Superintendent's Report to SC 12.12.24

TO:         Swampscott School Committee

FROM: Superintendent Angelakis

DATE: December 12, 2024

RE: Superintendent’s Report to School Committee

DIRECTOR OF TEACHING & LEARNING

• I have received Dr. Bacon’s official resignation as she is moving on to new opportunities.

• Dr. Bacon has been with us since July 2019, four and a half years. Shortly after her arrival, we all know the pandemic happened in March 2020. She led us through this challenging time with the new instructional model of remote learning. She worked tirelessly with our curriculum leaders and technology department to ensure we were doing our best to meet the needs of all our students. She has raised the bar with data analysis and data-driven instruction. Dr. Bacon has also pursued numerous grants and played a significant role in the creation and success of the various pathways for our students. Dr. Bacon will be missed here at SPS, and we wish her nothing but the best in the future. Dr. Bacon’s last day with us will be January 3rd, 2025.

• We had 21 applicants for the Director of Teaching and Learning position, and we were fortunate to have such talented candidates. 

• Of the 21 applicants, Ms. Coults, Mr. Calichman, and I reviewed them and narrowed the field to the strongest eight candidates.

• Ms. Coults will lead the first round of interviews, with building leadership, central office,  and teacher representation on the committee. 

HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

• PROSPECTIVE STUDENT OPEN HOUSE

• Mr. Kohut received a great deal of positive feedback from parents and students.

• Higher attendance than at last year’s event - approximately 160 attendees.

• ADVANCED PLACEMENT DATA

• Concerned about the impact the high school schedule might be having on AP coursework and the ability to complete the material, Mr. Kohut examined the data. 

• 2021 school year, 189 test takers, 69% earned 3-5 (meaning college credit)

• 2022 school year, 182 test takers, 67% earned 3-5

• 2023 school year, 192 test takers, 70% earned 3-5

• 2024 school year, 197 test takers, 76% earned 3-5

• CONGRATULATIONS

• To SHS Chorus members Hadley Husted and Alex Shilo on being selected to perform with this year's Massachusetts Northeastern District Senior Chorus in January. High school singers prepare a short choral work, sight singing, and a scale for a judge and are scored on their performance. The very best singers from the region then work with a nationally known choral conductor for just ten hours of rehearsal to prepare a full concert program. Great job, Alex and Hadley!

SUPERINTENDENT DESIGNEE - MR. CALICHMAN

• We have scheduled weekly 1:1 meetings/mentoring sessions.

• Mr. Calichman was part of every building and department budget and capital meetings.

• He attended the SES RAW Arts Mural dedication in my absence.

• He is scheduling his attendance and talks with staff to introduce himself at upcoming elementary and high school faculty meetings.

• Mr. Calichman is meeting with building administration and department leaders. (Tech, T & L, Special Education, METCO, and Finance)

• Central office leadership is copying him on relevant district—and building-level emails that may impact or be applicable in the future. 

• He will be a member of the bargaining team.

• He is attending biweekly Finance/Human Resource meetings with me.  

• He has connected with the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association for School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.), so he will be informed when to register for the 3-year MASS New Superintendent’s Induction Program. 

NEW

• In my absence, Jason is now in charge of the district.

• We will be attending the MASS Mid-Winter Conference on January 23rd.

• He will conduct finalist interviews with me for the Director of Teaching and Learning position. 

• He assisted with the Ipswich tour of SES on December 11th.

• Mr. Calichman participates in the ongoing Finance/Superintendent budget meetings and generates ideas to contribute to the budget discussions. 

• Beginning in January, Mr. Calichman will attend all my standing meetings with Student Services, METCO, High School Leadership, Elementary Leadership, Technology, Facilities, and School Committee Chair meetings.

UU CHURCH & SES PARKING

• A license agreement has been drafted by our attorney and shared with our counterparts at the UU.  

• We plan to meet with them next week to review it and move forward with our plan.

AARPA FUNDS

• Ms. Wolff - Morgan’s Message to me on Tuesday.

Superintendent's Report to SC 11.21.24

TO: Swampscott School Committee 

FROM: Superintendent Angelakis 

DATE: November 21, 2024 

RE: Superintendent’s Report to School Committee 

SUPERINTENDENT DESIGNEE - MR. CALICHMAN 

● I have scheduled weekly standing 1:1 meetings/mentoring sessions. 

● He has attended and will continue to participate in every building and department budget meeting. 

● He has attended and will continue participating in every capital budget meeting. ● He attended the RAW Arts Mural dedication ceremony in my place. 

● He is scheduling his attendance and talks with staff at upcoming elementary and high school faculty meetings. 

● He is meeting with the building administration, and I suggest other departments. (Tech, T & L, Spec Ed, METCO, Finance) 

● The central office is coying him on relevant district and building-level emails that may impact or be applicable in the future, such as a Problem Resolution System (PRS) complaint with DESE. 

● He will be on the negotiation team. 

● He will attend my Human Resources and Finance bi-weekly meetings. 

● I have connected him with the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (M.A.S.S.) Executive Director, so he is informed and can register for the 3-year MASS New Superintendent Induction Program. 

