001[music] >> I call to order the school committee meeting of January 27th, 2026. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance. >> pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Roll call, please, Ms. Gentner. Kathleen Amaral. Chris Oliver. Here. John Nunes. >> Yeah. Mary Beckwith. >> Here. Beth Coughlin. Here. And we advertised public hearing for school choice for 6:35. So, we could do We can do public comment and uh the minutes. Let's I don't think we have a lot of public comment, so let's start with that. We have uh we welcome public comment from our audience on any topic of this evening's agenda. We have allowed 10 minutes for this, and
002you could keep your comments to 3 minutes or less, and state stand up to the microphone and state your name. Okay, we seem to be slim on audience tonight. So, we will move on to approval of the minutes. So, I'm looking for a motion to approve the regular and executive session minutes for our January 12th, 2026. So moved. We're doing just the regular for right now? Just regular. Raise the regular. Okay, just regular. >> [laughter] >> Regular. I got to I'll second the regular session minutes. >> Okay, moved by Ms. Beckwith, second by Mr. Oliver. All in favor? I. Four. Uh Madam Chair, I was not here. I will abstain. >> excuse me. Yes, three. Passes with three votes, one abstention. Thank you. Um and now for the executive session minutes of January 12th, 2026.
003>> So moved, Madam Chair, with the stipulation that they be held until the matters for which they were intended is complete. I'll second that. Hm, motion by Mr. Nunes, second by Mr. Oliver. All in favor? I. I. Madam Chair, I'll abstain. Okay, we have three passing and one abstention. And now, We're still early. We are still ahead of time. And I'm guessing that we are not having a student representative tonight. You're guessing correctly. Because there was no >> There was no school. Right. >> [laughter] [snorts] >> Um Annual report, I don't know. We could do the annual report. >> Yeah. Um so, did everyone get a copy? I'm just jumping ahead because it's not uh 6:35 yet. Um as advertised. So, did everybody get a chance to look at the annual report? >> Yes. Um
004did you have any comments on it? I mean, I I would just say that we do appreciate your feedback on last year. Chair Coughlin, you had made a few recommendations. We did work with staff across the district to um have a more consistent approach to the way we were preparing and submitting our annual report. We still have some tweaks, but uh we feel like we made a made good progress toward improving the overall format, and really most importantly, the content of the annual report. And it really was something last year, I remember having the opportunity to share the annual report with some members of the finance committee and select board, uh who I know have access to it, but we deliberately or explicitly shared it with them because they were looking for information um regarding
005data and data and what kind of data points were we using in informing our budget, and we got really positive feedback from having that document ready to share with others. So, I think that's a great public document, and we'll put it up on our website, and I know the town will also publish it, but we'll also make a point to have it on on the school department's website. Right. I will say that I have seen improvements over the report in the previous 3 years, and um I appreciate the improvement. I'm looking forward to more. Um anybody have any questions or thoughts about it before we It was excellent. I agree. Very thorough. Good. So, we need to vote on that. Do we need a motion to vote? >> Yeah. Madam Madam Chair, I'll make a
006motion that we approve the uh annual report for the school year 2025. Uh I'm sorry, for calendar year 2025 as uh presented. Second. Okay, motion by Mr. Noon, second by Ms. Beckwith. All in favor? I. >> I. Um so, we have four in favor. So, it passes. Thank you very much. And um now, I would like to open um the public hearing for school choice for the 2026-2027 school year. Um do we have anyone in the audience who would be interested in making comments on school school choice, pro or con? Again, we don't seem to have public participation this evening. Um would you, June Seabury-Maguire, Dr. Seabury-Maguire, like to make any comments about school choice before we >> I would just say I think that that we know that school choice is um something that
007is of great benefit to our school community for lots of different reasons. Um but certainly, we have and welcome students from other communities that are interested in what Dartmouth Public Schools has to offer and to our high school. Currently, we have 105 students who are part of our school choice program and I know we've had a couple of phone calls just recently. I think there were a couple maybe today of people inquiring when the window was going to open and I think it's something that we should really promote and welcome others into other students from other communities that are interested again in what Dartmouth has to offer. That's a real positive for the school community and the high school staff and certainly the school leadership here will tell you that. And so, uh I definitely
008look from my perspective as superintendent, it's all been positive for us as a school community. And I'm sorry, I realized that I just jumped the discussion and vote up, but it seems to make sense to be so. Sorry. It's okay. We can go back to it. We can come down with it. Do you want to come back to it? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, we can come back to it. All right. So, we will Madam Chair, make a motion we close the uh school choice public hearing. I'll second that. >> Oh, very good. All motion by Mr. Noon, second by Mr. Oliver. All in favor? I. >> I. Uh four four. And now, we have the student representative report. Oh, no, excuse me. We have the spotlight on kids. And that's Yes, you want me to
009enter? Okay. So, um I'm going to invite Stephanie Ricardi up to the microphone. As you know, we introduced Stephanie to the school Dartmouth school community last [snorts] year and uh I think she started with us last January. This is her first time before you uh presenting a spotlight on the Cushman School, but I'll just say before Stephanie even starts that she has been doing a phenomenal job over at the Cushman School and I feel like Dartmouth is really lucky to have her. Uh very committed and she certainly created or has contributed to creating the uh the Cushman the climate and culture at the Cushman School where I believe that um we have a wonderful school community. me that it was exactly a year ago that I was before you all um accepting the new position.
