 This program is brought to you by cable franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you Calling to order this meeting at 7 36 p.m. I Will take a roll call Attendance, mr. Harrington Herrington present Ms. Lord Lord present miss Spitzer Spitzer present mr. Demling Deming present and Donald present Miss Hall All right seeing the presence of a warm alcohol to order this meeting of the Pelham School Committee at 7 36 p.m And we'll also start with a roll call attendance. Mr. Menino Menino here a present Miss Kenny Kenny present miss Barlow Barlow present and miss Dancer and Hall present the minutes the only minutes they were ready for tonight I shouldn't say only we've had a lot of meetings. So thank you miss. Thank you. See hello We appreciate your service and these meetings have been quite lengthy, but we're Amherst and Pelham minutes only minutes from August 6th I know they've been the others have been coming in through miss Figueroa from Cielo. So thank you Cielo But those are the ones so they're they're not joint meetings. They are They're specifically a meeting on the 6th which was the Amherst School Committee and then one that was the Pelham School Committee That's there. I have A minor correction for the Pelham minutes it's in section 3a and The word continent should be I think contingent and I had a minute for the Amherst minutes on the first page where it says miss Spitzer asked a question about opportunities for Outdoor learning given that all students will be back. It should have read that when I think it was like not all students We'll be back because it was part of that phased-in approach So just add the word not Mr. Demling, Mr. Demling of August 6th 2020 Go Demling Demling I Harrington I Mr. Harrington Miss Lord Lord I Spitzer I Miss Spitzer And McDonald's I Minutes are approved five to zero Okay, are there Thank you. Are any other comments or edits to the Pelham minutes from August 6th? Oh, yep. Go ahead miss Barlow Yes, um on the part where it says miss Barlow said that the staff worked hard on this program I believe it's in section 3 in the third paragraph down Just there's some wordsmithing. Um, and how they would be employed. I think it was asked if they would be employed Anything else on the Pelham minutes? Um, I'll move to for the uh, Pelham School Committee minutes from August 6th. Is there a second? Seconded by Kenny All right, we'll do a roll call vote. Uh, miss Kenny Kenny I Miss Barlow Barlow I Miss Dancer Dancer I Mr. Minino Minino I And Hall I Okay, thank you. Um, we're going to move to public comment um And because of my um dicey wi-fi, um, I've asked miss hall to um If she could help um by playing the the the voice recordings that we've received um, I will note um I sent um the PDF of the public comment to everybody on the committee um earlier This afternoon. Um, and also it is already posted on the website and we do have Um, approximately 30 minutes of voice message Public comment, so we'll start with those Um, and like I said because of my spotty wi-fi I've asked miss hall to help Is it is it still spotty or can folks hear me? Should I can hear? Would you like me to try playing from here or are you do you feel all set miss cell? Oh, I'm I'm happy to do it. I don't mind Okay, why don't you why don't you go forward with that? Okay. All right. Here we go It's resident and a crocker farm parent And I am calling to support Um in-person learning as soon as possible in this school year. Um, I'm Grateful that you all are relying on public health measures to follow that planning um Our virus numbers are currently low because people in our area are taking this threat seriously and the social emotional health impacts on our students and their learning are significant I appreciate the difficulty of the decision and the situation you all are in because there are truly no good choices right now So I think looking at the areas where the least harm is being done Um, and particularly keeping in mind the needs of families with the fewest resources and kids with the most complicated learning needs Um, is where the priorities need to be so thank you for your leadership I'm a getty telemaster in the district with a first and second grader We opted for in-person learning because we felt it was the best choice for our family and after completing very difficult And straining three plus months of kindergarten and first grade remote weeks While balancing both of our work schedules with no family to help or child care options and facilitating remote learning We chose in-person learning for this fall I have to add a side note here that the Pellum school and our teachers learned a lot from beyond amazing during this time And really understood how to make an impact and connection with the students in the remote environment However, even with these parameters, it was still a challenge We became hopeful when the district prioritized in-person learning in a way that was thoughtful and science-based We understand that there are no perfect answers here And we struggled upon learning that the APEA was proposing a drastically different plan Than the district because we care immensely for our teachers and respect the inclusion and necessity of their voices Our hope is and while we hope this will include in-person time for our kids We understand that it does not my reason for public comment today is the point is remote or in-person But are heavily considering pulling their kids out and going to another route if the elementary age student remote schedule stands as it is There are plenty of resources being shared on different learning paths There are many reasons for the widespread interest in finding a reasonable solution for elementary education this year And of course each family has different reasons for pursuing education outside of the district different support structures varying financial situations But the common theme is that the remote learning schedule proposed is simply not reasonable for young children and families And a household with two working parents and absolutely no outside child care of keeping our jobs and our kids Education taking into consideration the funds that will be lost due to families seeking a reasonable educational experience for their kids In a world of so many unknowns We absolutely know that this schedule will not work for our families as many other working families have highlighted It will not work for them. We urge you to be realistic on the proposed remote elementary school schedule