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF GREATER LYNN 

● On October 29th, Evan Katz, president of their board, reached out to begin discussions about the potential for Swampscott Elementary School faculty and staff to use a portion of the UU church parking lot. 

● We have had two meetings - November 6th and November 14th. In attendance were me, Principal Sanborn, Director of Facilities, Max Kasper, Evan Katz, and Tom Billings, neighbor, grandparent of a student, and board member. 

● Attorneys are involved where necessary, including liability, insurance, etc. ● The concept is for 45 spaces for staff use on school days and at night with advanced notice. ● This will free up numerous parking spaces for volunteers and for parent meetings. ● Our attorney is drafting a license agreement, as we would like this in place before the inclement weather arrives. 

● We are truly grateful for the collaboration and open, honest dialogue throughout this process.

AARPA MONEY 

● Since late last spring, I’ve had several conversations with Jeff Vaughn, the Public Health Director, and Neia Illingworth, the Public Health Nurse. 

● Many ideas have been tossed around, but some have not panned out for various reasons. ● Here is where we stand right now: 

○ Drug Story Theater - Evening Event 

○ Mindfulness After School once a week - 20 students for 10 weeks 

○ Trauma-Informed Training - for teachers and schools

Superintendent's Report to SC 5.9.25

SWAMPSCOTT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

TO: Swampscott School Committee

FROM: Superintendent Angelakis

DATE:  May 9, 2024

RE:  Superintendent’s Report 

FY 25 Budget Update

The budget is one of the worst parts of my job. It is an annual struggle to fight for the district's needs while being reminded we are a town department and ensuring we don't take the entire "pie." 

Everyone across the Commonwealth feels our pressures and issues; just look at Andover or Gloucester. North Andover has a $3 million deficit this year and problems going into FY25.  

Please know that I hear and understand how you feel, but we must ensure we are utilizing our resources most efficiently and effectively.  We do not take these decisions lightly, and a lot of thought, conversations, and meetings have happened around this budget.  

We had 22 internal meetings with the leadership team this year as we knew this would be a difficult budget cycle with the opening of the new school, which has increased costs associated with it.  

We knew that being in one building would create staff efficiencies with the new school. We have always been committed to looking at the district's overall budget cycle to ensure we are staffed appropriately at all levels.  

While much of this focus is on reductions, we have added positions this year as we continue to determine what serves the students best in this changing environment.  

No longer having ESSER funding to fund positions created pressure on our budget, and we had to look hard at the positions. Some needed to move into

our appropriated budget to continue supporting MTSS and some of the other district priorities.  

The positions we added for FY25 are:

• One full-time career counselor at the HS

• Increase the FTE for the librarian at the Elementary school

• Added a reading implementation specialist

• Fully funded the after-dark program

• Added a science teacher at the HS (HS now has eight)

• Added a Math Interventionist

• Funded a new literacy curriculum for elementary

• Added the kindergarten aides to our budget

We have always kept the reductions away from teaching and core positions except when enrollment and class sizes dictate how we staff teacher positions.  

Support staffing goes with the students. As a student’s needs change or go out of the district, the support staff is either transferred to where there is another need, if possible or eliminated.

I also feel it’s essential to revisit last year’s budget cycle. We reduced the number of positions by 24, and only two were teacher positions - 1 general education teacher and one science teacher. 

Other positions that were eliminated

• Administrative Assistant in MS

• Assist. Principal at HS

• Maintenance & Operations position

• SEL

• Reduced Business office position by 5 hours

• Part-time Technology Assistant

• Facilities position split with the Town (HVAC)

It’s important to me that the community understands the process and the work that goes into developing our budget annually. 

I'm unsure if our community knows our town’s financial policy and determines what we will get for an annual budget increase. The policy states, "2% plus new growth." The new growth amount can vary from year to year. 

We work within that number once the town tells us our percentage increase for the next fiscal year. 

The community must understand that we do not begin our annual budget by using the previous year’s budget as a baseline; instead, we build our budget from the bottom up every year, called zero-based budgeting.

We have made multiple budget presentations at Finance Committee and School Committee meetings. Through these meetings and work, we received a budget allocation exceeding the town's financial policy because the Finance Committee,

The town Administrator, and the Select Board recognized the district's additional financial pressures and needs. 

We analyze student needs, enrollment, class sizes, and programs from K-12. Then the Assistant Superintendents, Director of HR, and I meet repeatedly with building and department leaders to ask for recommendations for reductions that can be made to close the gap between the town allocation and what our budget looks like, factoring in the changes to Collective Bargaining Agreements and COLAs for union and non-union personnel and other annual increases across the district.

A school district budget is fluid. So, the budget voted by the School Committee on January 25th is a moment-in-time budget. Three and a half months later, needs continue to shift and change as we look ahead to the next school year. The one thing that hasn’t changed is how much we will receive for our budget. We must stay within that number. It is a give-and-take as we make additional decisions to stay within the budget we have been given. 

I recognize that any staffing reduction is hard on everyone, and I want you to know that it is not easy for me or anyone in the district to make these difficult decisions.