And that does not even capture the full scope of my daily role at BES. In addition to those direct services, the daily work of the school adjustment counselor at BES includes supporting students who drop in and are in need of immediate help or support, facilitating peer mediations, attending IEP and 504 meetings, consulting regularly with the teachers, communicating with parents, collaborating with outside therapists and agencies, conducting risk assessments and developing safety plans, responding to students in crisis, and delivering classroom-wide social-emotional learning lessons. Out of the 300-plus students at BES, about a third this year have received some form of counseling intervention, and the numbers are only increasing as we receive more and more referrals through our instructional support team meetings each week. Even in a full-time position, there are simply not enough hours in the school day to address these needs. Cutting this role in half does not reduce the needs of our students.
Um, but really trying to bring to life instead of just talking about what it is to be a good citizen, how do we bring that to life? How do we teach it? We're a school. That's what we do. And the students have really helped us come up with fun ways to um teach and and um bring those those character traits to life. And finally, last slide here, embracing equity. We're making sure that we continue to empower students and student groups to uh shape school events and action steps. You've heard me talk about voice of students being a major a major driver this year. And we're making sure that we promote instructional practices that engage and support all students. If someone needs support, if someone needs to be further challenged, we're positioning ourselves to do that for every individual student. And important workforce development. Our staff is doing great uh data team work.
Don't take me up on that but um just to continue to look at the data and the correlation that that exists between all the data that we looked at the different groups etc. Um, so I also chose uh I guess the north or the top the the needs and what what I kept on thinking about as I was going through through the three groups and it started with the with um the second station um was f was focused in in in the middle schools right um and I think there's there there's a need to continue to focus um in the middle in the middle school group obviously with all the students but Um it it seems that uh with uh belonging and even engagement um they still feel that they still don't feel like they're fully belonging. They don't completely belong and they're not engaged.
Um so >> [clears throat] >> that's that's just my concern. Um and I I know that the information provided was >> [clears throat] >> just based on it looks like AI um you know, it looks like my questions were possibly put in AI and whatever the information was provided was through there, but I mainly just want to understand um what the purpose of these conferences are and what the intentions are um when they attend these things. Thank you. Mr. Lotzenhiser, for clarification as far as this travel, this is just staff development. Sorry, there are a lot of staff travel, so I just want to make sure I'm not confusing what the safe and civil specific one is. >> is a conference that we have two administrators at Cooley Middle School that we would like to send them to to help them uh learn skills and continue to grow professionally to be able to support exactly the implementation of our policies and um continue to work through their disciplinary uh expertise in terms of dealing with that.
I'm trying to get the information. Um So, yes, okay. So, he can connect via VPN, um that only he can connect to. Um and it's available from the network, not the internet. So, he has to be tapped into our network, which the server is connected to. Um and he and also through the the VPN and the networking. So, it's not cloud-based, and I believe it's after 3:00 p.m., but I want to confirm it's not after 3:05 p.m., but I think it's after 3:00 p.m. when our staff and everyone else leaves. Um but I will confirm that time for the school committee. And I will also work on the other issue in determining what the students were told or or telling themselves. Right, yeah, yeah, I know. I'm not like saying it was adults. Kids kids are like they come up with their own thing if they're not told the message, right?
It only reduces reduces the capacity to support them. And this decision, while made with budget considerations in mind, will have real and immediate consequences for the children we serve. >> [snorts] >> It will mean students waiting for longer support, missing services they're entitled to, and struggling in classrooms without the interventions they need to succeed. Before joining BES um the BES team 2 years ago, I worked in a high school setting for 7 years. I've seen firsthand what happens when students do not receive appropriate social-emotional support support early on. The gaps widen, the challenges intensify. By the time students reach middle and high school, those unmet needs often present as more significant behavioral, emotional, and academic difficulties. Elementary school is where we have the opportunity to intervene early, to teach coping skills, build emotional awareness, and set students on a positive trajectory. Reducing this role undermines that opportunity.
