Norton School Committee Meeting January 14, 2026

001Okay, it's six o'clock, so we're going to call the meeting to order for Wednesday, January 14th, 2026 school committee meeting. Um, first is the pledge of allegiance. >> I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Okay, first is the public comment period. Um, all speakers are expected to present their remarks in a respectful manner and to consider the privacy interests of others. Speakers must begin their remarks by stating their name, address, and affiliation. All remarks will be addressed through the chair of the meeting. Public comment shall concern only items that are within the scope of the school committee's authority. Speakers will be allowed three minutes each to present their material and in general extensions

002of time will not be permitted. Speakers may not assign their time to another speaker. Given the slight increase in attendance this evening, I anticipate that multiple speakers during there there will be multiple speakers during public comment. As we have a full agenda tonight, comments must remain concise and focused so that all speakers have an opportunity to be heard and the meeting stays on schedule. I will provide a reminder at the two and a half minute mark and will interject if necessary to ensure we remain within the allotted time. Public comment is intended to allow members of the public to share perspectives with the committee. While the committee may choose to acknowledge comments, this portion of the meeting is not intended to be a debate or negotiation. Please keep remarks respectful and within the allotted time.

003With that, we will proceed. If anybody would like to come up. Hi, my name is Donna Dolac. I live at 104 Nukem Street in Norton. As the parent of a Norton middle schooler, it makes me feel really sad and discouraged that it's January and my daughter's teachers still haven't received the cost of living increase that they should be getting. I really truly believe that investing in our children requires investing in our Norton educators. It's 2026 now. Let's come to let's come together and come to an agreement on a fair contract for our Norton teachers and pair professionals. Thank you. [applause] Hello, my name is Lauren McCauley. I live at Two School Street in Lincoln, Rhode Island, and I am a teacher in Norton Public Schools. My journey to being a teacher at Norton has lasted

004almost 20 years. I took a ciruitous route here and I can truly say that I am thankful to have ended up in a district with wonderful, kind, dedicated and talented teachers. I currently work as a classroom teacher and special educator in the Little Lancers program and my team always goes above and beyond for our students. However, despite the fact that I currently hold a bachelor's from Connecticut College in Anthropology, a master's from Brown University in teaching, am certified in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, have completed an additional 15 graduate credits in the past 2 years that I've been working in Norton and hold a sheltered emer certificate. My pay just covers my expenses. This is a clear example of how woefully underpaid educators are in general and in Norton in specific. Surrounding districts with similar

005populations offer their teachers much more competitive pay. While I know that Norton has financial challenges, the facts remain that we fund what we value. And at the moment, I question what we value in Norton. Over the past several years, I have spent thousands of dollars making sure that my classrooms were fully equipped. I am not alone in this. My colleagues also endlessly dip into their pockets to supplement the supplies in their classrooms. We purchase materials for sensory bins, fake snow, books, stuffed animals, seasonal items, play-doh, the list goes on. Additionally, not only do we provide physical materials, [clears throat] the do the job we do every day takes a steep emotional toll on all teachers. We care deeply about our students and would do anything to help them grow and flourish. This is why I

006become so frustrated when I hear co-workers tell me that their health insurance premiums have increased so much over one year that they actually take home less money today than they did last year. Why I become so frustrated when I hear about all the work the negot negotiation committee has done and see the lack of progress that has been made in securing an equitable contract. I know that every story has two sides. I wouldn't be much of a teacher if I didn't know that. But from my vantage point, I truly do not understand why our very modest requests cannot be met. While I know that there may be a perception that teachers do not work outside of their contracted hours, I can tell you with complete certainty that is not true for the vast majority of

007teachers. I personally spend hours and hours beyond contracted time lesson planning, communicating with parents, writing report cards, gathering materials, and working my very hardest to serve my students. All of this while feeling undervalued and underpaid. I ask you if your job required you to work hours and hours of unpaid time and then refused to offer compensation that m matched market value kept up with inflation and provided you with a material sense that you were valued and respected. Would you stay? >> Excuse me. >> In educant to let you know. >> Can I say one more comment? I'm almost done. Sure. Thank you. In education, we say that behavior is communication. I wonder what do you suppose the behavior of our school board is communicating to our teachers? [applause] Anyone else for public comment? No. Okay.

008Anybody from the committee? >> All good. >> Okay. All right. We're going to um move on to the next agenda item. Um it's to vote to approve the minutes of the December 10th, 2025 open session meeting. Did everybody have a chance to look at them? >> Yes. >> Okay. And um I'll entertain a motion to approve the minutes of December 10th, 2025 open session meeting. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Okay. All those in favor? >> I I >> uh Laura, you would have to abstain, right? Because you weren't >> Oh, that's right. >> Right. >> Yeah. Abstain. [laughter] >> Um Okay. Next up, uh is the warrants and that's me. I have reviewed the following school expense and school payroll warrants. Um the school expense warrant December 10th 2025 372,46364 January 8th 2026 626596.91

009cents school payroll warrants December 11th 2025 1,300,623 and.70 December 24th 2025 1,15656724 January 8th 2026 1,2328 $8569 reviewed and approved and wish to enter them into public record. Um, next up is the student rep update with Benson. >> Hello everyone. Um, from the high school winter sports are in full swing with great student turnout and school spirit. Um, our DECA chapter once again had a record-breaking competition in Hyenas this past week with nearly 100 students participating, 62 finalists and 67 medalists. Congratulations to the students and a big thank you to adviserss Bobby Portway, Jen Scoranic, and Rachel Pelot. Um, mid-year assessments will take place next week as we reach the halfway point of the school year. From the middle school, after a little bit of a rocky start, both the boys and girls basketball teams

010now have winning records after nine games with strong crowds and games filmed filmed and broadcasted by the student crew with support from Mr. HG and the Norton Media Center. Drama season is underway and this year's production will be Alice in Wonderland with nearly 100 students attending the first meeting. The Midway carnival will be held on January 23rd celebrating the midpoint of the school year in grade 7's middle school milestone. Thanks to the [snorts] NMS parent board for making this happen from the Yell students enjoyed creative winter spirit weeks before break and all classes earned the PBIS holiday movie incentive. Excitement is building for the annual PTO booster thong glow run on January 30th with a $20,000 goal supporting playground upgrades to book vending machine assemblies, field trips, and classroom enchant enhancements. Booster thon activities and

011daily character lessons run um January 21st um through the 30th leading up to the glow run. And finally, from the JCS, prior to break, students and staff participated in seven spirit days and preK um and kindergarten celebrated the Polar Express with classroom activities. Third third graders performed successful holiday concerts for both the school and families. During the first week back, upper elementary students partnered with younger buddies and empathy activities focused on walking in someone else's shoes. Um that's all for me. Thank you. >> Thank you, Benson. Um next up is the student spotlight. Uh, Massachusetts Graduation Council with Dr. O'Neal. >> All right, I'm gonna move to the podium, please. >> Good evening, everyone. It's not often that we have the opportunity to recognize both a student and a staff member at a same at

012the same meeting, but tonight we get to do that, which is exciting. On December 1st, 2025, leaders from the Healey Dristll administration gathered at Denim High School to announce the Commonwealth's new statewide high school graduation framework, an important initiative designed to establish consistent, equitable, and future ready expectations for students across Massachusetts. This framework was shaped by the work of the Massachusetts K12 statewide graduation council created by executive order in January of 2025 and charged with adi and they were charged with advising the governor and legislator on how to ensure every student graduates with the skills, knowledge and opportunities they need to suitece in college, careers and civic life. This council brought together a broad and diverse group of stakeholders including educators, policy makers, higher education leaders, employers, parents, and students who met regularly, conducted research

013and listening sessions across the state, gathered extensive feedback to help inform recommendations for a me more equitable and meaningful graduation model. This evening, I am very proud to recognize Norton High School senior Annabelle Griffith for her outstanding contributions to this work. Annabelle served on the statewide graduation council as a student representative and was the only student to speak at the press conference uh announcing the framework. Her voice, perspective, and commitment to student equity helped ensure that student experiences were central to the discussions about what meaningful graduation looks like for learners across the state. As Annabelle shared at the event, this work reflects a shared commitment to ensuring every student, regardless of background or zip code, has a clear and equitable path to graduation. Annabelle's leadership exemplifies the powerful role that our students play as partners