Thank you. My name is Catherine Moss and I'm a teacher at Wildwood elementary school And I live in Shinsbury, Maryland And I was just calling with the questions about Specifics on if we do return into person. What's the plan for if a teacher gets sick? What's the protocol for students if they come in on a bus with a private student? Who comes in identified as having COVID? um We are asking for the specific detail of protocols and my concern is we're not getting the answers that we need In order to return to school safely Wildwood classrooms and centers have no access to hot water How are we supposed to help keep the children safe if we don't have the those basics of what we need? The concerns that I like highlighted is a building will not get safe We want to teach our children to do what our children ask them But above all everybody to be safe Science should be driving these decisions Not desires and wants at this point will be the top priority And teachers should not be feeling like we're being forced into a hot water situation Which will then turn to a different class environment I beg you to reconsider it. Thank you so much. I'm Christine Posner I live in Amherst and I'm the parent of two children at first grader and entering first grader and entering fourth grader at Wildwood um, I do think the efforts of all the educators for um Trying to operate and it's incredibly challenging time for everybody And I eagerly await more details as we go closer to the start of Online classes and then hopefully as we reach the point for in-person classes. My one request is around How online learning will be served up for our children? as a As a working parent and I'm married to another working parent Um, it is we're trying to make a priority of our students education and we acknowledge that that will require some uh Sacrifice of flexibility in our part with our professional career in this economy that is no small Feet and it is certainly an area of tremendous anxiety Um, however, I'm willing to do it But my request is that there is a very clearly laid out Consistent methodology for learning so that I can schedule my work days Around assisting my children with getting online so that I can be clear about what their assignments are And that these things are communicating clearly and consistently my dream would be be able to You know on a Sunday night that I know what to expect for the next five days I completely understand that this last spring wasn't anomaly and that all of our educators are scrambling In the midst of a forced emergency that required us to go to remote learning However, I'm really hoping to progress forward so that um, we can Best organize our lives to support our children's education. Again, this is kristian tells their President of Amherst and parent of two children. Thank you. Bye. My name is amy cravis I'm calling to make a comment about The upcoming school situation. I have a son Wildwood LMS school entering first grade. I strongly support the opening of school as soon as possible And do feel that any later than october 1st would be problematic for the young children I do not imagine that my six-year-old will be able to successfully Complete daily remote learning At a screen all day And without a teacher physically present in the room with him I also in a family where both parents are working out of the home And putting an initial burden on us to find alternative care for our child In Heather Sheldon on behalf of the board of the Amherst column special education parent advisory council The announcement of the additional two-week delay to the start of in-person learning for all district students Regardless of individual education plans that call for services that can only be meaningfully delivered in person He's greatly departing This delay has serious implications for many of our families who are striving towards this ever 16th start date Virtual learning means no learning for a great many of the students designated to be in phase one We have hard union leaders ask for creative solutions And we want to make sure that the youth of our buildings remain on the list of creative solutions Much effort has been put into making our buildings more robust to the virus And teachers can control their environment and resources in ways they cannot if asked to provide services in the community or in homes Schools remain a safe haven for many of our students And there are significant barriers to providing instruction elsewhere that very well could impact whether our students get services at all The union appears to be pushing for no in-person instruction for the foreseeable future While our comments above are centered on students with significant disabilities We know that students have a broad spectrum of abilities and all learn in different ways Just as robust robust remote learning must be an option this year In-person learning needs to be an option for all of our students as well to the greatest extent possible Thank you Hello, my name is sarah gough. I'm a resident of amherst and the parents two children in the amherst regional public schools I'm also a public health professor mta member and a general pediatrician in turn I first want to thank our school committee teachers staff administrators for their hard work in trying to meet the Many and varied needs of the public school constituency I'm calling with a comment regarding the conditions that APA appears to be insisting upon for any form of return To in-person instruction and outlined in the school committee's office 18 statements Demands listed in the statement such as the requirements that there'll be fewer than once out of 100,000 new cases per week In a five-count evasion are not grounded in current data or science Although I fully understand as an educator and a healthcare professional that copic Can be an in-scary and that they're still unknown The virus is much better understood than when we first went into lockdown with five months It's critical to use the best most recent data science and reasons to guide decisions about return to school not fear Countries of APA's assertion the students need to keep that with online learning a growing body of evidence Is showing how ineffective it is compared to in-person learning and potentially harmful particularly for students who have the greatest educational needs The evidence for deleterious effects of remote learning on mental health and other health indicators such as exposure to adverse childhood experiences Which have lifelong