Thursday, January 30, 2020

Superintendent's Report to SC 1.29.20

Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee
January 29, 2020

Financial Retreat - January 25th


FY21 Budget


High School Library Update

  • Mr. Kohut has been working on some ideas with his leadership team
  • Meeting with the Student Advisory E-Board tomorrow to discuss
  • We have included the position of Library/Media Specialist in the recommended budget
  • Looking at different and creative uses of the space - not just a library

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Superintendent's Report to SC 1.8.20

Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee
January 8, 2020


Comprehensive Middle School Facilities Assessment
  • General government and school department hired Habeeb & Associates Architects
  • Process of interviewing and selecting this firm in the fall
  • Preliminary DRAFT report of needs
  • Monday, our team met with the Project Manager to review the report and findings
  • Working on the final report before we share with the Committee
  • We plan to submit for the roof for the MSBA Accelerated Repair Program
  • We will be working with the general government to submit by the deadline of February 1st
  • Joint Director of Facilities job posting this past Monday with 30 applicants as of today.

FY21 Budget Development and Timeline
  • Analyzed special education programming and staffing
  • Meetings with each principal to review FTEs
  • Analyzed current English Learners and potential associated staffing needs
  • Meeting with Principals to discuss program needs, class sizes, potential efficiencies, and district needs
  • School Committee meetings and revised budget timeline
  • No meeting on January 22nd
  • January 29th - the budget will be presented
  • February 5th - Public Hearing on the budget
  • February 12th - School Committee budget vote

Northshore Education Consortium Annual Report

School Visits
  • Clarke, Stanley, and the High School
  • At the high school, I was able to visit the Fine Arts wing first thing in the morning and again this afternoon. We are so fortunate to have the talented teachers that we have who bring out such creativity in our students.
  • Photography on the walls - take a walk
  • I was struck at the elementary level by the integration of technology in EVERY class I visited; second grade - nonfiction text features scavenger hunt on iPads, Chromebooks in fourth grade practicing vocabulary, kindergarten morning meeting Can I have a Stegosaurus, Mom?, to music class where the lyrics of a new song were being displayed on the whiteboard and controlled by a student. https://twitter.com/sps01907/status/1214248352713498625?s=20

                              



Ferragamo’s Forecast
  • Michael Ferragamo who is a sophomore at SHS invited me to be part of his regular weather show produced by students in the high school TV studio called Ferragamo’s Forecast
  • First, the students AMAZE me!
  • Our topic was about the steps that lead up to my calling a SNOW DAY
  • I realize it will be an incredibly short segment but I had so much fun watching these students work and watching the whole process


Building Project - Educational Visioning Session
  • Architect Firm and Owner’s Project Manager attended
  • Leadership Team, members of the School Building Committee
  • Outlined the process for what’s ahead: the formation of an Educational Working Group, Community and Faculty Forums
  • We are working on the makeup of this group which we know will include teachers, parents, students, school committee and community members
  • Three four-hour sessions (12 hours together)
    • Educational vision and priorities
    • Design patterns and guiding principles
    • Keyspaces and adjacencies