014in shaping not only their education, but the future of education. We're grateful for her service and very proud to recognize her this evening. Come on up, Annabelle. [applause] Welcome back. Come on up. [applause] Congratulations to Annabelle. It's nice to have such a packed room here. I'm sure there might be some of your former teachers in the audience as well. Um, very, very proud of you. It's amazing when we see our Norton High School students go out into the broader community and they always represent us so incredibly well. So, congratulations and thank you for all of your work. >> Congratulations. That's awesome. And congratulations to the family as well um for supporting her. So, um anybody Okay, we'll move on to the next um also with Dr. O'Neal recognition of Mr. Robert McCoy. Okay. So, tonight

015I also have the honor of recognizing Norton High Schoolized teacher, Mr. Rob McCoy, for being named to the 2025 Wasabi Fenway Bowl honor role, a program that highlights educators and school staff across New England who make meaningful contributions to their students and communities. Rob was nominated not only for his dedication as an educator, but also for his significant community impact through the C2 Foundation, which he founded four years ago in memory of his friend and fellow coach, Thomas Peterson, Norton's deputy police chief, who passed in July of 2021. Since its founding, the C2 Foundation has become an important community resource, as so many of you know. Each year it awards scholarships to students, hosts a golf tournament in May, organizes a food drive in November, and runs a holiday toy drive. These programs provide support

016and opportunities to local families and students. The toy drive alone has supported over 500 families since it began, reflecting Rob's commitment to the community beyond his work in the classroom. Rob's selection for the Wasabi Fenway Bowl honor role acknowledges both his professional contributions as an educator and his broader impact in the community of Norton. On behalf of the school committee and the district, we'd like to congratulate Rob on this recognition and thank him for his dedication to our students and community. [applause] >> [laughter] [applause] >> No one will help me. >> [laughter] >> Thank you very much. [applause] >> Thank you. >> Um Mr. McCoy, thank you for all that that you have done, you know, for the students and for the town and um and the C2 Foundation. It's um extremely appreciative and we're

017very grateful to have you as part of our community. >> Thank you. Um, all right. Next up is review and vote to approve Norton High School new course proposals with um, Miss G and Mr. Portway. >> Oh, yes. And you guys can certainly leave. You don't need to stay. [laughter] Don't feel like you need to remain here. >> You're welcome to stay. You just don't have to. >> Yes. [laughter] That's not it. [laughter] >> That's okay. All right. So, this is my new course proposal. It's called Internship Intro to Special Education and Human Services. So, I'm Allison, also known as Miss G by Many. Um, I am the one of the step up teachers at Norton High School. I'm one of the best buddies adviserss with Mr. Portway. Um, and I am the unified sport

018booster club teacher liaison. So, where did this idea come from? I was very fortunate to go to the unified champion school conference with Mr. Flanigan and we heard a teacher from Case High School in Swansea present about their course that they have there. Um, and we were instantly very interested. Um, so I actually had the chance to go over to Case High School, observe their version of this course and adapt it to our community and how we think it'll fit at Norton High School. This is the long program of study description um that's going to go in the program of studies for the students to see, but it's all the information that's going to be in this slideshow. So, who would take this course? It would be open to students in grades 10 through 12.

019Um, it would be for students who are interested in the fields of human services and special education. Students that would be a good fit for this would be students in Best Buddies, students that do unified sports. Um, I've had many students reach out to me about interning with me. So, people that are interested in that. Um, and just anybody interested in the special education field. There will be an application that will need to be completed for consideration to the course. Um we are hopeful that it will be more than we're expecting. So there will be an application and a rubric that'll be scored for students to be able to take the course. Um connecting to portrait of a graduate and the strategic plan and all of that. So it's an internship with hands-on real world

020experience. There's going to be lessons in confidentiality, IEPs, speech and language. Um, it meets the core all of the core values, respect, collaboration, responsibility. The students get to be role models and it's increasing learning communities, learning outcomes for both interns and special ed students. Um, everybody's working together. Staffing and scheduling considerations, there are none. Um, which is a dream for Mr. Cersei. Um, I'm the one leading the course. The peer interns will be going to classes with the students or um and pair of professionals. There's going to be guest speakers that will be invited to come and teach in lessons. Um, but it can run through the out the day with no additional staffing. Um there will be a limit on the number of students per period just so that the room and the students

021aren't getting overwhelmed, but we're thinking like two to three students a class period. Course requirements, there's a participation component, weekly logs, and a final project. Um, with participation, it's expected that the students are present to be able to go with the students to their classes and help them out. And then there's bi-weekly LLB lessons, um, which will consist of those guest speakers and then open forums for students to be able to just kind of get feedback from me, ask their questions. um they're going to be assisting students either in the special ed room or in um an inclusion class. They'll help take notes. They'll help complete classwork. They'll be a role model for the students. Weekly logs. They'll have to fill out a weekly log on Google form. Um these are some sample questions of

022things that students can answer on those weekly logs. Just um what went well? What do you need help with? Do you need any recommendations? And then a final project. Um, so these are two examples of final projects they could do. One is taking a lesson that they've seen and adding accommodations or modifications to the lesson. Um, so for example, they could take a quiz from an inclusion class and add picture symbols. or they can watch a season of Love on the Spectrum or Down for Love and complete a one-page reflection for each episode. There will need to be some considerations for students taking it a third time. This is our first time bringing it to Norton, so there's going to be some things to hash out at the beginning, but we're thinking if there's a

023student taking it for a third time that there would be some kind of like research project kind of proponent to it. Any questions? >> Hi. Um, question, comment, have a whole bunch of things. Um, I am so very excited about this. Uh when it showed up in my packet, I was like, "Oh." Um you know, for starters, I'm very excited that it's like a merger of my two worlds. Um you know, like it's just great. Um I may have, you know, snuck this by my daughter just to see and she was like so like just so excited. >> Figured she would be interest. Um yeah, so really really excited. Uh my question would be because this is not your conventional elective, right? So it's not a classroom. you're not sitting. Um would this be and

024this might be more of a question for you an additional elective outside of the regular course electives that they would select like meaning like you know say you know the child wanted to do this elective this elective this they can't add this in addition it has to be within their parameters of the normal coursework >> yeah so it would be like where we have an internship right so this is really we have internships miss P runs internships in general and we have interns at work now with Allison and some of the teachers. So this actually would be the specific block, >> okay, >> that they would have. So they're this course would let's say be a block. You'd have three up to three students that would go down during their A block time. Okay. So

025it would be just one of their electives. >> Okay. All right. And then uh is this being presented as a full year elective or a half year? >> Half year. >> Okay. All right. [clears throat] You might have said that I might have missed it because I was getting really excited. [laughter] Okay. Um awesome. Thank you. >> Yeah, >> I also am thrilled about this. I think this is such a great idea and um kudos to you for starting this and reaching out and doing all the leg work behind it. >> Um so, anybody else have any questions or >> Vinnie gave us high level of this at our CPAC meeting the other day, so we were all very excited to hear this is coming. >> Yeah, >> thank you. >> Great. >> Um I

026think this is an incredible idea. I love the um sense of independence and partnership that I think it's going to bring to your program when >> students are working with their peers and being able to have them in their classes instead of having another adult. I I think I'm really excited to see how this goes and how it works. Um and kudos to you and I'm sure you had a lot of you know the Best Buddies kids talking about something else and so it's really exciting. So thank you Alison. Thank you. >> Um, do we do one at a time? >> Yes, we should. >> Okay. All right. So, um, I'll entertain a motion to approve I just put it away. The new course proposal for internship intro to special education and human services. >>

027So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I >> I [clears throat] >> Thank you. >> Okay, Mr. Portway. >> All right. Hello. Thanks for such a big audience. Um, I'm really excited today to present AP business with personal finance to all of you. So, I'll tell you a little bit about the background of it, what it will look like at Nor High School, and then answer any questions that we have. So, this course has been tested out in the world for the past few years. Um, and next year will be the first official year of launch across the country. Um, and we're really excited, hoping that Norton High School will be at the forefront of this initiative, um, in providing these exciting, innovative opportunities for our students. So some of the rationale behind

028why we think this is the perfect time to bring it to Norton High School um is that a it'll bring our students real world and career oriented opportunities um and our current course registration data proves that our students are seeking these advanced and rigorous opportunities that are directly tied to careers. So whether that's in the business department or computer science department or anything else that correct uh connects directly to careers um we're seeing a big increase in those numbers and so um this is the perfect opportunity to kind of capitalize on that. Um countrywide business is the current largest and most popular major. Um and so this course will hopefully provide students with the opportunity to actually earn college credit in an introductory level business course before they even get to college which is awesome.