negative effects on education and health are mounting This is a difficult situation with no easy answers But I implore the school committee To resist the pressure to make decisions based largely on fear And to work with the APA to use the best data and science driven guidelines available to make decisions about return to school Mitigating risk and keeping teachers and staff and students safe We've had five months to prepare for this I deeply respect and want to protect teachers and staff, but the APA's proposal Disapportionately and unnecessarily place the risk on children who do not have a duty to represent them Thank you. My name is Nick Speyer. I am an emmerced resident and a four river parent Our family wholly supports the district stance by getting the youngest learners sector promote learning programs for kindergarten or first grade Speaking from experience critical years for social-emotional development building learning skills and building confidence And these kids have already been out for almost we agree with the district stance that returning them to successful learning is a moral obligation We have also been encouraged by the use of the best available information to public health guidance All reasonable measures keep students teachers and staff safe while prioritizing effective education The classroom environments being prepared are far safer than so many other working environments where so many people have been working for the duration This pandemic grocery store workers aren't counting far more people with far fewer protective measures than the kindergarten teachers will But they take precautions and go about their business and have managed to do so by and large safely They have families they have children in the district and they're masking up and doing their part to support this community They are the one example continues working with reasonable precautions without statewide numbers are low and falling Umass has rolled out one of the most aggressive testing programs in the country and has found an extremely small have been some Scary headlines from around the country So we are not in an area with high virus transmission and the plans put forth for reopening or anything But carefully we were extremely disappointed to see a thoughtful reopening plan replaced with a vague Wish you washy statement with no defined metrics to respond to decisions That does not represent the kind of data driven decision making we have come to expect from the committee and the district The demands of the APA the entirely remote and so preparatory Are unreasonable and completely disregard the well-being of a day that kids cannot go back to school and person at all While every elementary school in this district has sufficient outdoor space Time to get creative and the school committee the district staff and police let our kids go back to school. My name is Tina furcalow I live in amherst. I did submit an email to the committee, but I wanted to leave a voice memo of highlights of that email I have two daughters and the amherst system nine and ten graders I'm also a physician in the community who's worked tirelessly over the past five months to care for Test and educate my parents patients about covid 19 I've been extremely frustrated with the lack of information from amherst school system about small plans What little I have learned I've learned from various emails About news about the metrics to be used for determining when it's safe for schools to reopen And advance their model over the school year These metrics are far more stringent than other school systems throughout, massachusetts Particularly our towns amherst levered in pallum and shoespray Has covid statistics right now that other states would like to achieve to be able to reopen What is particularly concerning is the metric for phasing in which says Less than 33 percent increase from prior weeks data on both metrics Even if the results are below the cutoff fees that our high school students will be denied Any in-person instruction of any kind during the upcoming school year We must use metrics that are not extreme outliers and reflect the science and wisdom We've learned over these past five months As a medical professional in the area I'm insulted that the amherst regional public school system School committee teachers union do not have faith in our students Our families to make sure early covid is detected and identified in our community We have the testing capacity Governor Baker has pledged more testing to schools with positive cases identified within their schools We have proven that our educational efforts have worked And that community members know how to keep themselves and others safe from covid We have done a great job as a community Our students deserve the same as other students throughout our state who are reopening with hybrid systems within the next two weeks There's growing frustration within our community of parents and caregivers We highly value education And we know that without high level excellent and meaningful education our children will fall behind Not to mention feel more isolated unmotivated and depressed Hi, this is Mary clays. I'm calling in I submitted a very lengthy public comment So if anyone wants time to read it you can email me at That's uh part united a rps United at gmail.com It's very hard to see all the public comments But there should be some public comments from individuals who would like to see more in person returning to school this fall with proper safety guidelines so Rather than read the letter I am referring you to feel free to email me if you have any other questions We support teachers. We support unions or I I should say I do I'm Speaking on behalf of a group of parents who would like to see the safe return for our students school with proper measures Do you have any questions you can email me at the a rps? united At gmail.com and it has no affiliation with the school or pdo's and That one got cut off, but that's all there was So I will go to the next one Hi, my name is gaby. I'm an emergent And my comment is please has this The teacher is considered in-person learning with all the states Matters that we can't and they are having a hard time They come to the data cbc guidelines We can still do this with the help from the the community families I'm willing to volunteer And together we can do this Thank you Hello, this is Stephanie Hockman. I'm a resident of Pellum and a parent of an eighth grader and ninth grader I would like