We have a really good understanding on a couple of key metrics that uh will they gave us both relevant timesensitive data about what we can do with our students tomorrow. This is where they are. This is what we're going to do about it. And then also some predictive uh measures of how will they do on the upcoming spring assessments that Mr. Bishop mentioned and uh what what can we do to best prepare them for success both on assessments and more importantly in life. The PD that I've talked about has been focused and on and focused on our target areas. We have good feedback. Oh, we're really working hard on feedback and coaching that teachers receive with our chairs, administrators, instructional coaches. We're training those folks, engaging in some good, thoughtful professional development to make sure that the people that can keep making us better are ourselves.
Um something that was really interesting to me is that in that same topic uh with the engagement theme, the parents of the middle school, they felt very engaged. So I I see a gap there. not see, but I I sense that there's a gap there because um if the parents feel engaged but the students don't, where where is that gap, you know, and what can we do as a district to close that gap so that the students feel um that they're more engaged and and feel like they belong and etc. So, um, yeah. So, that that that's kind of where I would look at the focus, um, where where where one of the biggest needs would be, um, and that the middle school uh, group is the transition, right? We I talked about it um, in one of the stations also, you go from being an elementary where they're with one teacher and one group of friends and then transition to middle school, now they they're with different teachers, different students that come from other schools.
And so, this is a professional growth opportunity for those individuals at Cooley Middle School. I appreciate it. Um I also appreciate Board Member Van Hook in that I agree that our policies in place are what we should follow. Um I also respect that we have concern for not adding too much to staff's plate. Uh like all our trainings, I think it's important to to remind folks that when staff go to these conferences, ultimately you get a lot of information and some of that information is useful to you, some of that information is helpful. Some of that information does not align with what we teach, so then it doesn't matter um because it's not accessible to us or it's not giving any kind of benefit. And sometimes you go to a conference and there is something where it shifts and it clicks and it gives you new opportunities or new ideas.
Correct. There are no. Okay. I do have one question about choice. Um >> Mhm. For choice the choice this is kind of it's affecting our current Pelham students. So the kids that are currently in sixth grade are I guess I I want to advocate for them to make sure that the region really understands that there's going to be more choice seats possibly because we're not going to have kids who are automatically rolled in. So like if we had choice seats normally the region would have say three for the grade, but they had like 12 kids that automatically rolled in from the towns, they would just need to be reflective of this is the first year that we've had kids not automatically rolled in. So what you may have to open up more choice seats than you would have in the past. Martha already be So Martha began that conversation with all principals.
I urge the committee to reconsider this decision. Our Our students deserve consistent, accessible, and comprehensive support. Reducing this position will not diminish their need needs, it'll only limit our ability to meet them. At a time when mental health needs are on the rise, now is not the time to reduce an important role such as this. Our students deserve more, not less. Thank you for your time and your for for your commitment to our students. Thank you. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Would anyone else like to make a comment? Yep. Um if we can uh make sure we keep our comments to our 3-minute policy, would be okay. Thank you. Good evening. Um my name is Amy. I'm the school nurse at Boylston Elementary School. I just started here about a year ago. Um I was drawn to this school for its supportive, nurturing, and student-centered environment.
We want to hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards and with good coaching and a culture that is coachable, we can continue to to do that for the for the long term. And finally, um we are documenting that grade level standards alliance curriculum with updated writing and documentation to make sure that we can implement that with fidelity again for years to come. So I thank you for your ongoing support.
And then so they go through a few years of that and then once they get to high school, well that's a whole of other part of it. But but in middle school they have to kind of learn how to um you know be on their own a little bit more um and then you know interact with a lot more kids than they did in in elementary. So um but yeah so that would be my my area of need. Thank you board member Greer. paper. >> Thank you. Um, so I went back and forth. I I ended up landing on the uh what wonderings, this would be the west side of the compass. What wonderings or questions does the data prompt for you? And uh board member Ramos, I think you gave really good language uh when we were chatting a bit ago and and and you said, you know, you could spend all kind of time looking at this because because the data tells different stories and and and so for me looking at it, even looking at some of the same data, it's it's as if um it tells different stories depending upon how you look at it even.
Um so, I I appreciate the the concern for our staff um and the information that we were provided as far as what this is for. Um because at the end of the day, any teacher or admin will tell you that uh as long as you have good classroom management, that's where learning will take place. And anytime a disruption to that uh impacts learning of not just the kid that is the disruption or the kids, but everyone else around you in that classroom as well. So, classroom management for sure is going to be always a benefit. Uh I appreciate it. With that, I am going to uh motion to approve overnight and or out of state staff travel for safe and civil schools conference. Second. That would be Miss Schultz seconding. All those in favor? I. I. Motion carries 5 to 0. This brings us to 7.2 approval of overnight and or out of state staff travel for Schools to Watch.