029And then as indicated earlier by our awesome senior um the new Massachusetts graduation framework um priorities just came out and financial literacy education is part of that. And so we're excited for more guidance as that comes along. But there's a good chance that this course will actually fulfill um any potential future requirements in that area. So what will this look like at Norton High School? This will be a full- course offered to grades 11 and 12. Um this will serve as a capstone experience. And so as part of preparing for this course, we analyzed over 20 program of studies from all the area schools. Um, and we are extremely proud of the fact that our department offers way more options than other schools um, in terms of all these different career paths and we really

030give students the opportunity to try different things out before kind of deciding what are they going to do after high school. Um, and so this will serve as a capstone experience, meaning students throughout their high school career might decide, you know, business is for me and I'm going to go forward with this and this will kind of serve as that ending piece. Um, and although it is an AP course, it is also exploratory in nature. And so, as you'll see in the next slide, we cover all different business fields. And so, for example, we start off pretty basic with what is business, but then we go into marketing, we go into saving and finance and management and strategy, and we end with a personal finance unit. And so students are going to get a very

031well-rounded experience in all different business areas. Um and so that hopefully by the end if they are still interested in business um they'll have more of a clear direction of kind of which career path or college path they might end up going. Um this course has a pretty big focus on personal finance. So even though for example we are on the marketing unit um there is still personal finance and that's on the right there. Um those topics are intertwined throughout. So that's really exciting. Um the College Board has released all of the guidelines and frameworks. So for example, in unit three, we're looking at income statements. In unit two, we're looking at market research and all these different topics throughout our entire year together. Um they've released their frameworks with all of the learning objectives

032and essential knowledge and learning skills that will occur throughout the course. One thing that I'm really excited about and something that we're already doing in the business department is that a lot of the learning and curriculum for this course is directly through case studies. Um, and so we're not just like learning terms and memorizing terms and whatnot. We're applying them to real challenges in the business world. Um, and so we'll look at a real problem that a country or company is facing. Um, and our students will use what we're talking about in that unit to solve that and make recommendations. And so that's pretty exciting. Another thing that students will be doing throughout the entire course is preparing a business plan. And so, for example, when we finish the marketing unit, they will apply their

033knowledge from that to their business plan that they'll be working on throughout the entire course. by the end they will have a full business plan um which will be really cool and professional. And another component of this um which is one of several is the financial advisor project. And so of course Norton High School will have the autonomy to kind of implement our curriculum um as we see fit in accordance with their frameworks and guidelines. Um but there are these two projects, one I just mentioned and this one that will be rolled out uh nationwide. So, the financial advisor project is kind of a case study scenario where students will receive um a sample family budget and they'll have to go through several steps on looking at the family budget, analyzing their finances, and making

034really sound and smart recommendations on it. So, obviously, we all know this is a really important skill um that sometimes doesn't get taught K through 12. And so, I'm hoping that these students will get a really meaningful experience through this project in the entire course. Um the end of course exam in May that I'm sure everyone will be counting the days down to. And finally, um there are several teacher supports ingrained, which is really exciting for me. So, for example, the AP summer institute training that all AP teachers usually go to at least once, um will be free for this first year of implementation. So, I'm looking forward to hopefully attending that training. Um they provide a ton of different resources including project- based learning training to our staff. Um in addition um as you

035heard earlier about our DECA success that we will be bringing about 78 students to states which I'm really excited about is there have been teachers who've been piloting this program who've directly correlated and aligned um DECA curriculum with this course and so our students in this course will also get experience that will help them in competition. So that's awesome for me. That is it and I'm happy to answer any [laughter] questions. >> I am also thrilled about this course. This is like I feel like we have needed this for a very long time in district. So, I'm very happy to see it and um yeah, full support on from me at least. >> Anyone else comments? >> Yeah, same thing. Uh I've been on the committee for three and a half years now and this

036is definitely one of the things I wanted to see. So, this is great. My only issue with it is is it's AP only. This should be a mandatory course for every single high school student who graduates. >> I will add we do also have um our intro to business course, but we did last year just launch a personal finance course. And so we're hoping once this kind of gets rolling um that those will actually be prerequisites. >> Awesome. >> Yeah. Awesome. >> That's great. >> Any other comments? >> No. >> All right. I'll um entertain a motion to approve the AP business with personal finance proposal course high school. I don't know. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I sorry. Great job. >> First time first time chairing. Sorry, guys.

037>> Been a great job. >> Um all right. Next up is um discussion and vote on installation of temporary sun shade at the JCS field. The Norton youth in baseball softball I saw the other Mr. Sikker in the back. >> Y >> good evening madam chair school committee I picked a heck of a night to talk about sun shades. [laughter] If you don't mind I have something for you guys just so you can kind of review it. >> Is it this? Yeah. Yeah, we got it. >> You have this part of it? >> Nope. >> I'll take that. Thank you very much. [clears throat] >> My name is Kevin Schliker. I'm here to represent the Norton Youth Baseball and Softball Program. I am a uh currently on the board. So, can someone What the is

038there a >> do it from here? >> Oh, >> go one more. There we go. So, what the problem we're having is at JCS, um, especially with the girls softball >> or the dugouts. Um, really consistent with summer ball. Um, when the girls are there, as you can tell, there's no shade there whatsoever. And as you can attest to, they roast in the dugout, um, on both sides. So, what our proposal would be is to make a temporary structure that we're able to take down in inclement weather, um, high winds, storms, um, and also take down come wintertime. So, I've already spoken to the building inspector and the state of Mass has a thing what they call a temporary tent permit and this is what this would fall under. So, it actually wouldn't even be

039a commercial building um permit according to him. So, I know it's tough to see. Basically, the small black dots are the fence posts that are existing. Um we would extend those fence posts up to obviously raise the height of the um sun shade and it would be approximately 10 x 16 and it would cover about 75% of the dugout area for uh when the girls or the players are sitting in the dugout. We would do it on both sides. Um it would be tapered from front to back so angled off the back and then there would be a drop down back shade um on the uh thing. Obviously like to do purple if we can do it. it would be totally covered by um N youth baseball and softball. We don't see overall large expense

040due to the fact that the fence posts there are already set to kind of handle this. Um and the best part is it's removable by carabiners that would just clip in and they' be extended. You can it's tough to see but the small dash lines are where the uh stainless steel um eyebolts come off the fence post. And then when we do our field cleanup in October range, we would take it down and then we would set it back up sometime maybe in the uh late spring. I don't see this something that's going to be up even in the spring due to the fact that for spring ball it's not really the issue. It's more for all stars and summer ball. Um on this I don't have it on this on the PowerPoint on the

041second page of the document you guys have. That's similar to what it is. I'm sure everyone's seen them at uh restaurants or or whatnot, you know, outside stuff. So, >> okay. Any any questions or comments? >> Has this got a run through, Wade? >> Yes. >> And then, uh, how much does it costing the school committee? >> Z, I believe nothing. >> Love that. >> Z. >> Anybody who has anybody who has kids in town that's in the district, um, this is what some of our, you know, the fees go to. We try to make improvements to, you know, bitchel and I know I don't want in a soap box here, but this is what it goes to. I know people like are always wondering, you know, what are we doing to improve the fields?