the school board and the apae to collaborate and work with its other constituents Students and parents to get everyone back to learning live instruction In-person and eventually remotely if it's warranted in the winter Parents including myself my husband and many others that we've talked to Will volunteer and support teachers and staff. We can help set up tents for outdoor learning We can write buses to check temperatures and make sure riders have maps and six feet of art We can stand outside school buildings and check temperatures We can monitor hallways for wearing masks and social distancing compliance We can make sure each student sanitizes their hands before entering the building and entering every classroom We can proctor classrooms for teachers who are instructing synchronously From home do their age or being immunocompromised We're an educated and innovative community that can find creative solutions To make the in-person live instruction work so that our students don't fall farther behind Please collaborate and have our students best interest at heart We can be safe and responsible our numbers in the community and the low transmission rate proves that Thank you. My name is Matthew Larkley. I'm a ninth grader Now these test assignments don't always come easily to me, but The questions I ask my teachers I need to ask them or I can't really complete the work By spring I was enjoying my second year of latin learning geometry And learning amazing new concept concepts and english science social studies and math I can honestly say I enjoyed learning in my classes for my teachers However, when COVID hit, general state-run learning was severely diminished I wasn't learning new material And I missed the live interactions with teachers in person Last five months being very diligent about my interactions. I miss my friends, my coaches and my teachers I want everybody to be safe and be responsible But I do want to be in the class learning like 70% of my students at schools Here in the Amherst community we have some of the lowest infection rates in the state And I strongly believe that we can do our best to keep everybody from getting infected Please find a way to help me continue to learn in the classroom for at least through live instruction Don't let the fear students not being able to follow rules to keep you from teaching We will do our part. I hope the school board the administration and the teachers will do their best to help me become a college student I strive to be Hello, my name is Gina Cossman And I live in Amherst I would like to share comments from me and my husband Miguel Ringler We are both members of the MTA, Massachusetts Teachers Association And we are parents of a special education student at Fort River in Amherst We are about the decision to have all students mostly in September We want the return to school to be as safe as reasonably possible However, we feel strongly that the needs of special education students are not Being adequately considered with the change Of a virtual start for all while we Have the means to hire an in-person tutor for our daughter Others do not We know from this past Bring that our daughter cannot learn online for more than 90 minutes per day And that is with one-on-one instruction The longer we delay in-person learning She and other special education students are going to fall even further behind We implore the MTA to find a way to bring back special education students and kids in shelters Foster care excluded secure families as soon as possible With our experience adopting our daughter from foster care, we know how vulnerable this population is We ask The school committee to please make every effort To stop the widening of the achievement gap for our most vulnerable students by beginning in-person classes for them on October 1st Thank you for listening Gina Kauffman my number is four one three five four eight six three zero nine Um, okay, and then this is the the final voice recording My name is filthy. Hi. I'm i'm intense created amyth regional high school And i'm reading this as a public comment from the school committee meeting on august 25th I have sacrificed playing basketball seeing friends and traveling over these past six months Right school is a time where people find that identity Find new friends and discover what they love And understand the fear and caution that people have But if we follow the right protocols, I believe you should have one to two days a week at school A lot of things have happened over these past few months and conversations over zoom will not have the same effects as they do in person As a student, I believe that people are not going to speak up on zoom When in school, I know that more people will be more comfortable to state their views and opinions I know that students are willing to abide by the rules and protocols And if we don't even think about going hybrid until november, I'm scared we might not go back for the rest of the year Thank you Okay, that was the last of the recorded comment. Uh, dr morris. Were you going to do the emailed comment I actually have one more Voice recording that did not come in Through the phone number it came in through email. So I will try playing that right now Okay, committee school staff and neighbors I'm speaking today to advocate for in-person learning for all of our children starting september Five days a week for children who need it and at least two days a week for middle and high school Families and staff should have the choice to do what's best for them I know that some families are planning to have their children stay home and that some school staff also need to work from home And it's myself. I very much Not that that's option for many children Decisions Not enough for full consideration of the rest of school like the rest of the puppy in school Where people come down in this varies widely in our community I have simply that you keep an open mind And then make decisions based on facts and concrete metrics Remember that what I another family they're asking for is not for everyone Everyone have the option to do so and can make the choice that's best for their children and families Why have I decided myself that risks are low enough for my own three children to go to school? Well, there are just a handful of covid cases in the a rps towns That's there were nine active covid cases total and shoots berry pellum lever and amherst Out of well over 40,000 people Hampshire county has only 37 cases per 100,000 people