010Um the year flew by, but it's been uh it's been a great ride. So, um so thank you for having me here. Um as I was preparing for the spotlight on Cushman School, it I realized that Cushman hadn't been highlighted in this way for a couple of years. Um so, I'm happy and honored to be here to reintroduce the school to you because a lot has changed. Um so, there are wonderful things happening with Dartmouth with Dartmouth's youngest learners um over at the Cushman School. Um there have been countless changes over the years adapting to the needs of the Dartmouth school community as a whole, but in its current capacity, we are dedicated um as a preschool hub with students ranging in ages from three to five. I wish I could take you each on
011a personal tour of Cushman uh because there are no words that can um replicate the energy of our little learners in action. It's a vibe you really have to experience firsthand. Um so, to introduce you all, Oh, I heard there was going to be sound, but I don't hear it. Help, please. Uh let's try again. Welcome to Cushman! There we go. Some very excited little ones in our pre-K four class. So, whereas most of our students are in the midst of their bedtime routines by now, inviting them to come and be a part of this just wasn't possible. However, I've tried to include some short videos and a ton of photos uh so that you can get a feel for everyday happenings and fun events at our school. I think that you'll see that it's
012an exciting place to be. Oh. This year, we have seven preschool classrooms, pre-K three classrooms, pre-K four, and our Compass programs, all led by talented preschool teachers and educational support professionals. Together, these teams provide a well-rounded educational experience that is focused on child-led discovery, classroom readiness, and pre-academic skills. We really focus on inclusion at Cushman. Preschool is the perfect time for children to grow together because their hearts and their minds are so open to the world. In an inclusive classroom, our students are each other's best teachers. While some children learn how to lead with kindness and realize that everyone learns differently, others grow by watching and mimicking the play and conversations of their friends. It's a powerful partnership where every child helps the person sitting next to them grow. This type of collaborative environment ensures
013that every child, regardless of their starting point, has equal access to high-quality curriculum and a true sense of belonging within their school community. For the preschool age group, the rate of development and growth is staggering. At this age, it's less of a steady climb and more of a developmental explosion of language and learning. So, differentiating pre-K three and pre-K four classrooms was really essential so that we can tailor our teaching to their unique needs. Our preschool three classrooms are truly the first steps in education. Naturally, the focus here is to develop a nurturing environment that establishes a love of learning. There's a heavy emphasis on practicing school routines such as setting up your cubby, sitting at the rug for morning circle, playing and sharing toys with classmates, or having a snack with a friend at
014the same table without stealing all their crackers. That being said, there's definitely a lot of learning going on as well as evidenced by the carefully selected curriculum programs and activities that they encounter daily. Our pre-K four classrooms really hit the ground running this year. Given the explo- the exposure in their previous years, our students were primed and ready for learning to begin. It was truly amazing to see how quickly they got in the groove. In these classrooms, the teachers are diving deeper into curriculum and providing all of the essential building blocks that they will need to succeed in kindergarten. Our Compass classroom was also a new addition this year. The students in this classroom learn best from a highly structured environment that meets their individual learning needs, especially around curriculum modifications and accommodations. Each of
015our Compass students are also members of an inclusion classroom, joining them for daily inclusion times and activities with their peers. We've been pretty ambitious about our initiatives this year and it's truly been a collaborative effort. At the end of last year, our teachers created informal assessments that aligned with specific goals of our program. They included academic and school readiness skills and social-emotional learning standards. These assessments are given at regular intervals as a pulse check to objectively monitor student learning. And these assessments act as the engine for our revamped multi-tiered system of supports, our MTSS system. By looking at data three times a year, we don't have to guess who needs help. We can see in real time which students need a little extra tier two small group interventions to master a skill, or which students
016are ready to move on to their new challenge. Our spot lessons are combined effort by our speech-language pathologist and occupational therapist. By combining the expertise of an SLP and an OT, we move beyond individual or small group therapy and bring specialized support directly into the natural classroom environment. Each week a brief overview of the SPOT lesson is sent home to parents via ParentSquare so they can follow up on their learning at home. By watching the SLP and OT in action, our classroom staff pick up specialized strategies like specific verbal prompts that enhance communication or tips to help fine motor development so that they can use that they can use those strategies long after the lesson is over. Recently, SPOT moved out of the classroom entirely and took over the school cafeteria and they turned it
017into a magical Polar Express adventure. I'm sure you can see by the smiling faces that they had a really great time. It was a blast. I wanted to say a special thank you to Mr. Tolson who filled in as our PE teacher for the beginning of the year. He was absolutely amazing. You can see him as Buddy the Elf in that picture. Cushman has had many opportunities to work collaboratively with families and community partners so far this year. Our students are so blessed to have a caring and generous community invested in their learning. After a 6-year hiatus, pre-K 4 students are back at Southworth Library for their bi-weekly bi-weekly library time. What a unique opportunity to be able to have access this community resource right next door to our school. These field trips provide an