042Um, these are some of the things that we've heard from um parents and whatnot for uh you know, feedback and this is one of our main our bigger projects that we want to do uh this spring. >> Okay. Um so we do need to vote >> to accept the gift. Um, so I'll entertain a motion to approve the installation of a temporary sun shade at the JCS field as presented. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I'm going to abstain due to the conflict of interest here. [laughter] >> Um, okay. You're good. >> Thank you very much. >> Um, okay. Next up, award notification and vote to accept Norton Media Center grants. Dr. O'Neal. >> All right. So, in addition to supporting um community engagement in the town of Norton by

043facilitating coverage of local events and providing free access to production studio space, Norton Media also offers discretionary grant funding funding exclusively for technology related purchases. Uh and grant applications are reviewed twice a year. Approved applicants receive written notification detailing their selection and the amount awarded. Grant recipients are responsible for using the funds solely for the purpose outlined in their application and must submit a detailed accounting of expenditures along with a follow-up report within one year of the grant. Uh this year we are um thrilled to announce that four um Norton staff members or actually more than four, but we received four grants from Norton Media Center. Um the first one was $742 to Mr. Brad Bousard. I see him in the audience tonight, who is our Norton High School technology engineering teacher for mini 3D

044printers and printing materials. Uh $2,000 to Mr. Portway, also here in the audience tonight, uh for cameras and printers. $3,500 to Miss Jennifer Scaronic, who the Norton business teacher, um for a sublimation printer. Is that the one kind that you can like print things and put them on cookies? >> No. [laughter] >> What's Does it make edible ink? I don't know. >> Yeah, it's like a >> t-shirts. Okay. Well, that you can't eat those. Um and then $3,000 to uh Miss uh Liz Norcliffe and Kim Zjac, speech and language pathologists for technology to support special education students in the areas of speech and language development. Um so extremely extremely grateful. Right now we have Norton Media here kind of running our audio tonight. So um thank you to them and thank you um for these

045very generous gifts um to our teachers and I know that they will all be used well. So the committee just needs to vote to approve the gift. >> Um that's wonderful. Congratulations to all the recipients. Um and thank you for taking the time to I'm sure there's some leg work to go and try to get that grant. So um all right. Uh any questions or anything? >> Thank you for the Norton Media Center as well obviously for providing four different grants to our schools. It's a uh great community service aspect to what we do. [snorts] >> Anything else? >> No. >> Okay. Entertain a motion to accept the Norton Media Center grants as presented. >> So move. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I do. Sorry. >> I was laughing at Laura. >>

046Um all right. Next up is review and vote on proposed 202627 school calendar. Dr. O'Neal. Okay. So, next year is one of those interesting years where um Labor Day is very, very late. Basically, the latest it can be, which is on Monday, September 7th. So, our typical routine is that staff returns for 2 days prior to Labor Day and then students return to school um on the Tuesday after Labor Day. Um in that situ in that scenario which is the second page for all of you um we would not get out of school until >> the 21st [laughter] >> of June. I see a lot of head shaking out there. Right. Um so I have another option for us which would be to um have um staff both staff and students return before Labor Day.

047Um so in this scenario, teachers would return for one day, a welcome back day on Monday the 31st. Um and students would start on um se on Tuesday, September 1st. Um kindergarten would begin on Tuesday on Wednesday the 2nd and then Little Lancers would start after Labor Day. Um in this scenario, we would move our second professional day to um election day in November. Um, and we would get out of school on Wednesday, June 16th. Um, and as a reminder, we always have to build in five snow days to our calendar. Um, so in the scenario where we come back after Labor Day, the five snow days would bring us to June 28th. And in this scenario, the five snow days would bring us to the 23rd. Um so I think it's you know there

048are in both scenarios we looked at the election day um as that um professional development day. Obviously if we were coming back after Labor Day we would have some more flexibility there. Um otherwise the calendar basically is is very similar to what we have in the past. The only other significant difference is during the week of Thanksgiving, we would work on um Monday and Tuesday and we would be off Wednesday, Thursday, Friday for a longer break there. So other than that, um happy to make any adjustments that the committee feels is appropriate. Um or you can take a vote tonight. It's up to you. >> Um I have a I'm just going to be a nitpicky Nelly. Um, the five days would actually on the first calendar be the 24th because the observance of Junth

049on the 18th. >> Oh, thank you. >> Yep. It's not. Yep. Thank you very much. >> No problem. It's just the purple's not there because there we're hoping to not be here that day. >> Uh, my other thing is is both calendars. Um, you're planning on doing a full day on the 25th on both calendars. Yes. Not a half. Okay. >> That's the same on both. >> Just looking for clarification. Thank you. >> Of course. >> Because I know that's not traditional here. >> No, that's new this year. >> Yep. >> What day? Uh we're talking about November >> the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It would be a full day off. >> Either either calendar it'll be a full day off >> instead of a half day >> instead of half day. Yeah. >> Correct. That

050is so that week it is we have three days of school that week. 21 22 23. >> Sorry if there's any other questions. Do you mind just coming up to the microphone because it we just all everybody can't hear and the recording and all the things. Sorry. Sorry. Okay. [laughter] Um I I really like the calendar. The only question I had was um for those families that do little lancers, they um that come on Wednesday afternoons kind of get short end of the stick because they don't go a lot of those Wednesdays obviously. Um, would it be possible to maybe alternate and do like a couple Thursdays or a Tuesday or we we certainly can we can certainly can take a look at shifting the early release days. The other thing that we can do

051is um switch the times for Little Lancers. So, for example, um one month the AM students wouldn't have school and Little Lancers staff would do their PD in the morning and then the alternating month we would do it in the afternoon just to kind of try to make it a little bit more equitable. I'm sure Casey and Maria could sit with the staff and figure out a way to make that work so it's a little bit more equitable. But really, I mean, I think the Wednesdays have been better for professional development than the Fridays, but >> yeah, >> other than that, it's it's really whatever the committee feels is most appropriate. >> Um, I also have another nitpicky Nelly question. Sorry. Um, traditionally, so I know that these are drafts. Um, who who um has

052input on the drafts? I I'm just not clear on that. So, >> you do >> just just us. I didn't know if things were shared with anyone like in the like teacher union or if there's any any teacher staff that have input. No. >> Okay. >> Um I think this question would go to Dr. Ari. I'm looking at kind of version two here just to kind of keep everyone on the same page. Um a thing that we all that we've talked about multiple times um we've always hear that you know half days are obviously you know not great for families um in terms of you know especially when there's multiple of them kind of in a row or due to exams or conferences or whatever it may be. Um obviously it definitely seems like we've

053cut down a little bit here which is good on early release days. Um however I kind of see in March, April, May there would be four PD days. the third, March 3rd, March 17th, uh, April 7th, and May 19th. Um, are those all really needed for PD that late in the year? And can you just maybe talk to exactly kind of what happens during those months? >> Sure. Um, I I'll I'll work backwards. So, that May day is traditionally developed to uh transitional activities. So that's kind of a long-standing tradition just helping educators prepare students either to go to the next grade or the next school. Um and then in March and April you want to try and have what I would call intermediate checkpoints with different things. So you know for example part of

054what we're doing uh at the middle and high school is updating those curriculum maps um in lie of the uh dennial visit for the high school but also we have new instructional materials. So to be able to provide educators with time for that activity during the day typically is uh helpful. And then um you know in addition um there are things sometimes that are unforeseen like for example we're going to be doing for our middle and secondary folks on the 28th um artificial intelligence PD. Um we weren't sure exactly when we were going to be able to do it. We had to be nimble in terms of timing but um the person became available. So having those uh four days for us from a PD standpoint um would work well. >> Great. Um I'll probably

055put this through the chair since we do have a lot of teachers here. Does anyone have any comment and wanted to come up and and speak? And I guess obviously you probably have to approve that. >> Yeah, that's fine. Anybody wants to come up speak to the schedule, the calendar? Hi everyone, Rachel Kierney uh North Adamboro, Massachusetts. I will just point out that I'm I'm not sure but it's I think next year or the year after the high school will be going through the NEAS process. So having I I get half days are an imposition for families at times, but at least at the high school level, we are really going to need those regular half days because throughout the year we'll be needing to check in and make sure we're meeting our benchmarks. see

056if there's things we're falling short on that we need to sort of pick up the pace on. Um, so I totally get from a parent perspective why they can be difficult, but certainly at the high school level, those regular half days are really a necessity, especially when we have things like NIAS coming up. Um, so I don't know if it's this year or next year, but I know it's I know it's looming and we're starting to hear rumblings about it. So it's coming. [laughter] >> Thank you. Hi, my name is Julie Garini. I'm 32 years in as a teacher and I am the opposite. I don't feel like we need all these half days. Um, I do get the purpose of having half days every once in a while and PD, but for somebody that's