and the percent positivity test rate for the last 14 days is 1.10 percent for the county We can't eliminate all risk But in view of the numbers and the extensive safety measures that schools have ready Strongly believe children should have the option to go to school until the metrics change Everyone I talked to about this issue gets the academic social emotional even physical safety benefits have been in the school building I've seen the lack of it in my own children And I'm worried about the long-term effects of missing yet more time. They can't get back And we also have to remember that covid may surge again I don't know what will happen in the fall, but if covid rates rise the schools have to go fully remote We could be looking at being out of school for months For those of us with 12th, excuse me 4th through 12th grade students model 4 Doesn't start those kids in school until november and I don't want to see my kids possibly not being in school at all This year. I know this might sound alarmist, but I do think it's a real possibility Having something like two days a week in school now would give kids a chance to form relationships with teachers And get the socialization they need There are many significant risks for being kids being out of school and just as I balance the risk of getting in a car accident I think miss mcdonald, I don't think we're able to hear you very clearly at the moment. I'm sorry So, um, at least I can't make out what you're, um, what you're saying You got it. Okay. Um, so dr. Morris, if you wouldn't mind sharing your screen to do the, um The written public comment Yep Is that relatively visible? Oh, okay Yep I haven't done this for a couple meetings. So if I go too slow or too fast someone's gonna let me know The pacing working okay for folks So I just want to comment. I know I've got um, some people texting me that, um, the comments are clear on channel 15 But people who are live streaming, it's less clear Um, the comments are on our website So if you go to our website and click on the school committee to have in today's meeting, the public comments are all there So if you are viewing and struggling to make sense or Struggling to read because it's blurry. Um, this full document is is on the website right now That's it Thank you. Um, next up is the superintendent's update Okay, um, so Um, I think I will be rather brief because much of my updates would go into Item nine c fall 2020 update. Um, but I have a couple things I'd like to share one is, um And I got to see this live, uh on saturday, which is there's mobile space mobile Classrooms so to speak them and using many years behind summit academy at the high school Building and it's been all talked about for many years probably mr. Sullivan Longest serving member can remember when he first got on and and they were removed on saturday So thanks to all of our facilities department for doing all that prep work Um for for the committee for being involved in the capital planning for that It's really opened up the outdoor space behind summit academy Which was one of our long-term goals when the school moved there around green space. Um, it's it's it's pretty amazing You know, I went I saw them before and after as well as the during and it was very neat So we just want to thank everyone with the committee for financially advocating for that but also for all the staff who put in Time in a very hot summer, uh getting that all prepped and ready to go similarly, uh last Done by this week will be the last of the wildwood exterior door project So those of you who have been on the amherst school committee a while know that this exterior door project Um, it's been I think it's happened over Well, I know it's happened over several years. Um, and we're we're getting towards Uh, conclusion. So that also, uh feels really good. Um, and I think the last update that's not about the fall Um Is that we just found out today that the middle school vella program, which is our after school program Uh was named Exemplary, uh by the licensing agency and um, and so that's a partnership with us and the collaborative for educational services Um, so at the state level it was named exemplary, which means that grant continues, which is great news for our students and our staff Uh, and for the middle school and for the collaborative and we appreciate our partnership with the collaborative on providing high quality out of school time work, um out of school time, um Opportunities for our students. So um, just a couple good news things to share again. I'll I'll share more expansively on Uh fall 2020 update when it's on the agenda item when it when we're on that agenda item. Thank you Well, we'll be back to you. Um All right chairs updates. I do not have an update Miss mcdonald. I'm assuming probably not tonight for you not tonight. Thank you great, um All right school committee announcements Any committee members have announcements? Yes, miss lord Thank you I'd like to invite everyone to the school equity task force meeting on september 9th 6 30 Thanks. All right, terrific. Thank you Anyone else? All right, so under new and continuing business the next item is the food service and usda Waiver so dr. Morris. I'll go back to you. Yeah, I'll prompt us. I want to welcome Michael gallo acanol our nutrition director is joining us tonight So you can share more information. This has been talked about a couple times in meetings this summer Um, I think in the agenda packet. Um, if those of you have it up or if you're watching online On pages looks like six and seven Uh was to me a disconcerting letter that was written last week um By sonny purdue who is the secretary of the department of agriculture? And there's a lot of legalese in there, but essentially And and mr. Gallo acanol can talk about this in more detail It it doesn't allow for our summer food program, which we started in the spring. So it allowed for 1514 something like that, uh, mr. Gallo acanol correctly Food sites within our community to have drop offs without um that was truly drop offs It wasn't checking for who the student was or anything like that So it's very disappointing because that's been highly successful. We've served, you know, literally thousands of meals Through the spring and summer we did get an extension to cover the first two weeks given the later start First two weeks of september, but but once school starts We are not able to continue to do that in the current model And so it's very disappointing. So I think