Superintendent's Update : 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

NEC Annual Report 18-19
Updates on programs, demographics, financial summary FY19
Of note - Page 13 - The Topsfield Vocational Academy
We have 9 students who currently attend various programs as part of this collaborative
Swampscott Annual Report Guidelines

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)

Superintendent's Update