018opportunity for students to take their learning beyond the Cushman walls. Christie and Miss Christie and Mr. Walsh are an amazing duo. I really can't rave enough about our recent collaboration with Master Lee Taekwondo. This past fall, Master Shannon, pictured there, and her crew donated four 30-minute lessons to our students. These engaging lessons used martial arts activities to instill life skills such as respect, active listening, character building, self-confidence, and self-regulation. This 4-week session culminated in a little dragon graduation ceremony that was attended by over 80 family members and two of our very own school community members. Thank you to Ms. Coughlin and Ms. Beckwith for joining us for such a special event. It was really a lot of fun. Young Athletes Day was another successful collaboration, this time between two Dartmouth um school communities, Dartmouth High's
019Unified Sports Program and our Cushman students. Mr. Capello designed an amazing day for our little ones full of age-appropriate and fun activities that was a real hit with our students. Even beyond the activities though, I think the the red school the yellow school bus was the highlight of the day. We heard about that for weeks to come. I included the Shay talk um giving an overview from the high school's perspective because I thought it was a really nice culmination um of these two worlds colliding in the best way. Today was our Young Athletes Day which we're really promoting unified athletics throughout the school system. So we have it at every level, so this is our attempt at the preschool level went off really well. So Mr. Freitas' class, which is a unified PE class, um
020they helped put this together as well as a unified basketball team. So it's a just a day of movement, a day of inclusion. We just wrapped up Young Athletes Day here at [music] Dartmouth High School where we had our preschool students here um doing a variety of activities and it was [music] a fabulous morning. The high school students really stepped up to support our youngest learners who were very engaged in all the activities. So thank you to everyone involved in making this [music] happen. I'm Mr. Shay, I'm here at Young Athletes Day. I have um Joe with me. Joe, how was your day? Good. What were you doing at Young Athletes Day? Help little kids. What'd you help them with? What sport? Basketball. Yeah, were you a big help? Yes. [music] Alexis, what were you
021doing? I was doing basketball. Nice. How was that? It was really good. >> was really fun? Yeah. Selena, what were you doing? I was doing volleyball. Um today went amazing because [music] everyone was very included and everyone had a bunch of fun. And all the kids were good and yeah. What was it like working with the younger kids? >> was amazing. I [music] really enjoyed it and I know Braden did too. Um we got a lot of high fives today which [music] is amazing which is great. That little one was telling me how much he loved the bus. >> [laughter] [gasps] >> Cushman has been a Feinstein Leadership School for the past few years. This foundation has been wonderful about providing our students with opportunities to get involved in the community as well as providing
022monetary donations for school-wide initiatives. Last year through their donation dollars, we will we were able to purchase reset spaces for each classroom for students who just need a few extra moments to regroup before rejoining the classroom activities. Over the holiday season, they donated a thousand dollars to help um to be used to help families in need. And just this month, our students were provided with complimentary admission to the Providence Children's Museum. It's been a really great collaboration and we're happy to be a part of their network. Last but not least, I wanted to highlight the District 1 firefighters who came to Cushman to speak with our students about the importance of fire safety. They read a book and showed their special fire equipment isn't scary but actually essential for helping in emergencies. Then it was
023time to go outside for the main event which was of course the touch-a-truck. Lots of loud horns sounded that day. >> [snorts] >> So that's a lot of talking on my part but I wanted to end by having the students um say a little something on their own. >> [music] [music] >> Um I like I like about the school bec- because it's it's because it's big and I and I like how there's a big gym. I like I like unpacking. Playing in the little rug. I love to make crafts. And um I love to play with um all of my friends. I love uh playing outside. I love painting. I love playing outside. Um it's the the my favorite thing about this is lunch cuz I like sweets. I love snow. I like learning about
024playing. [music] Um hotels. I love to learn about an elephant. I like to learn about tigers. That's great. Old MacDonald. Um I like to learn about math because I know what this 14 + 100 is 14 and 100 and I know everything. And letters. What? A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y and Z. Now I know my ABCs. Next time won't you sing with me? Yay! >> [music] >> Alrighty. Well, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. >> you have any questions for me or Um I don't. It was a great presentation. Any of my colleagues? No, wonderful presentation. Thank you for coming. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thank you. I'm just checking to make
025sure I got the right >> [laughter] >> So next up is the discussion about school choice. I do believe. So um Does anybody have any questions or want to express opinions? I'm I'm right where I was last year. Which is for it. So Oh, wait. Go. I didn't raise my hand so >> No, go. Don't worry about it. >> [laughter] >> Mr. Oliver. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um so a couple of questions. Um one being I know that I had brought up in the past about um possibly opening it up to Dartmouth Middle School students and I was just curious if there was any discussion internally about that. Is that a question the questions for me? Yes. Yes. Um not I there's been some I would say um there's been some discussion but I don't
026think that it has uh gotten to a point where we're having really serious conversations about that, but if that is something that the committee really wants us to focus on, it is certainly something that we can spend more time studying over the course of the upcoming year to see if we do in fact have the capacity to because I think what we have talked about, Mr. Oliver, we've talked about it would have to start at sixth grade. Right. Um and that would be a way for us to bring more students into the into the school district. So, I think it's something that we could consider and if the committee directs us to do such, we would spend some real time focused on that this year. Yeah, I just think that you know, what a great