057been in the profession as long as I have, I don't find that they're always useful. Um, and I don't feel like we always get what we need from that. I think it's better to be in the classroom with students. Um, I feel very strongly about that. I feel like sometimes the half days take away from our time with the students, which is my favorite part of my job. And um that's it. [laughter] >> Thank you very much. >> Uh Dr. O'Neal, can >> we have one more? >> No. >> Oh, sorry. >> My fault. >> Hi, Lindseay Costa. Um from Taton, Massachusetts. I teach at the high school. Um I had two thoughts. one, I don't know, this is my own personal thought. I don't know how anybody else feels about this. Um, I feel

058like having the two days at the beginning of the year is huge. To just be in the schools without students is huge. >> Is there a reason that on the >> I forget which option it was where there was the two days that we were there that we couldn't do two teacher days and then two student days so that the students are still starting. So the reason we did it that way um Lindsay was that um to kind of build a little bit of momentum before labor the long weekend right so the teachers contract says that if we do start before Labor Day we cannot work on the Friday before Labor Day so if we did Monday t and it also says we can't start earlier than the Monday before Labor Day so within those

059constructs I I thought okay >> it would be nice to have the kids for like Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and have three days with them before having that long weekend. Um I personally really like the two days at the beginning of the year as well. Like that was something that we changed many many years ago. I I personally really like it too. Um I'm not really married to anything but um >> as someone that was the thought process of like getting three days out of the way before the long weekend. >> Yeah. So being from Taton this year they did one day with the students before the long weekend which >> seems silly. >> That was that was very silly. No, but I was like two days two days was kind of like you get in

060you get into a little bit of a routine then have a break and then kind of start. >> Um and then my other thought with all the half days um oh probably precoid we used to have an extra half day at the high school around exam time and I don't know if that's ever a thought that could come back. Um, again, we could shift it from like so that it's like equitable that we're getting all of the half days that everybody else is getting or if they don't want all the half days, they don't have to have the half days. Um, but that extra day at exams for teachers to like analyze the data of the exams so that we know kind of what we're doing going forward, but also for students, and I don't

061know if Benson can speak to this, right now we're doing one exam in a morning and then a full day of school. Then the next day we have two exams in the morning and then they have to stay for a full day of school. They are that second day especially they are exhausted. I know like I see the kids in the afternoon and they are just like like zombies and it's like okay can we just let them go home? Um so I don't know again if that's an option for the final midyear and final exam weeks to kind of shift one of our half days there. Again, we still use it for like I know we sit as math teachers at least, we sit like in a room together and are all grading together and

062then kind of analyzing as we're going like, "Okay, what do we need to fix? What do we need to change?" So, it's not just like a free-for-all. We we're doing stuff, I promise. [laughter] Um, but yeah, I like again for the kids too, it's like they're just not there on those days and and they don't need to I think they can go home by themselves and they don't need to worry about parents being there for daycare. I don't know. My kids are alone. >> You clearly don't have teenagers. >> I [laughter] don't have I don't have teenagers. I can't leave my kids alone, but I don't know. Maybe they >> Thank you. Thank you for that feedback. >> Hi. >> Hello, Jusha Borc. Um Berkeley, Massachusetts. Um I work at LG North for anyone who

063doesn't know me. Um I just have a question about the day before Thanksgiving. What's the reasoning or the rationale behind that being now a full day off instead of a half day? Is it just um I don't know because we know now it gets tacked on to the end of the year. When it was a half of day it counted as a school day and then you know one less day in June. Any can anyone explain like what the purpose of that is? >> It was simply just to give everybody a little bit of a longer break. I know those that we have a lot of um staff that request that day. We have some attendance issues on that day as well. Um, so looking at just having to have a strong focus on instructional

064time, >> it was just and then the full day on the 23rd. I know for a long time we said that the full day, the 23rd of December would be a half day. Um, if we were in school, you know, if it was a Saturday or Sunday or Christmas was on a Tuesday or whatever, we wouldn't be there. So if we were getting out of school on like the 21st or 20th, obviously it would be a full day. Um, we had kind of had it, you know, an I don't know if it was probably not written anywhere, but a kind of unwritten rule that if we were in school on the 23rd, it would be a half day because a lot of people Christmas Eve is like a big day for their families and stuff

065like that. So, why is that now a full day? >> So, I think as you said, it's probably not written anywhere, right? Um, and so when I was doing the calendar this year, I just said, "Okay, it's a three-day, it's a three-day week. It's not necessarily. It was just something that I kind of did in passing, but again, the committee has the final vote on on the calendar, so we can have that conversation if they're inclined. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else have any feedback, thoughts, >> Miss Taylor? [laughter] >> Hi, I'm Shannon Taylor. I live in Roovit, but I'm a JCS teacher. Um, I think one of the things like I I echo about the PD days. I think especially as a special education teacher, I work with

066a grade level, which is great to have time with my grade level team, but like some of the special professional development is definitely not targeted to what I'm doing. So, I think we've been trying to have these conversations about what that might look like going forward. Um, so just footnote on that one. Um I I also when Miss Guses and you asked about like where the feedback came from. I think some of us who have been here for a little while when changes have happened parents have gotten an email or like this is going to be different this year. What do you guys think? So that's some of the sentiment I've been hearing from some people. Is this like uh is this just a vote tonight? Is this a you see it twice in vote?

067Because that's sometimes what you guys have to do. You have to talk about it then we talk about it. We come back to another meeting. We have another conversation. Is this one of those things that has to be voted on tonight or is there a way to get more feedback because it seems like we have some questions about maybe some ways we could do this a little differently that makes it make sense for more things like I think you guys are trying to do some good things. I don't want to seem like I'm being accusatory in any way, but I think there's an opportunity here for us to maybe look at this a little deeper and when you have an opportunity to get get feedback that always makes people feel more invested. So, not even

068just teachers, but also parents as well, because some parents might look at this and say the same thing, like full day on the 23rd, like we're on our way out, or we've already planned that we weren't going to be here the week before um Labor Day. Well, our kids never go to school before then. I know it's super late, but like those types of things a community might want to hear about, too, and just have an opportunity to give feedback. So, I just wanted to state that. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else? Any thoughts? Any comments up here? >> No. >> Okay. >> Um, well, I have a comment. So, if we started on the 31st and gave the teachers two days, >> the 31st and the 1st, >> couldn't our first day

069be the second >> and then >> she just contracted, >> but it's contractually they can't, I guess. >> So, we could have So, theoretically, you could have students come the second and the third. >> Yeah. If we were to do that, I would not recommend having kindergarten start on the third cuz that's like they're going to come for one day and then they're going to have a long weekend. Seems silly. >> Well, Swansea's been doing that for the past few years now and I and I say that but we're still doing it. So, [laughter] >> I mean, so we can't imagine that's helpful. We >> Well, it's funny cuz the kindergarters come in and they go, "Woo, I did that." And then it's like, >> "No, you're coming back after." And they're like, "Wait, what?"

070[laughter] So, well, and then you come back and you do the exact same thing on Tuesday because no one remembers what happened. >> Um, so we could do the 31st and the 1st as teacher days. You could do the second and the third for grades 1 through 12 and then perhaps kindergarten [clears throat] and um little Lancers start after the long weekend. >> Um, that's absolutely a possibility. And again, you can make a you can make a decision tonight or you can table it as well and we can throw together different options. >> If we were to do the um full day prior to or like the 31st and the 1st and then >> how [clears throat] would that impact the rest of the calendar then I guess like would that eliminate another half day

071or would that take away? So what we would do instead is we would not have the professional development day on November 3rd. That would be a regular day of school. >> Mhm. >> And it's not a presidential election. So that's not a big deal. We can It's middle school is the only place that we use for voting and they've got it down to a pretty good science. So it wouldn't actually impact the last day at all. >> Well, I like >> I would uh Yeah. >> Yeah. M >> I think from my standpoint I think I would kind of like to dive into this too a little bit more especially kind of hearing from kind of everybody >> um and not to get bogged down here but I think like maybe >> maybe if we

072go through Dan from the school committee standpoint and then kind of put together something for it's not like we're in a huge rush right now anyway. Um and I think you know obviously we want to get something out to parents so they can start scheduling summer vacations if they haven't already and all that fun stuff but I think as long as we can kind of get this [clears throat] by the end of the month I think we'll be all right. So maybe that's >> we can we can definitely bring it back on the 28th. >> Yeah. >> I'm also I'm also wondering about um and again I haven't thought this through at all so maybe I shouldn't but the just the trade-off of like that full day the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. >> Yeah. um off