michael's going to share a little bit about where we are You know what we've done What are some potential options? I'll talk about a new option that we're starting to explore And then he can put a finer point on it and you know, I think then we'll take some questions But you know food scarcity has never been a larger issue I think that it is right now it will continue to be a large issue in the fall And so we are doing our best to try to come up with creative solutions to make sure that we can get Food for our families we hear from them all the time in terms of michael and dr. Marta Guevara who's centrally involved in this work as well in terms of the outreach How critical that has been for families? So I really want to thank michael and his staff for their incredible work I mean, I think we started up the second day that we were closed in march I think it was like the 17th our food service started And expanded I also want to publicly thank our u.s. Partners for for being a huge huge help with us But with all that introduction mr. Gallo connell floor is yours Great. Thanks. Hi everybody. So I would also like to begin by recognizing like the hard work Of the food service staff and the the volunteers that have made like possible for us to operate All the 15 or all the the meal sites that we've been doing And the family center and their help coordinating with the community helping us find You know people that need the meals So yeah, I'm really grateful for all their help So I'll guess I'll begin with a brief history So as Mike said, we're operating under the summer food program right now It's federally funded program which allows us to serve free meals during the summer And like I said, we don't have to track who's taking the meals anyone who's 18 and under Take the meals And it's been really successful You know we since school closed we have Been able to provide Over 40 000 meals UMass has been helping us feed Number of our sites and they've provided meals for about 60 000 people. So together About 100 000 meals That we've been able to get out to people in the community that needed them. So Yeah, I'm really proud of everyone All the hard work they've done to make that happen So we've been operating a number of meal sites With the help of some waivers from the USDA And those waiver Like Mike mentioned sign and produce letter So there was some hope that they would continue the summer food program for the 2021 school year Which will allow us to continue operating Like between us and us it's 15 sites throughout town they And in the letter, I mean it It says if they don't have They have required congress to provide funding for that I think basically what they're saying so Um So that's not happening. I mean we still there's a possibility that there might be universal free lunch Funded in the next the next bill but That's still up in there as well So right now, we've been providing meals for seven days a week. It's been monday wednesday friday deliveries We provide hot meals on monday wednesday friday cold meals for the other days So it's breakfast and lunch Um, we reason the high school is the one kitchen we're using right now is a confiscated kitchen And we um Transportation providing drivers and vans so right now we are using two drivers two vans um to reach all the sites Um volunteers are running the sites for us so each site um It's pretty quick transaction so each site is over for about 15 to 20 minutes to try and limit the amount of exposure To the volunteers and people in the community to each other so So they drop off the meals They make their other stops and they come back and pick up the the totes after about 15 minutes Um and any leftovers that we have that we can't use We bring them to either the survival center or to craig's door And um So, yeah, um If you mass helping us initially was like very was really critical We uh Like right when school closed. We didn't know what our demand was going to be we have 900 free and reduced eligible students so You know it was going to be we thought Somewhere around that number of kids is where we're going to have to try and feed so um You know, we uh had a limited staff in the beginning people were like concerned about You know coming into work and You know things are kind of normalized a little bit more now, but You know, there's still a lot of concern From people that will be returning to work in the fall So like mentioned the the summer food program has been extended until the The start of the school year, so it's november or september 16th And then after that, um, we have to operate under the national school lunch program um, and they They've rented some of the waivers for the national school lunch program that um We're active for the summer program Um the non congregate feeding waiver so we don't have to uh um, so the students um, we can feed the kids in in the classrooms and um and when students if if uh, if you're picking up at the schools then They don't have to Normally they have to eat the meals onsite with a non congregate waiver Then they could pick up the meals and bring them back to their houses. Um And parent and guardian pick up is allowed. So The students don't have to pick up the meals themselves. They just have to tell us the students name. Um because it's going to be uh it's not Right now it's not free. So We'll have to identify like which students um Are getting meals and they'll have to be either charged or uh You know, uh, they're accountable, you know Left like a register of that somehow um, so um For the fall, um You know, our plan is uh meals in the classrooms there, uh I mean, I'm not entirely sure about the numbers of kids in each class like it'll be just the elementary schools initially and then It'll be um Priority learners, I think in either the middle school or the high school. I'm not sure um Which one yet, but so, um We'll have the kitchens open in each of the elementary schools and We'll kind of run the program the same way we've been doing our breakfast in the classroom pilot programs. So Uh, we'll um We'll get an account sheet from the teachers And they'll pack the meals into totes. Um, which we're getting We're getting a plastic reusable totes with a clam shell so Hoping that that's going to make it easier for the teachers to deal with them any messages When the kids are done they can just put everything inside the container Plastic wear and actions Mill container Close it up. Um Put them back in the tote put it outside and the food service staff