027way to try to keep students um in Dartmouth as far as at the high school level goes. We know that we have some students that leave us in eighth grade and they they attend other schools, whether it's Bristol Aggie or New Bedford Vocational. But if we had an opportunity to and only if we had the capacity you know, to our current classes and we don't want to make class sizes too big. That would be the only way that I'd be in favor for it, but I certainly think it would be a way to maybe grow our high school enrollment even further. So, just just what my two cents. My other question, I guess would probably be directed more towards Mr. Kyle. And something that popped into my head recently was we there's been a lot
028of talk about the $5,000 that that districts get from the state for school choice and how why haven't the why hasn't the state increased that number? I guess the question [clears throat] that I have is on top of the $5,000 that we receive from the sending district. Are are those students included in our foundation enrollment budget? Like are we getting chapter 70 aid in a for those students in addition to the 5,000 or it's just the 5,000? We don't get double. That's what I'm asking. >> No. No, we we the [clears throat] community in which the student resides gets >> They get that chapter >> credit for them and then has to pay us for the amount related to school choice. Um last year I had reached out to representative Markey. Um and Senator Montigny
029regarding the school choice um rate and I I had a good discussion with representative Markey about it. Um I think it's obvious that this does not make sense and uh I also think that it's solvable. Like the it's not going to require any additional state funding to change the rate. Because all it is is coming from another community. It's not coming from the state. Um and clearly the cost of educating a student, you know, has increased since this was established 25 years ago. So, [clears throat] you know, the the the hope the hope would be actually more than 25 years ago. But the hope would be that they address it at some point, but I I don't think it's high on the priority list. So, just for the public to be aware of and you
030know, I think maybe some board members how does um charter school reimbursements work? So, if we have a child a Dartmouth student that is one of ours and we're sending them maybe they're going to to any charter school. Um how does funding mechanism work? Yeah, it's through the it's through state aid on the cherry sheet. So, it's it's a little different. We don't there's no money exchange >> exchanged similarly to school choice where you would have you know, you would have funds available to expend. That's not the case. So, it's on the cherry sheet which I believe which was just published based on the governor's budget and I can probably tell you what the impact of charter schools is if you give me about 30 seconds. >> it saved more than the $5,000 that we
031receive? Yes. Yes, it is. Let's see. >> [clears throat] >> And if you don't have it, that's okay. I was just So, the the town of Dartmouth receives $37,912 or at least in fiscal year 26 from the state as charter tuition reimbursement. So, $37,000 not not a not very much money. Um >> [clears throat] >> Let's see. Charter school sending tuition from the town of Dartmouth was in fiscal year 26 $146,876. So, I mean the net impact of you know, charter schools in Dartmouth obviously is um the assessment of 146 less 37. So, we don't know how many students that Um I could get you that information. I I don't have it >> Yeah, no. >> right handy at the moment. >> that's fine. I was just curious more more just something that I was
032thinking about. Thank you, Mr. Kyle. >> You're welcome. Yes, Mr. Nunes. >> you. So, with the with the sending district quote and unquote losing $5,000 for every student they send us, they technically end up with a windfall. Because if their >> [laughter] >> money from the state is for discussion purposes >> [laughter] >> eight grand, just pick a number. They pick up $3,000 per student that is theirs to to use. Well, and and And some communities for instance, New Bedford who I believe we have 48, I believe students here from New Bedford. Obviously, their their state aid is is a lot more, right? >> significantly more. >> Yeah, but I mean and again, I was just using that as a as a as a for instance that type of deal. So, that is good. Another
033question I have and I apologize I just ran into too many things today with the weather and such, but uh for FY26 as I look at this the the spreadsheet, we were going to we had $1.4 million that that we voted on, you know, as part of our budget type type of deal. How are how does that stack up roughly little over half just about halfway through the school year? Is that a is that an on target number give or take? Yes, I mean there's some things that are still in the works and not have not been expended at this point. >> Right, no, but I mean we're at that that that number's on target. >> Mhm. Okay. Thank you. No, that's that was the only question I have. Madam chairman, my vote won't change
034from previous years. Not surprised. >> surprise. >> My vote doesn't change either, but I do have two questions. One is how are the applications reviewed for school choice for students that are seeking school Well, we use a lottery. Okay. >> it's randomized. >> Okay. Okay. And the second question is if we wanted um you to to look at could we do it in the middle school? What would you need from us um as a request to do that? >> would just need to I don't think it would be a vote. I think you could just collectively say we'd like you to explore the possibility of adding middle school school choice to the middle school level. I would like to explore it. I agree with Chris. >> Yeah, I would like to know at the minimum
035if there were empty seats without increasing class size too much. I mean like with a reasonable So, we can we can talk about that in our central office leadership team and obviously with middle school leadership and come up with a timeline for you to give you a report at a future school committee meeting. Yeah. I mean having just been to the middle school, we are aware of concerns, spatial concerns there, facilities concerns there. So, um I do understand this is a different situation than this in this building. Um so, um but I think it's worth a look. Right. Yeah. Agreed. 1991, by the way, that $5,000 was established. That was well over 25 years ago. Okay. [clears throat] Costs haven't gone up you can imagine. Um My second and final question do ready. >> Yes.