073and then the you know um I think that the past couple of years we have been receiving well and I speak for my district um the half day before Christmas Eve but it's just because of where things were falling and so then you start playing that uh that game. So, I don't know if um a quick blurp of, you know, maybe doing a trade-off of keeping the day before Thanksgiving a half day in exchange for getting the half day the day before Christmas Eve maybe might be more enticing. >> So, Oh, well, hi. Thanks. I'm I'm here all week. [laughter] >> How did you do that? >> Um I don't know. Can I do it again? Hi. Well, I think uh to to Nick's point, so whatever feedback you have, send it to Dan, have

074Dan send it to me, and then we will come back on the 28th. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Perfect. >> Yeah. And I sorry, just one more thing. I think one thing to pay attention to, too, is that June 18th would be Junth observed. And the last thing we want to be doing is coming back for that one Monday >> when everyone's trying to get out of here as well. So, >> if we have a snow day, that's correct. But yeah, the wiggle room is the wiggle room. I mean, you can only do what you can do. You're playing a scary game when you're getting out that late and you have Junth and then you have potential for snow days. It's >> correct. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. So, we'll we'll table the um

075the calendar for now and come back. We'll revisit on the 28th. >> Thank you. >> Um All right. Next up, MCCAST Dart data presentation. Dr. Acriman. It's a good time. [laughter] >> I won't embarrass him. >> Do you know where it is? I can pull my computer. always forget that the Chromebook scrolls the other way. >> I'm going to put it in slideshow. >> Do you want a clicker? Do we have a >> Yes, that was probably do. Yeah, but I don't know what it is. >> Yeah, I can't even Oh. What do we >> computer went to sleep? I hope I don't put you to sleep. [laughter] >> I know. Everyone's leaving. >> We can table this thing. [laughter] >> Revisit on the 28th. Poor Dr. Acriman. It's actually his birthday tonight and he's

076here presenting to you guys on MCAST Dark. His >> birthday. Happy birthday. [laughter] >> We should sing. >> Oh no. That would really embarrass him. [laughter] >> Mr. Beard, did we get a good update on from Adam Shfter over there or [laughter] >> So, thank you everybody. Just to set a little bit of context, um tonight we're going to be looking at some data that goes back to 2014 and we'll run through 2025. Uh a couple of years ago, um when I first did this presentation, there was a request from the committee to look at other districts and they are called Dart districts and I'm going to talk a little bit about that and what that looks like. Um, so essentially we're going to look at grades um 3 through 8 in math and ELA.

077We're also going to look at grade 10 math and ELA. And the Dart districts that we compare to, and there's a list of about 12 to 15, but putting them all on one graph would be very confusing. So um I selected uh the state average as well as five other commensurate districts and essentially DART is what they call the district accountability and review tool. So it's something that we can use as Norton public schools to compare our results with other similar schools over a period of time. And the way in which we find those districts that are comparable is they look at the total enrollment, the percentage of English language learners, the um proportion of students that are in certain socioeconomic status categories, look at the number of ed educators within the district, overall district

078financial numbers, and then uh achievement. There's a link in the slides for those that are interested in diving deeper into this information. So, just to give everybody a little bit of background about MCCAST and the state assessments because it's been somewhat of a long windy road. It was developed in 1993 and that was the Massachusetts Education Reform Act that drove that and the first available data on MCCAST goes back to 1998. Um there was uh from 1998 to 2016 what they call the first generation and if you look at some of the literature some of the scoring they call this the legacy scale and you can see the four scoring categories advanced proficient needs improvement and back then they indeed called it failing. In 2017, Desi went to something called the next generation. So any

079scores that anyone sees from 2017 through 2025 are called the next generation scores. And what you'll see with the scores, they fall into four categories. Exceeding expectations, meeting expectations, partially meeting, and then not meeting expectations. So there are still four categories. It's just the language around them has changed a little bit in terms of trying to build some context around the legacy versus next in about 2017 when the switch was made. The standard for proficiency went up significantly. So what you'll see in a number of the charts is you'll see some high numbers and then some decline. But understand this is to some extent an apples to oranges comparison because the metric used to measure proficiency was changed and [snorts] that's just something that I think when you look at the the table is just

080important to be mindful of. Additionally, there was no MCCAST in 2020. There was a partial MCCAST in 2021. Uh there are certain districts for whom for some reason you cannot find data for every year. Norton is not one of them. Our data is all available. I think from a context standpoint, Norton Public Schools is not the summary of one test. We have amazing students and wonderful teachers that have worked hard over a long period of time to give local assessments as well. Unfortunately, when MCCAST was first rolled out, it was looked at as an absolutist test. You either got it or you didn't. And while it is important, it most certainly is a data point because I don't want to minimize its importance, but it is one of a larger set of data that helps

081us talk about student achievement, student performance, and areas for growth. One benefit of MCCAST is that the data is considered a common comparison because all students take it. And kind of the last um I think contextual variable is uh the ballot initiative from 2024. I think for those that aren't familiar um MCCAST was removed by the voters of the Commonwealth as a graduation requirement. One potential outcome of that could be that certain students when the carrot or stick as you phrase it um is removed perhaps the motivation to do as well isn't there. And to be candid there's you know I'm relatively new to Norton. This is my third year. But I also know that meta messaging from a number of different places has somewhat at times been skeptical of MCCAST. So those overarching variables

082can create um with folks a perception of importance or lack of importance. I don't think it's one definitive attitude, but it is important just to put out into the public space that there has been some kind of mixed messaging and that creates sometimes mixed results. Um last piece there was also the transition from paper to computer-based and Norton went fully computer in 2018. So if I hope that everybody can see this. So this is grade three starting in 2014 and it runs all the way through 2025. So this is the 11th year. Norton is in purple. The state is in red and then the other commensurate towns of Danvers, Belchure Town, North Middle Sex, and Sandwich are included. A couple of them are commensurate geographically. Sandwich is on the Cape, but through the mechanisms identified

083by DART, they are considered a DART district for us. So, I'll give folks a moment to look at that table and ask any questions. >> [clears throat] >> for grade excuse me didn't mean to get that close [laughter] for grade three math um again this is the longitudinal um information again like you'll see there is some decline in in the movement when the standards were changed and um kind of a some up and down over the last few years for grade 4 ELA. Again, simil similarly, one thing to note for ELA is that we've had a recent new adoption of um instructional materials into reading. And sometimes when you're learning a new program, new language, new pedagogy, professional development, new structures, it takes a little bit of time to get all those tools under your

084belt. And then for students, if they have had one program for one year and a different program for another year, sometimes there's a little bit of catch-up that needs to take place, but really that third year out is when you should start seeing some increase in performance. Grade four math. Um you similarly uh again we have a a relatively new um program stepping stones for math. So um there has been a little bit of improvement since 2022. We're by no means satisfied. We're going to keep working um at this, but just wanted to give the the committee and the public some context for grade four math, grade five ELA. Again, similarly, we uh we we had a tough year last year for for grade five. Um I have every confidence that after we go into

085the second year of inter reading that that score will will increase. for grade grade five math. Again, um a little bit of a decline since 2021. Um, but again, we have every expectation that we're going to continue to grow. [snorts] [clears throat] Grade six ELA to um point out for the committee and the public. This is our third year of Amplify ELA. So, we did see a little bit of an increase last year after a dip from 23 to 24. And then for grade six math, we again we had a little bit of a down year um last year. Um one thing to to point out that has impacted our scores is that participation rates have not been what they once were. And part of the reason could be from those uh removal of the

086graduation requirements, but we did have more optouts last year um than in either of my previous two years in this role. >> Yeah, actually um Norton Middle School did not meet the um participation threshold for the state. um 95% participation is the expectation and we were about 92%. >> Which is it's it's challenging, right? Because it gives you a skewed perception of exactly what what this is looking at. Um >> but I think it's important for us to know and I know that um Mr. Hayward has had these conversations with our with the staff as well. >> What are the ramifications of that? Um so this is the first year that we have been told by the department of education that we are at risk because of our participation rates. So um we had to