will come Bring it back to the kitchen. Um They'll clean and sanitize the totes And then I think we're gonna we're gonna provide breakfast at the end of the day um First students to school is starting so late. Um You know, we want to try and get them the breakfast for the next day the day before so Um We'll go the same tally sheet from the teachers will bring the um Toast back to classrooms again load up the breakfast And when the students are leaving they'll take their um the breakfast for the next day Possibly we could do more than one day breakfast. Um To make it easier, um, but yeah, but the plan um Mike, I'm gonna can I interrupt you for one second? Yeah, because you've given an incredible amount of information Which I know is well appreciated by the committee. Um, so I just want to pause for a second, uh, which is Michael talked a little bit about what we've done The model that we might have to move to you know, given the waiver is not extended um and that being an on-site pickup with um confirmation and and if students Aren't eligible for free lunch payment. Um, and then a little bit about the um in school model I want to just transition because I know you'll have a lot of questions to talk a little bit if it's okay, Michael About another option that we started exploring in the last couple days For fall particularly for the first students who are attending school or families who have children attending school virtually I'll be blunt that we know that having Pickups at the school sites is going to be much more challenging for families than having pickups Uh, that is closer to home for many of our families We know that um, it's gonna we believe that it will eliminate some families from being able to access our food service program If they have to come to school each day You know, especially for families with young children families who don't have transportation readily available to them So we're deeply deeply concerned. Um I want to thank Doug slaughter who came up with a really creative idea That has now been supported by the town and talked to the town manager this afternoon as has and you know, mr. Gallo Connell's been in touch that that's it we could explore using some of the town's covet funds Um, which expire at the end of this calendar year. So I want to be really clear that they do not extend into 2021 Um to do a self-funded program um to maintain At least most of our sites or many of our sites within the community Um, it would maintain um certain aspects of that the challenges. We would not be being reimbursed for those meals and we'd have to rely on The town's covet funds to support those meals. So I think, you know, for our perspective Um, it's a very generous offer that the town of Amherst is willing to To provide for us and we know that that service is desperately needed by families And I think because of that the town hasn't been incredibly generous in trying to work with us Oh and that would look like um, I don't know if michael, you know I give an overview if there's anything that you want to add about that one And then I want to make sure that we're giving the committee a chance to ask questions or our follow-ups Yeah, um before I want to jump back into like so um the The plan for um Pickups like we have to have an option for remote learners. So the option is going to be um Using I think three of the schools as pickup sites Uh the high school fort river and crocker farm, I think I think the high school can cover, um The geographic area for wildwood and the middle school because they're also close Um, and I think that's probably gonna be like an evening Uh pickup option. It'll be like a drive through Um, where they're, you know, two people two tables first person checks Which student they are which school to go to and then tell us the next person how many meals they need And they deliver the meals next Station but like mc said it's going to leave out a number of people. Um who Either have a hard time getting to the sites when we're able to have them open or um won't have You know access to a vehicle or a number of other reasons why they won't Won't be able to get uh to the schools. So and the pickups would probably be I think You know, probably two or three days a week. Um, depending on the demand that we initially saw if it was If it was successful we could you know offer the pickup more days, but The uh other option to might be talking about with the cares. Um The cares act money from the town Would let us reach a lot more students. I mean and In a way, it's competing with ourselves a little bit because those meals we'd be giving out for free and The meals that we're giving out at the schools we'd be reimbursed for but it's going to be a lot more um people that were feeding so I think that uh You know that's worth the trade off um so Yeah, so the the We're thinking of running a program like what we're doing right now for the summer food program. So I'm thinking potentially eight sites that we would operate. Um And the scheduling might be tricky. Um You know if it might not be able to happen during the um school meal period time for the remote learners it might have to be um Either earlier or later depending on like I have to work there with transportation like what they available for the drivers in the vans, but It would be a driver and a volunteer and they would stop at a site for 20 minutes Over half an hour hand out the meals move on to the next site. So it was You'd notify people like okay This is happening at these locations all the meals would be free um We wouldn't have to track anything and uh You know it would be a town that would be funding it. So um You know, it would also help us um Keep more of our food service staff. Um You know give them more hours uh over the course of As we transition from You know right in the beginning we're going to have more kids as remote learners and then we gradually You know transition towards december of a higher percentage of kids in school because once we have um access to the students when they're in school Even if it's like if it's one day then we can you know provide them with meals to go So it'll it'll be easier for us to like You know provide the meals through the school lunch program um So yeah as we get closer towards you know Full capacity for the schools The remote program would kind of wind down and we would have you know More um more need in the schools for uh For the meals so So I mean I think like the december timeline that they have the funding