036My only other question would be what are we looking um to take in again uh this year? For our freshman class. Well. What's the target? What's the target for >> the in the 30s. this year? >> Okay. Right now we have 28. So but we do usually go for a few more because inevitably what happens is a few students might um change their mind before the start of school and in that case we will again do a randomized lottery until we've exhausted the list if we exhaust the list but we do work toward filling uh just about 35 seats. Okay. Great. Well, it's certainly Please do. Unless you have something else. >> I was just going to say it it certainly it it's a nice source of extra cash. Um It's It is as much
037as and again as I've said my vote is fundamental is fundamental not nothing against the students that that type of deal against the program. But it's a darn good thing that we've had it because we would have been in Yeah. >> trouble. And we still need it. We still need it. All right, I will entertain a motion to um So I'll make a motion Madam Chair that we uh accept school choice students for the uh 26-27 school year. Second. All right, motion by Mr. Oliver second by Miss Beckwith. All in favor? I. >> I. All opposed? Me. Okay, three four one against. It passes. >> [laughter] >> Thank you all. Thank you, Mr. Nunes. Not a problem. Um Now we Where are we? School calendar. School calendar. All right, everybody got the school calendar in
038their school their packet. >> Yeah. >> And that seemed pretty straightforward to me. I did not have an issue with it. Is there any questions or Yes, Mr. Oliver. Um I'm just going to put a word out there for considering that um Where is it? That December 23rd uh is a no school day. Um I've heard from some parents and from teachers um that it's really difficult to compete with Santa Claus and um students there how much learning is really going on on the 23rd and I think for us for our staff I think that provides some time for them if they're traveling. Um I I don't see you personally I I I think it's not worth having school on the 23rd but that would be it. That's just my just my humble opinion. December
03923rd. Which is also my birthday. Oh. Oh. It is it? Which is [laughter] also Which should be a holiday. Now the truth comes out. There's no doubt about it. So where where would you make that up, Chris? It would make it would make it would become June Correct me if I'm wrong, it would become June 17th. Okay. Correct. And that's still you know, obviously there's snow days that factor in but that's still Yeah. If it would if if it were to extend that one day to the following week, I wouldn't be for it but Yeah. No, I anyway, still good good old June 10th anyway. So that would be my only recommendation. Other than that uh these calendars are difficult so good job to kudos to if it's Kate or Well, Kate does a lot
040of work on certainly making >> can I can I can I can I can absolutely agree with you, Chris. You know, again I heard from a few you know, it's like no, I'm not you know, there's nothing going on you know, my child's not going to school today. I'm leaving that type of deal. So >> what are the arguments for? >> I I mean I wouldn't say it's an argument but it's something you know, whatever the the committee um decides upon but one thing that I would bring to your attention is we are starting later this year than we normally do at least when I say we this is my third year looking at this calendar and we've normally it's a it's a late Labor Day. So teachers come back on the 31st and uh
041we welcome students back uh September 2nd. So I do worry about that and I think we've been really lucky the past few years in uh not dealing with the elements associated with weather and so I would just ask you to think about that but again I mean if we decide or if the committee decides the 23rd, we can easily make that work. That would be the one thing that I would just bring to your attention. So So you're saying Chris, you'd want a full day on the 22nd? Full day on the 22nd with no school on the 23rd. I think that's you know, for for staff and for families, I think that provides some cushion there cuz working And and then the Would you make it a full day on June 16th or I wouldn't
042touch anything in other than pushing it back a day. That would make the 16th a full day. Right, the last day has to be a half day. >> Right, but that would make the 16th a full day. >> Agreed. And and the 17th would be a half day. Yep. So we're actually So is that giving us an extra >> That's actually it's giving us an extra half day which doesn't bother me but it how does that work into contracts? Oh, I mean I don't see an issue with the contract. It's still the same amount of days. >> Yeah. Right. It's still a half day more, isn't >> we just added a half day of instruction. But the half day count the half day counts towards the 180. A full day counts towards the 180. >>
043And and we are in good shape as far as time on learning is concerned. So that's not a worry. Just the snow days would be the only thing that I would be concerned about because then you'd really be pushing into the next week which ends um on the 25th. Well, you really have eight days left. So we don't build in a snow day to any calendar. We just put it on the back end. Right, like we know you can see the calendar there see where it says 617 through 24 which are your snow cancellation days if needed. So basically all school calendars build in five snow days. That's just sort of a standard practice. Mhm. Um and so that would if in fact we did have five snow days, that would have us out on
044the 25th. >> [laughter] >> Mhm. Yes, June 18th would be a day off, correct? June 18th would be a day off. >> It's June 10th. >> June 10th. Because it's the 19th it'd be celebrated on a Friday. Right, so >> Saturday becomes the Friday. So any snow day would put us into the that following week. >> the following week. Which is good. Especially if you have one, you know. Plus a coin. I mean We had this winter, next winter. Huh? Yeah. I'm good. I just think we'd buy some goodwill with the families in town. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah. But I'm only one vote, so No, I agree I agree, Chris. I can I can I can I'm good I'm personally I'm good with that the 20 with With what? So I will also using
045uh you know making the 22nd a full day and that be the last day before Christmas vacation. Okay. So I also say that most people don't get um December 23rd off. Like out in the working world. So if you're a parent you you do have to make accommodations for your children being home that you wouldn't necessarily do. >> And it's a half day anyway. Yeah. Yeah. >> you're still making accommodations. Yeah. I'm kind of six in one half dozen of the other on this. >> [snorts] >> Yeah, cuz if you get a snow day and then you're you're doing Monday school like you're going to there's no instructional time there either because It's a half day. You know, it's you rolled a dice whichever way you want to look at >> is a roll of
046the dice. That really rolling Okay. Anyway, I don't feel particularly strongly about it. So Chris, if you do if other people do, that's All right, you know what? Madam Chair, make a motion that we approve the public school calendar for school year 26-27 with the adjustment as noted with uh December 23rd being a day off. December 22nd being the last day before Christmas break. And that the last day of school >> a half day. No, a full day. >> A full day. Okay. Full day. Full day. That the last day of school as at this point in time is February 17th and that will be a half day. >> June 17th. No, I'm sorry. Thank you. And June 16th would be a full day. >> June 16th will be a full day. I'll second that.
