws impacting LGBTQ students, including the state's anti-bullying law, gender identity law, and student anti-discrimination law.”
That’s it. Have a good week! If you have feedback you can always get in touch: aislinn.doyle@me.com