087put together a plan of how we're going to you know work with the staff, work with the families to get kids into the building and taking the assessment. Um one of the biggest challenges is that the department of education says there is no opt out. And I say, "Great. So, what happens when a parent says their child's not going to take the test?" And they're like, "Well, you can't force them." So, [laughter] I mean, I don't know about you guys, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Um, so while there officially is not an opt out, the district does not have any um we can't sit the child in front of the test and say you have to take this either. >> And when you say at risk, you mean pulling of funding. Is

088that >> um No, not at this point. What does >> So theoretically the next step would that they would probably put some sort of um action plan in place >> um for Norton Middle School and and they would probably come and do some visits and um work with us on our attendance policies, work with us um on family communication. They would probably start there because it's not performance, it's >> participation. >> Okay. Yeah. Okay. >> [snorts] >> And again, I'll just I'll I'll leave up the grade seven slide for ELA performance for everybody to look at and ask questions. [snorts] And then looking at uh grade seven math. So it was a very big struggle coming out of COVID. there's been there was a lot of what I would consider learning loss um from kids

089and even though it's still a few years later it takes time to recoup the losses from instructional time grade 8 ELA and then grade math, grade 10 ELA, and grade 10 math. Um, so I don't really feel super warm and fuzzy about any of this personally. Um, looking at this, I did, you know, I looked at it earlier obviously in the week when Dr. Arian um, turned in his slides. Um, but I think a couple things that I've noticed as I've been looking at this data. So clearly in almost every grade level, you can see a dip between 2017 and 2018 where they readjusted the criteria scores. So, um, what that means is ultimately students did not need as high of a score to be rated proficient prior to 2017 2018. So, in a lot

090of these um grids, you see proficiency in the 60 70 80 almost 90% range in some of our our and grade levels. Um, and so seeing those initial dips in 2017, 2018, it's it's definitely a hard pill to swallow. And then you see a little bit of that, you know, there was no test in 2020. So it looks like the dip between 2019 and 2021 is even more significant than it is because there is no data point in 2020. Um, but a couple grade levels that I think are are starting to make some nice progress in terms of an upward slant. Um, if you look at grade four, both for ELA and math, they're starting to go on an upward trajectory. Um, grade seven math and then grade eight both ELA and math. You can

091see they're starting to move in that upward direction, which is really great. And it's, you know, a testament to the work that our teachers do in the classrooms every day. It's a testament to the work that we've done um both at the school committee and at central office in terms of putting appropriate materials um into classrooms. >> So, it's it's definitely challenging. I think one of the ones that I'm not super surprised about is the grade 10. uh once you took away that graduation requirement from students, it's really a a non-starter for a lot of kids and they you know, everyone knows I have two teenagers. My message is always go and do your best because it's not about what your score is on this assessment. It's about you going and making your school proud

092by doing well. Cuz ultimately your superintendent and your teachers and your principles are all sitting around talking about your scores and your data. And if you just mail it in, then you're impacting everybody [laughter] around you. Um, but I I think it's it's really challenging to look at this. But I did want to mention those couple grade levels where you we are starting to see that that upward trajectory and hopefully that the work that we're doing and the work that our teachers are doing in the classrooms continues to move that um in the right direction. You know, another context too, if you look at all the slides, because the tables are usually only, let's say, five points apart, we're we're not unique and we're kind of in the same strata in the same boat as

093a number of different places in that there has been kind of this first very high proficiency, then a pretty big drop, and then kind of up and down. So, one of the questions that we had, uh, Jen and I were on a, um, superintendent leadership webinar about graduation requirements the other day, and this the state is trying to, let's say, offer some feedback or pathways for us. um not all of which I think are universally accepted as as being um favorable. But one of the things that came up was that whole idea of removing it as a graduation requirement makes it very hard for us at the high school level to have messaging for students. And again, it's not an excuse. We want our scores to go up. We don't have, as Jen said, warm

094and fuzzy. It's just I I want to make sure that the full context of the situation is layered into the conversation. So, in light of that, what are some of the things we're doing? Right? We we have the data, we have the information. So, we've done a a few different things. Um this past summer and continuing into the fall, we introduced high impact teacher teams uh to the district and really was about the power of educators working together collaboratively in pursuit of IMTSS goals by focusing on what data was important and what and the students that were right in front of you. Additionally, and this is another factor that um overlays the situation, absenteeism in the Commonwealth has been a significant issue with [clears throat] some groups um hovering around 30%. So, for example, students

095with disabilities over the last 5 years has been about 30%. Students in low socioeconomic groups has been about 30%. Um, so putting that into mind with all of the changes um is is going to be a little bit of an upward stream, but we do have chronic absenteeism teams at our schools working together to try and increase student attendance because the best availability is availability. Um, additionally, at both the middle school and at the high school, we are looking at instructional materials. Uh, Senator Feny was really kind enough to get us, um, a grant this past year. And so, um, some of the folks I I think are even here tonight or were here earlier working together to identify highquality instructional materials which we think will also support our mission. And just uh additionally because

096our L students um tend to struggle on these assessments um we are in a grant partnership with North Attboro to take our inter reading curriculum and to make sure that we embed the WEDA standards. Uh all of our educators have had at least one round of English language learner PD and there's going to be continuing ongoing data work. And then um we're going to continue to look at our schedules at each schools to maximize time on learning. And again, I'm on the Desi grand page every day looking for opportunities for us to get additional resources. And as alluded to earlier, these are kind of the ongoing curriculum materials that that we have used or are using. and just wanted to open it up if anybody had questions. >> I just want to echo back to

097where you started with the acknowledgment that this is a snapshot. This is not an end all beall. Um I am pretty vocal about my feelings about MCCAST. Um if you didn't know, I don't like them. Um, I think that they are um something that the state really needs to consider sunsetting and they need to listen to the voters and their feelings on those things. Um, [clears throat] and pay attention to the drop in participation and the drop in the scores statewide. And I mean, there are reasons for all of that. Um, so looking at this to me is whatever. I don't think that this is any reflection on the students, the district, the teachers, anything at all and more of a reflection on this test period. [snorts and clears throat] >> Yeah. I mean, I've

098said it before. Um I think getting the DART, sorry, not the Dart, the um what's the other test that we do? Star. Thank you. The uh the STAR testing data as well was helpful, especially this time around. Um, obviously we kind of know all of our feelings are probably pretty similar with the MCCAST, but I think it's very important that the public and the teachers understand we don't see data. All we see is what we can get from DART and what we can get from the MCCAST. We don't know what goes on in your classrooms. We don't know how these kids are testing. So what happens is is when we're trying to make policies and decisions and things, you know, from our standpoint to to affect the district, it's really hard to get anything to

099say, hey, this is exactly what we need to do to get better. Um, so again, I I understand I, you know, I do think we need to change the mantra that the MC tests that they don't matter because they do matter. Um, you know, it is still a test. The state simply got rid of the graduation requirement. They didn't get rid of the entire test. I think that's still a fairly common notion that everyone just thinks all these don't matter at all. Um so again I think from our standpoint like this is the only data we get to see what our students are doing in the classroom. Um so to us or you know I'll speak for myself to me this is important and and that's why I I reached out about the star to

100kind of see where we're at you know with with both um concerning you know uh I'm seeing these things and you know I'll I'm a graduate from here. I've grown here. I've been here my entire life. Norton's always been generally average. You know, that's that's who we are. That's what we are. Our per pupil funding, everything kind of about us, you know, in terms of uh socioeconomical status, everything along those lines is generally, you know, average for Massachusetts. And those those testing data and all that stuff going back has always been kind of in line with state averages. Um [clears throat] going through that, you can see we've kind of fallen off a little bit. um you know so I think you know [clears throat] ultimately you know kind of what I obviously we've put

101in new curriculums you know to to address some of this stuff you know um um you know quite frankly co yeah the whole state went through co that we all had the same problems throw that throw that thing right out um you know so I do think we need to make a little bit bigger of a push from the school committee superintendent administration teachers parents community members that these things still do matter um the they do matter when we're looking at data they do matter when we're when are trying to compare and contrast and figure out how do we get get better in Norton. That's it. >> Okay. Anybody have anything else [clears throat] >> with about MCCAST? Oh, >> sure. >> Before he does that, I just want to also note that, you know,