047All right, motion by Mr. Nunes, second by Mr. Oliver. All in favor. Ms. Gunther, does that make sense? No, no. You've got it. >> Was the Was the motion okay? Thank you. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Aye. Um, that is passed unanimously. So, um, we already talked about the annual report. We have the superintendent's update. That's right. So, I'm going to move it around a little bit. So, I'm going to I know. So, I'm going to start with safe and supportive schools. And the reason that I'm going to start is because you have me thinking about snow days. Hopefully, that doesn't jinx us. Um, but I do want to acknowledge that we did call two snow days this week. And I have to say the one for um, Monday was a piece of cake, right?
048That was an easy easy call. But the one for today was not. Um, and so, I just think it's important for folks to know. Obviously, the committee knows and we're in touch throughout the day. And Jim and I are talking throughout the day. But there there are a lot of um, of factors that go into calling a snow day. And I just remind people that we're listening to our public safety folks. Um, we're listening and driving around. We have people who are driving around giving us reports on road conditions and looking at the parking lots of our schools and making sure that we can have buses safely passing down roads, which is not an always what I've come to find out an easy feat here in Dartmouth. No. Um, we have a lot of buses.
049I think what are we at? 29? Yeah. We have 29 buses that are and many of the majority of our students travel bus to school. And so, it's really important for us to consider that. So, we might sometimes look different than neighboring communities because we are different. And but I want you to know that I'm always in contact with the area superintendents. And we do collaborate um, before we make decisions. And normally uh, most times what I've seen is we we come to similar decisions, although they might be slightly different. Um, so, I thank you. I thank the committee for and the public for supporting us in this. But I also want to thank Dartmouth, the public works folks who did really great work. But most especially our facilities team and our custodial crew who
050Jim, I talked to you a few times and they were working around the clock. So, if you just want to add a few comments about that, I think This I Yes, thank you, Dr. Maguire. I think this um, particular storm was was extremely challenging for um, our facilities team and and you know, I'm proud of the work that they did. It was uh, it was a challenge for sure. And so so much snow and uh, >> [clears throat] >> they worked overnight um, you know, to get it ready and and still we, you know, face some challenges in the community that we, you know, really felt like we needed to um, you know, have the day today to to make sure that everyone was safe. I know when I was on [clears throat] my way
051in this morning, it was it was a little bit treacherous on some of the roadways. So, I feel like we we certainly made the right decision. And you know, with with young new drivers at the high school level particularly, it's um, always a concern of ours. Um, And I would Excuse me. I'll also add that we the way that we communicate our school closures is not necessarily we don't use our the news stations. We use parents where we use email. We use text messages [clears throat] and uh, phone calls. And so, we found that to be very effective. We did hear that there was an there was only one report that one uh, family didn't receive notification. So, if there's anybody that's listening or has a concern about that, they should contact us because really
052it's just a matter of us making sure that the the uh, contact information is updated. So, it's really important that we have the most updated contact information for folks so that we can inform them when we're going to be closing school. And just one more thing I would add, we are having school tomorrow. If anyone's watching waiting for that [laughter] call, there is school tomorrow. And it's not a delay. So, for any of those that are still hoping, um, so then I'll just move back to teaching and learning. So, and I were I know I talked about this at the last school committee meeting that we were about to have our first early release professional learning. And it was launched on the 14th and we did receive an incredible amount of positive feedback from participants
053and presenters. I mentioned to you that educators were able to self-select what kinds of uh, programs uh, sessions they wanted to attend. I did have the opportunity to visit the middle school. And that's where the middle school folks and the high school folks were. And walked around and was able was able to pop into different sessions. And people seemed happy to be there. There was good energy. Uh, it was really I think worthwhile for us to begin uh, that sort of format of professional learning again. I did the same over at the Quinn. Again, same energy. I think that people were generally pleased. And And there's also a certain amount of energy that is connected to being able to come together with your peers across the district. And it does encourage that kind of cross
054collaboration. So, I thank Katie Pavao and Dr. Thibault for the work that they did in organizing that. But the other thing that I'd mention and I think is that the folks that were out there presenting because the presenters in 80% of our professional learning strands were our own staff. And so, that gives faculty that gives our staff an opportunity to be able to showcase their own expertise. And that's the kind of thing that you want to do around building teacher uh, expertise and and giving teacher voice to the professional learning that takes place in the district. So, really successful. And I'm looking forward I think we have the next one is already just next week. February 3rd. So, at the elementary level, curriculum teams have been meeting over the past two weeks. They're They're Remember,
055this is work that's part of our strategic plan. Part of our curriculum cycle. And this is all about that commitment to rigor and coherence across grade levels and across schools. And we're seeing it. So, when we're visiting schools right now at the elementary level, and we might walk into a second grade at the DeMello school, we're walking into a second grade at the Quinn school and a second grade at the Potter school. And that coherence is something that you can readily see. And we are hearing the feedback that we're getting is that it's had such an incredibly positive influence on teaching and learning. And at the same time, you're uh, you're piloting not piloting, implementing a new resource. And there are going to be growing pains that are attached to that. And I do want
056to say that I see Mrs. Pavao out there uh, day in and day out meeting with staff, meeting with teams, meeting with coaches, meeting with principals, getting feedback and making sure that we're being responsive to what we're hearing from the field. Um, at the elementary and uh, level that middle school assessments middle school middle year assessments are underway. In case you don't know it, we're at the middle midpoint of the year, which is um, you know, I think pretty incredible how quickly this year is going by. But this is important. You heard uh, Stephanie Ricardi earlier talk about data and how important data is into knowing how our teachers not knowing how but knowing how and when to be responsive to student learning. Uh, so, that is something that we're committed to this year. And