Um she's been deep in that conversation. I believe that she has already like she shared with me that she already started telling them to account for their seats. Um and so once she tells me it's time to step in and and deal with we'll deal with it on a different level I will, but she's been taking the bull by the horns to first Dr. Z, I would also say if I may Yes. that there are not that many. When we did the outreach for the individual letters which we did on February 5th Thank you. >> Um yeah, we uh there there were not that many and I'm happy to provide the specific numbers. I just don't have them with me, but it's probably about four or five at Pelham and at between Leverett and Shutesbury they're less than 10. So, we're not talking about a large number, but I'm happy to provide those numbers.
Um I do understand that we're facing budget constraints as we look at the next fiscal year. Um and while none of the cuts are ideal, as Al said, um I'm here to speak about the importance of keeping the school adjustment counselor as a full-time position versus the proposed cut to a half-time position. I would conservatively estimate that at least 1/3 of my health office visits, and that's a conservative estimate, it might be more about half the student health visits, um are physical manifestations of social-emotional concerns, including anxiety, depression, social difficulties, difficulty with executive functioning. Um the statistics support this. From 2016 to 2020, the rate of anxiety and depression diagnoses in children um ages 3 to 17 in Massachusetts increased 51% from 12.2% to 18.4%. Um approximately 10 to 12% of children ages 3 to 17 in Massachusetts [clears throat] have a diagnosis of ADHD as well.
I'm happy to answer any questions. Questions for Mr. Moore? Would I make a comment? Sure. Uh, first of all, Jeff was a great visit. Appreciate it. The, uh, the chart you showed us with the various colors on it. Um, those ratings, if you will, weren't self ratings. They were outside people looking. >> Yes. >> And the progress quite dramatic when you look at that in the areas you identify for improvement. again, outsiders looking at it, it's easy to see why you're having visitors left and right from other schools who are looking to improve what they're doing because they're looking at what the results you're getting and they're impressive. So, thank you. >> Thank you very much. It's great comment. >> Thank you. Any other thoughts, comments? I I just appreciate the way that all our schools have been aligning to the strategic plan and giving us those updates and how things are meshed.
And so and so I guess I wonder like what are what are we I mean we're looking at all of it, but what are we looking at? So, for example, on on one of the safety questions, um it talks about um high school is in the 16th percentile of of safety and then middle school is in the 23rd percentile. And so, if we were to look at that, we would we might want to say then let's put our energy on on the high school and addressing high school safety because we are in the 16th percentile. But then if you dig into the numbers and looking at like positive responses, what those numbers reveal is that 68% of high schoolers say that they feel safe at school, but then only 48% of middle schoolers um are saying that they feel safe at school. So depending upon how we're looking at that, we might think let's let's raise our percentile.
Any questions or comments from the board before I uh motion? Uh yes. Um I applaud uh the team for getting this this recognition um for but my only concern is I again researched this program and I I fear just if some of the information introduces components related to identity development, social equity, and expanded mental and emotional support that um that I think ex- extends beyond uh core academic mission of our schools. Um I if the intention here, again, I I I don't quite understand the program um but it looks like there's um annual fees that are involved um and I want to ensure that if this if the purpose of this is to help improve student achievement, great. Uh but based on the information that I found on the website this this goes way into uh the whole social emotional learning aspect, social equity uh which I don't think is appropriate for our district to be um to be bringing into our district.
Thank you, Marta. Okay. I think we're ready to move on to the budget vote. Awesome. Do we we present first? One more comment, sorry. I apologize. Um I on the choice thing that we had asked you had mentioned the teachers might be going out and we would need need subs. Have we thought about tasking the I don't know if it's called the P I had PTA. The PTO, have we thought about tasking parents that could take materials and go out to other preschools or other determined locations and do it instead of the teachers? So, I believe that um I've asked Mickey said yes, and I will also say that I um my team is going to reach out to the PTO um to set up a meeting with my office and them. Um I think that there's some misconceptions that need to be clarified, as well as um probably talking about how do we adequately partner.