102just a reminder, a student is not a data point. That's all. >> Hi, Chris Malu Walpole, Massachusetts. I work at the middle school. Uh, I actually proctor the MCCAST and I'm not sure if anybody here or the school committee knows I was one of the ones who had to proctor MCCAST during CO when it was digital. And I currently had to have four monitors, three monitors where students had to log into their computer. I had to put up a GoG Guardian to see it and I had to monitor their test. However, they all had to leave their camera on, but I didn't know if they had a cell phone next to them, another computer cheating or doing any of that other stuff. So, a lot of the students in my opinion based off of that

103looked at that and goes test security and meaningfulness of the test is not important. Uh, another thing that we see too is that a lot of students have test anxiety that nobody knows about. Um, we've had multiple students where we've had to stop their test because Desi said to us, "We cannot just end the test or pause it. It has to be ended if a student cannot complete it within the school day." So, that's another issue that we have. The other issue we have, and I've seen it before, is I've asked Desi for data on multiple times. the average time a student spends on a question. I asked this in 2023. Their data they gave me was from 2018. Okay, I have seen students finish tests before the directions are done reading. [laughter] It's it's

104it's not funny because this is what happens to us and it's extremely frustrating. And when Desi when we talk to them and ask them for reports home to parents, it just says one of those four categories. It does not say everything that is about the students and what they're doing. And I am of the uh the opinion that we do too much testing from grades 3 through 8. If you think about it, those children are testing each grade every year. Fifth grade, they get three. Now in eighth grade they get four. So how much testing are we putting on these kids? And how accurate can that data be? I personally think it's testing fatigue just from doing it from all the time. And I can attest to all the teachers in here. The stress level

105not only for the teachers but for the students just to implement the test is extremely high. and me personally who has to witness a student who's pretty much breaking down and telling them, "Okay, if you got to do it, you got to do it. We can't even do it." I mean, I've also had students for whatever reasons fasting during the test and had passed out. [snorts] You can't and Desi said you have to end the test. So I just wanted to make that clarification for everybody here to see that to know that because it is a real problem and the kids know as soon as March comes that anxiety comes in and that goes all the way because the testing windows from end of March to June. >> So thank you. >> Thank you. And

106I think MCCAST [clears throat] is just one of those things that we look at. I I know for me personally, it's not the end all be all. Like it's just information, you know, and um to echo what Mr. Schliker said, it we don't get a whole lot of student data information um as far in terms of like how kids are meeting expectations. So that's just one. Um you know, this year Dr. Acriman was able to get us some STAR testing, which was really helpful for us to look at as well. um you know we are all available via email or you could always reach out to um Dr. O'Neal or Dr. Acriman if you guys you as most staff members are here if you have any other recommendations on information that we could receive to

107give us more you know uh knowledge about the progress because that's really what's helpful when we are trying to you know voting on curriculum or you know we rely on the test groups and and the feedback from from the teachers and staff who are in it. So, um, thank you. Uh, anybody else? >> Oh, sorry. Yes, Mr. Tillis. >> Zach Tillis, 3 Richmond Drive. The old saying is what gets measured gets improved. And you're telling us here the measuring stick is broken. So, how are we as as a parent here supposed to know what is going on, what we're getting for our dollar, what our kids are doing. There has to be an internal mechanism to measure what's going on in the school department, whether that's combining uh grades from all students, attendance records, whatever

108that meet, whatever that may be. But there has to be something instead of a well, let's swing it, we think we're doing okay. uh you know and these looking at these graphs from the outside looking in they they look horrible. I mean uh uh nothing to be proud of. Um so there's got to be some kind of internal mechanism that's outside desi >> that you can measure what is going on in the Norton school system. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hi Paula Daniels. I've been on the finance committee with NORN for seven years. Um, so one of the things that I've seen the pattern um are larger class class sizes every year and cuts made to the schools. Do you think those things would have an impact on MCCAST? I know you're comparing to

109different towns on the graphs and I don't know if those towns have had those similar kind of situations with larger class sizes and cuts to the schools. Norton is infamous for doing very well with very little and unfortunately we continue to have less and less. Um so thinking about a few years ago when we cut 29 positions, some of those things that we cut were um interventionists and um support staff positions. Um, we used to have these great coaches that worked with teachers at the elementary level that sat down and looked at grade level data and helped to bring together intervention groups. All of those positions are no longer exist. And so, um, it's definitely challenging when you're you're looking at improving instruction. Um, I think Mr. Maloof hit the nail on the head when

110he was talking about the amount of testing that we do with students. Every day you do have a test, you're missing a day of instruction. It's we're missing a lot of instruction due to statewide testing. >> Uh, all right. We ready? Let's move on. >> Okay. Um, all right. Last up is other business topics not reasonably anticipated 48 hours in advance. Anyone? >> Uh, I got a quick one just from a public standpoint and kind of I think why everybody was here tonight. Uh, just a quick statement here. Uh, the reality of living in Norton is this. If you don't live here, you cannot truly grasp the depth of the connections that bind this community. Those of us who are at this table, who call Norton home, are deeply embedded in its fabric. We know

111the residents because they're our neighbors. We stand beside them at birthday parties. We cheer for their kids at sporting events. And we share countless moments that make this town what is what it what it is. Many of the same people who work in our schools, volunteer in our buildings, and dedicate their time to supporting our students outside the the classroom. Speaking personally, after my own children finish their school day, my family spends another seven hours each week back inside the schools for sports and different activities. We invest countless hours with residents and neighbors, and that's not even counting the other committee members here who also have children in this district. We understand the significance of tonight's events and the stakes of these negotiations. Our deep connections within this community have prepared us for this moment.

112Everyone sitting here values educators and recognizes the critical role they play in student success. We are on the same team. Disagreements will happen. That's part of the process. What we must do in this room is stop playing us verse them inside our own schools. That mindset is damaging. It's counterproductive and ultimately it's unfair to our students. The school committee's goal has always been and will always be student success. And we know that achieving student success requires providing Norton teachers with a fair contract. That has been our mission since day one, and we will never waver. The school committee's bargaining team has acted in good faith and is grounded in fiscal responsibility and long-term sustainability of this town. That is what the town residents want from their elected officials. What is tearing at the fabric of

113Norton is the politically driven influence of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. The MTA representative working along the NTA bargaining team does not live here, does not know Norton, and does not care about Norton beyond what they consider winning. The MTA's priorities are political pressure and power, not students. And here's something that most people in this room probably don't know, and I can guarantee you probably 99% at home don't likely also don't know. Jessica Wendubo, the MTA representative assisting on Norton Educators, previously worked as president of the Brooklyn Educators Union in a 2022 speech at a labor notes conference in Chicago. She praised herself by leading by praised herself for leading by her own emission in a legal strike in Brooklyn, Massachusetts. She said she convinced student uh she convinced teachers in a virtual gated community quoting

114to agree to an illegal strike through the strategy of her words, not mine. Don't pull, agitate, and persuade. I'll read that one more time. Don't pull, agitate, and persuade. [clears throat] She also said unions should shy away shouldn't shouldn't shy away from naming the enemy. The enemy she's referring to, she called them the boss, which is fair to assume she meant assistant principles, principles, central office, the superintendent, and the school committee. This influence has created real fractures within your union. Your bargaining team recently lost a member who had been at the table since day one with us. Again, their words, not mine, after months of being dismissed, targeted, and isolated by our team and the MTA rep. Is this the type of union you all want? I have personally been approached by me, many staff

115members over these negotiations who feel increasingly disconnected from their own NTA leadership throughout this process. Those conversations are both enlightening and alarming. It seems like the loudest voices in the room are not always in the majority. Norton deserves collaboration, honesty, and a shared accountability, not an outside political agenda that divides our community and puts everything ahead of what matters most to our students. On Friday together, both bargaining teams are going to return to the table. When you leave tonight, I want everyone to ask yourselves, what is the goal? Is it to finalize a fair contract for NTA members that can be shared and voted on by it members? Or is it to drag this out indefinitely and win by readying to strike? Will it be a strategy of agitate and persuade or naming of the

116enemy? Or will it be a mutually agreed upon fair contract that values our educators but doesn't put our our district in a financial crisis? That is what we're up here and focused on. So, let's stop the delays and deliver. Norton kids deserve actions today, not promises tomorrow. Um, anyone else other business? All right. Uh, motion to adjurnn. So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? I I >> I