057CKLA has really lent itself to us being able to look at data consistently across the school district in a way that at least again in the two and a half years I've been here, we haven't been able to do. So, that really allows us to gauge student learning in a way that is I believe next year when we come to you and talk to you about student learning outcomes, we'll be able to present that to you. Um, so, also I'd mention that pre-K registration is going to be open February 2nd through March 20th and applications will be due by March 20th and that's remember for for students to be included in the lottery. Those aren't the students who we're going through the special education identification process with. Kindergarten registration open will be open on February
0589th. Information will be sent to families. You'll see that out in Dartmouth Week. We'll advertise if we haven't already and believe it or not we're going to be welcoming the class of 2039. Um [snorts] at the Across the district I'd also mention access it's testing you know testing season starts as soon as January hits and so access testing is currently taking place for our English language learners and if you remember Dr. Tibbet presented this data to you early in the fall and we'll be doing that again. We are pleased that we're going to be hosting student teachers this spring from Bridgewater and Stonehill and they've begun their practicum placements at Dartmouth Middle and Dartmouth High School. We love having student teachers in the district. It is a win-win for us because it allows us to
059obviously to support the next generation of teachers but it also allows us to take a look at teachers who might be a really great fit for our district. At the high school level Carrie Rower who was an instructional coach from Carnegie visited the high school and she was here on the 21st and 22nd. She's somebody our teachers our math teachers at Dartmouth High School have responded really well to so we've been able to work with Carnegie to make sure that we're providing the math teachers the math department here with the highest quality professional learning and Carrie comes so highly recommended and the feedback that we've gotten regarding the work she's doing with our teachers has been very positive. Um we have four new educators four educators who have completed new mentor training and we want
060to continue to do that because again this is giving our teachers an opportunity to be teacher leaders and to mentor others in the field. And then we have teaching alliance teaching learning alliance visiting Dartmouth High School. This is Cynthia Smith. She's providing one-to-one coaching for our lead teachers. If you remember as part of not only our district strategic plan but the high school's school improvement plan also connected to the NEASC report part of what we read and what we're responding to is feedback that Dartmouth High School teachers needed more opportunity for voice and for leadership roles and this is the way we're one way that we're supporting them in developing those kind of opportunities for them and giving them a forum and a struck system and a structure to be able to do that effectively.
061I would also mention just because I was thinking about Stephanie's Stephanie's presentation and I think it's important with the committee to remind you that you supported the model that we implemented this year and you heard Mrs. Ricardi talk about how effective that model has been and it truly is making a difference and I remind everyone I think this is important with change comes challenge. But we keep working through it. We make modifications where we need to and at the same time when I when I heard Mrs. Ricardi talk about the different differentiation between our three and four-year-olds I thought I remember Mrs. Denizio present Mrs. M Mrs. Redlon presenting about that last year and how important that was to make that to talk about that with specificity because we have those students for two years
062and in the past remember we've had those students for two years and they've had the same experience well not the same but similar experience for two years. Now this is really given our students an opportunity to and I heard Mrs. Ricardi talk about it whether it's you know we're talking about phonics we're talking about some of the other resources that we're using across the different district. I just want to say how much we appreciate the committee because when we come here and talk about those things in the impact budget and you listen and you support us I think that this is a good example of us coming back to you and saying look this is you know we're making real progress here. Um so I'll move on to budget and capital improvement. This is an
063incredibly busy time of year and I know that Mr. Kylie has been working diligently because I know because he you know is pretty much an open door person but when his door is closed we need to leave him alone and let him work on the budget and I know he's been doing that and he's feeling more confident about it and we've had a few budget subcommittee meetings and you know that at our next school committee meeting will be doing Mr. Kylie will be doing a a budget presentation. Did you want to talk any more about that? No we're looking forward to presenting [clears throat] to you and appreciate the collaboration of the budget subcommittee and you know so we're we're into the process. I mean the only thing I I did want to mention was
064that we've already even though we haven't um you know presented the budget to this body we received an invite tonight for to to present in front of the finance committee on February 26th. So I um [clears throat] >> [cough] >> I got back to Mr. Corraro who invited us and said that I would bring it up tonight for discussion as to whether or not the committee was comfortable with that. You will have had an opportunity to you know to to begin to digest the budget on the 9th and you'll have the budget packet you know before that meeting. But you know it's up to you whether you think that the the 26th is an appropriate time to bring that to the finance committee. They do have a limited number of meetings available so I guess
065we've got to consider that. What did the subcommittee Right. Go ahead Mr. Nason. Okay. Uh as I look at my calendar somebody correct me if I'm wrong because I usually am but we only have one meeting in February. Right. Which is February 9th. Right. So that I was just looking at you know I was going to say the 26th works but Right. We don't have another meeting until March 2nd. >> March 2nd. I mean [clears throat] I I hate to be can you know is there any way you know is there any way they can push it off you know March 12th March 19th you know that type of deal. And again I understand they've only got limited time but that only gives us one meeting and then we don't have a chance to come
