• Statement written by Dr. Harvey read by Tasha Cooper
• Dr. Harvey not in attendance at tonight’s mtg
• Tasha Cooper made opening remarks: congratulations to class of 2022; administration has apologized for mistakes and are committed to working to improve their communication with the community and SC moving forward; focus upon working together as a community for the students.

• Approved by School Committee

• Approved by School Committee

• Dana Fowler, Erika Donovan, Leah Stewart, Allison Lecesse, Brett Ordway, April Cochran, Erin Evans, Ryan Quadros, Ai Li, Eric Artus, Jason Tierney, Kim Marini, James Maciak
• Approved by School Committee

• School Security Update - link for more information can be found on Superintendent’s blog; read aloud by SC Chair; Concluded Review of Investigation of 5/13 incident; School Committee members engaged in lengthy discussion of various aspects of security protocol discussions that took place last week with superintendent in executive session; committee also discussed opinions on request for emergency meeting, questions were raised about staff/community’s level of trust in admin at this time, discussed Dr. Harvey not being in attendance to tonight’s mtg, and reflected on how things were communicated and whether it would have been different if proper channels of communication and protocol had been followed, discussed impact of social media and keeping scale of problem issues that arise in perspective as best we can.
• School Schedule: discussion of the unfortunate way in which this new schedule was presented to the public, students in particular; SC Chair read aloud highlights from Dr. Harvey’s proposed Pilot Daily Schedule which was created by the Schedule Task Force. Schedule includes increased instructional time, daily flex block for students to seek additional academic support, and all content area classes to meet 4x per week. More info on schedule included on the link on this mtg’s agenda. Committee members discussed increased flex time being made possible through changes made through negotiations with the teacher's union recently. Flex blocks will be structured, by appt or when required by teacher(s). Designated space will be available for students not needing flex block on a given day. Weekly professional development incorporated, which was one of the goals of increasing PD for staff in upcoming years. Congratulations to all staff retiring this year!

• SC approved request 10:1

• SC approved request

• SC approved request

• SC approved request

• BBBC - committee agreed to remove “or district” from one sentence
• SC unanimously approved these policies with this minor revision

• Domenic and Bill were designated as signers, with Tasha as back up.
• SC approved

• Community Relations (PB) - reflected upon successful Small Town Hero Awards Ceremony
• Budgets (TT) - no budget meetings scheduled
• Anti-Racism (WH) - will be scheduling a meeting sometime soon
• Policy (MO) - 7/15/22 next Policy mtg; 6/29 - MASC training w/Policy Committee members about updating policy manuals
• Negotiations: none at this time
• Liaison Updates: Domenic attended Middleton Select Board mtg, introduced himself and opened lines of communication, discussed STH Awards

• Minutes approved by SC
• Warrants approved by SC

Agenda posted here

2022 Small Town Hero Awards

Our 2^nd annual Small Town Hero Awards ceremony was held on June 16^th, 2022 and was a great success!

It was wonderful to hear the heartwarming stories about the positive impact our award recipients have had this past year on their community. Our award recipients this year are: The Topsfield Boy Scout Troop 81, Creative Co-op, Aniqa Zahra, Gretchen Fishman, Ralph Blackey, Anish Deshpande, Christina Eckert, Andy Fiedler, Michelle Siden, and Andrea Monty. A BIG thank you to Ben Hanchett, Jackie Bazazi, Sara Tocci, and the student council for working so hard planning and organizing this event!

We look forward to next year’s ceremony!

“There is no power of change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” – Margaret Wheatley

June 16th at 6pm

PSA - May 2022

05/25/2022 Meeting Summary Notes

• Comments from the Public. There were no comments from the public.
• Student Advisory Board update. SAB Class of 2025 member Greta Hartung reported that students are busy with end-of-year programming. She advised that the announcement speakers in a couple of specific rooms are not as audible as they could be, and the administration will be looking into that.
• School Committee Reorganization. The School Committee reorganizes itself annually following town elections. The Committee agreed on a draft meeting schedule and elected Tasha Cooper as Chair and Terri Teleen as Vice Chair. The following subcommittee assignments were also approved:
• Policy: Melissa Ogden (Chair), Carolyn Miller, Trevor Currier
• Budget: Terri Teleen (Chair), Dominic Casamassima, Bill Hodges
• Community Relations: Patti Bernheart (Chair), Kosta Prentakis, Zillie Bhuju, Joe McLean
• District Capital Improvement: Carolyn Miller (Chair), Kosta Prentakis, Melissa Ogden
• Anti-Racism: Bill Hodges (Chair), Dominic Casamassima, Terri Teleen
• Turf liaison: Tasha Cooper, Trevor Currier
• SEPAC liaison: Patti Bernheart, Zillie Bhuju
• Superintendents Update. Dr. Harvey presented his update, which appears in his blog. It is available here. Safety and security measures were discussed regarding Masco’s campus and the collaborative relationship the district has with local safety departments. Security staffing, prevention, rapid response protocols, and surveillance were among the things discussed.
• Masconomet Teachers Association. The committee approved a Memorandum of Agreement with the Masconomet Teachers Association about course reimbursement. The MOA is available here.
• Budget Subcommittee Update. Thank you to the citizens of Boxford, Middleton, and Topsfield for supporting the Masconomet budget at your Town Meetings.
• Anti-Racism Subcommittee Update. The subcommittee is exploring options for partnering with local faith communities.
• Policy Subcommittee Update. The subcommittee is continuing the process of reviewing and updating the School Committee policy manual.
• Liaison Updates. Anyone who would like to follow Masconomet student Andrea Salvaggio’s road to recovery is invited to join a FB group created for her here

UPDATE:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Community Relations subcommittee needs to cancel their 5/25/2022 meeting.  New date will be announced soon.  Thank you for understanding.  Agenda will be posted under Public Meetings.