066back and something has changed or we've asked for changes type of deal. I believe they're meeting on Thursdays. I I don't know I don't know if March 5th is a possibility. I mean I I can inquire. >> Yeah. I mean that that's my only >> just got the I just got the invite tonight. I and I got that that I I I totally understand that but that's that's my two cents on that. Okay. I would agree. I I think give us some more time. Okay. I will ask about that. Okay. Yeah I know. >> [laughter] >> All right. That's budget but in terms of capital improvements we've been invited to the to the capital improvement planning committee on February 5th. Now fortunately you have seen the capital plan and voted in for the capital plan
067and that's all you know been forwarded long ago to you know to the town so I've I'm planning on attending their capital improvement planning committee meeting on the 5th at 8:00 a.m. My next item on my update. No that's okay. It segues. I was actually going to throw it to you is to talk a little bit about the facility site tours that we we did. Because it relates to your topic. It does. It does. I mean I thought it was great opportunity on the 15th to host representatives public officials from several different boards. It was well attended. Was it a lot of people? A lot of people? Yes it was. Yeah it was. We had two good size groups for the tours and we really I I think the feedback we got was excellent. It
068was a bit of an eye-opener I think for for a lot of folks who expressed that they don't typically go anywhere past the auditoriums in this building and in in you know Dartmouth Middle School and I think they better recognize the challenges that we're facing in the in in both cases including in this building which you know It's our newest building. >> Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So you know I thought it was a great opportunity. So glad that Dr. Seamaguire you know led the way putting it together and But um we were really pleased with the number of folks who showed up and really the cross section of people. There were people there from um Cody Haddad was there, Gary um we had select board members, finance committee, capital improvement, long-term capital improvement. Am I missing
069anyone? A- And I also want to thank our school leaders who did a really great job in setting up and organizing for the our school committee, I should say. >> [laughter] >> It just goes without saying. But, I thought it was a really positive opportunity to show to showcase and to demonstrate why we're asking for what we're asking. And then, um, we also have MSBA uh roof project moving forward. I know Jim, if you want to do a quick I'm sorry I keep throwing it to you, but I could do it, but No, that's okay. So, the in terms of the roof project, um, I did speak with a MSBA representative today who indicated that we should be hearing soon from our project coordinator who's going to be appointed by MSBA. And then, um, then
070they'll hire a they'll appoint us a owner's project manager and we'll get going on this feasibility study. So, we're we're anxious to do that and um And then the core program. And then the core program. So, it's all happening in the next couple of months. Yeah. Yeah, so I just attended a meeting with MSBA today regarding the core program statement of interest submission. So, um that's starting up and I've got to get you folks something a a statement of interest for your consideration sometime in the near future. As soon as I get done with the budget, I'll work on that. In your spare time. [clears throat] And so, so I'd also mention that we've recently appointed Jess Jessica Brittingham who's the instructional technology coach here at Dartmouth High School to the role of the communications
071person. If you remember, we talked about that stipended position. It was in our budget last year this year. Uh we're excited to bring her on board. We've already sat down and had an opportunity to talk with her and she has real vision for the way that she can use that the website to what we've always said is we want it to be a dynamic website that parents, family members, and students, and community members can go to and that they can get the information that they're looking for. I would also mention just because it just came to me at at our facilities tour, we had a video that highlighted some of the things that are going on students and and activities going on here at the high school. I want to thank Rob Parrott because he
072put that together in and I want to say the blink of an eye and the students he will give credit to the students and I'm sure they deserve that credit, um, but he put it together pretty quickly and he led the way for us and it was really impactful. And so, that those are the kinds of things that I mean like that needs to be up on our website. And so, when you go to the Dartmouth High School website, you can just see the link to that video. >> Absolutely. Never So, that is something that we're working on. We have a communications team that's about to start meeting and that again is another example how we're working toward meeting the goals of our strategic plan. And that is the report. Thank you. >> you. Thank
073you very much. Um and I have nothing to add. Does anybody have Yes, Mr. Nunes. Good. Kristen? >> No, I do not. >> No, okay. Just a a a couple of things. You know, Dr. Seaman Maguire you were talking about you know, the tough decision to cancel school today and that and you know, you came out yesterday and said, you know, you were going to it was going to be canceled and the notification and such. And then last night we get another 2 in of snow which would have which just really you know, kind of threw a monkey wrench into everything. Would have you know, so great call for our school. >> you so much. I appreciate that. No doubt about it. Uh the um Standard Times over the past couple of weeks they're starting
074to recognize their fall athletes and we've been fortunate enough uh the uh one of our our seniors on the field hockey is the uh student athlete of the year for field hockey and the one this morning uh in boys soccer. So, we've picked up, you know, those two those two nice awards. So, you know, congratulations to them. Uh yeah, Mr. Kailey talked about the cleaning that the maintenance and custodians and everybody has done and my compliments to that. I've been by a couple of the schools in errands I've run today. So, you know, thank you for that. Uh on the band side and I can talk about this further on as we get into it, but March 14th is going to be our indoor home show. Our NESBA home show. Uh I don't have many
075much detail too many too much in details at this point, but I I know it'll be our JV and varsity color guards, you know, on first per se and then percussion later on in the afternoon and and evening. And with that, or actually our color guard um is scheduled to uh start this weekend. They've got a their annual NESBA evaluation that all the groups go to just see how they're doing and get feedback from the judges. So, that's up in Salem. So, they're headed there this weekend. So, away we go. And that's all I have. Thank you. Terrific. Thank you. Anybody else? No, we're good. Well, our next regular meeting of the school committee is scheduled for Monday, February 9th, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. here in the Dartmouth High School Media Center. I'm motion to
076adjourn. Motion to adjourn. Second. Motion by Mr. Nunes, second by Ms. Beckwith. All in favor. I. I. It is. We are adjourned. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you. >> [music] [music]