Masconomet member towns will be hosting Annual Town Meetings and local elections over the coming three weeks.  Masconomet’s FY23 budget is part of the annual Town Warrants, which townspeople are invited to vote on each year.  Thank you for your participation!  

 

Further details can be found through these links:

Topsfield Town Meeting 5/3/22

Topsfield Elections 5/5/22

Boxford Town Meeting 5/10/22

Boxford Elections 5/17/22

Middleton Town Meeting 5/10/22

Middleton Elections 5/17/22

 

Masconomet member towns will be hosting Annual Town Meetings and local elections over the coming three weeks.  Masconomet’s FY23 budget is part of the annual Town Warrants, which townspeople are invited to vote on each year.  Thank you for your participation!  

 

Further details can be found through these links:

Topsfield Town Meeting 5/3/22

Topsfield Elections 5/5/22

Boxford Town Meeting 5/10/22

Boxford Elections 5/17/22

Middleton Town Meeting 5/10/22

Middleton Elections 5/17/22

*Interested in staying informed about the Masconomet School Committee's work?  Follow posts to this blog in the Masco App, and/or join this Facebook group and set your notifications to "all posts" in the FB app!

*These are not meeting minutes and are not intended to be a transcription of the meeting. 

• Chair’s Remarks. Chair Bhuju noted Teacher Appreciation week is next week (May 2-6), and recognized Joe Ciampa for his service, as he is retiring from the Committee after four years of service.
• Public Comment. A Middleton resident explained why they do not support amending Graduation Requirements to include the arts. Joe Ciampa expressed gratitude to the Committee members for their hard work.
• Student Advisory Board.  Class of 2023 Representative Stella Nagle reported on end-of-year activities, including the TriTown Hero Awards (link here). She listed a few events as well as little day-to-day things happening lately that are making students feel positive about school and boosting morale. She said students are interested in clarification about the schedule for next year.
• Washington, DC Field Trip.  Mrs. Rebecca Calzini proposed that the 8th grade field trip to Philadelphia and Washington, DC resume this year (November 2-5).  The School Committee unanimously approved the proposal. 
• Vision 2025 Showcase.  Science Department Chair Tammy Fay spoke about all the amazing work happening in our Middle and High School science classrooms, including co-curricular learning (for example, projects that incorporate both science and art or history).  She thanked the Masconomet Education Foundation for their support in purchasing equipment.  Finally, she celebrated the 40+ members of the Masco Science Team, some of whom attended the School Committee meeting.  We are proud of the Science Team’s accomplishments.  Please enjoy the slides from the full presentation here.
• Financial Reporting.  Independent auditor James Guisti and District Accountant Laurie Zywiak and presented our FY21 Annual Audit Report.  Mr. Guisti also submitted his annual Management Letter stating that in his opinion, “the financial statements represent fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position” of the District.  The documents can be found here: Financial Statements for the Year Ended June 30, 2021,  Final Audit FY21 Management Letter.  Mr. Guisti pointed to pages 12 and 13 of the Financial Statements as the best place to find an overview of the District’s finances.
• Middle School Principal Report.  Dr. McManus spoke about the many end of year activities being planned.  We want to draw attention to the 6th grade Parents Night, scheduled for May 19th, and the 6th grade Masco tour and assembly on June 9th.  You can review the report here.
• ESSR II Grant Review. Dr. Harvey and Jeff Sands, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, informed the committee of their updated plans for the ESSER II grant (one of the federal COVID relief grants).  Changes include addition of two adjustment counselors, two Academic Success Center teachers, and operational/COVID supports (one MPFT and one IT technician), all of which will be two-year positions that help fulfill the pandemic-related purpose of this grant.
• Last Day of School for Students.  The Committee voted to confirm June 23, 2022 (10:30am release), as the last day of school for students.  Please be aware that there is no school on June 20th due to the Juneteenth holiday.
• Graduation Requirements. The Committee approved the addition of one year of visual/performing arts to our graduation requirements, beginning with the Class of 2026. The Committee also reviewed most of policy section B.
• School Resource Officer Intermunicipal Agreements. Approved for FY22 and FY23.
• Subcommittees.  The Policy Subcommittee will meet on May 17th at 12:00 noon by Zoom.  The Negotiations Subcommittee is meeting on May 2nd at 2:30pm at the District Administration building.
• Town Meetings and elections.  Town Meetings are the final step in approving the Masconomet budget. Liaisons announced that Topsfield’s Town Meeting (TM) will be Tuesday, May 3rd at 7pm in the Masco auditorium, and Topsfield elections are on Thursday May 5th; Boxford’s TM will be Tuesday May 10th at 7pm in the Masco auditorium, and Boxford elections are Tuesday, May 17th; Middleton’s TM will be Tuesday May 10th at 7pm in the Howe Manning gymnasium, and Middleton elections are Tuesday, May 17th.  

 

Upcoming Meetings:

The next regular SC meeting is scheduled for May 25th.  Please refer to the “Public Meetings” page on the Masconomet Website for a list of upcoming meetings and agendas. Note that all past meeting meetings and recordings are posted here