available works out pretty well for us. Um as long as um Things progress like we're hoping for with the phased in models. Um Because really it's just until even like that mid-november date where 7 through 12 are back one day a week um Once we have the kids you know that They have the more severe need um once we have access to them in the schools then we'll be able to give them Meals to take home and even like you know get them more information about like Make sure they know like okay these this is what the program we're doing and this is when the meals are available and Um Yeah, I just think initially like The start of school until mid-november isn't it going to be challenging making sure that we're getting all the kids um Food that need it um Yeah I think they're gonna have the committee is gonna have questions and um Uh, so I want to just give the committee a time But thank you so much for really thorough Explanation of both what's been happening and then a second year notion of the staff and volunteers Who have been doing just um incredible amount of work around food scarcity. I mean think of a hundred thousand meals I hadn't heard that number before you said it tonight michael and it is kind of Shocking because that gets into the numbers that I know mathematically what they mean, but I can't really conceptualize what a hundred thousand meals are Um, so do a deep appreciation for your leadership and for the work of of everyone who's been involved But I want to just make sure the committee has an opportunity to ask Any questions because I think you know you and I talk a lot about this and it gets kind of weedy So I want to make sure the committee if they have any questions that we might be Able to offer them an opportunity to ask All right, great. Thank you. Um, mr. Demling and then mr. Arminino Yeah, I mean I'm really questions just say that I think the approach that you have is spot on I'm just really grateful for the The town of amorous to the town manager and to the town council that has Responsibility for overseeing the cares act funding. Um, you know, I've read stories of there are some real Challenges that some towns have with distributing the cares act funds and school districts that don't have enough money um, you know, even for their own For school reopening for cares act funds. So the fact that The town is willing to to go above and beyond to cover this In addition to everything else that they have to be responsible for the cares The cares act needs to cover for other town services is incredibly generous So I just just really appreciate the generosity and the forward thinking on the part part of the town I think trying to maximize You know, um, all of the food Meal first that we can provide to students even if they're there one day a week any any interaction we have with a student You know that when if you can maximize the number of take home Meals and and information is I think that's absolutely spot on and the fact that we have We can sort of buy ourselves a little bit of time that if worst-case scenario We still don't have any solution at the federal level, right for january and and and and we still have a number of students who are remote who need Um food services in january then then what's then what's going to be Coach then, you know, we have about four months to kind of figure it out, right? And so so what what is the logistics? What's what's what's how can we get a little more creative about how to get? um, the meals if if we can only re get the meals that we can be in reimbursement I didn't get that to to families, you know, um You know, we'll have another four months to kind of figure it out this fall. Um, and so I think that would be that would be good So, um, I like what you're doing. I like the creative thinking. Thank you to town of amherst and thank you for the presentation All right. Thank you. Mr. Manino I'd like to thank michael for the wonderful work He does and let him know that he personally makes me feel very proud to be able to serve on this committee. Thank you Thank you Any other questions or comments for mr. Gallo O'Connell? Yes, miss kenyan Sorry, um, I I did have one question. So I think I heard you say, um, that the former summer food program Was extended until september 16th as a later start of school um but Some of our Most of our kids won't be back until october that date got changed a little so Uh, will that just be the remote? option for everyone at that point and I also wanted to say I really appreciate um, you working so hard on all this because you know Not everybody has enough food all the time and I I just really appreciate it and I also wanted to say I love that the leftovers are being Repurposed and going to other people in the community that might not also also might not have Um, the same access to food. So I really appreciate that I can just oh you want to speak to this september 16th So october first thing michael or do you want me to whatever you like? Yeah, I can jump in there. Um Yeah, so that like they just extended those waivers for the summer food program A few days ago to extend until september 16th because that was the problem we were facing For those first two weeks before school started now. They're kind of moved it to the second two weeks of uh, october um, so it's going to be a meal site pickup at the schools, um for that time period um And we'll just mean over the last week or the next couple weeks at the meal sites We're gonna try to like get the word out as much as we can that like Okay, you know next week Here the locations where you know, you pick up meals It's gonna get the schools and said and hopefully we can get my people who's been and even if people You know if people are like working in in pods or cohorts, you know They can come pick up the meals for like their pod or their street or You know for a number of people so Yeah, it's uh But yeah, it's gonna be tricky uh, it's in a closed window for us, but You know, we're gonna try and do what we can do to make sure that uh, people look at the meals Yes, miss dancer. Oh, sorry. Could I just add one thing? Michael? Yeah, Dr. Morris then miss dancer I was late to unmute so there is no accounting for Whether districts are in person hybrid or remote as it relates to what happens once school starts It's the date that the school year starts the waiver ends So I just wanted to be clear about that it's it's unrelated to the choice of schooling that occurs within a district Okay, thank you. Miss dancer So, um, I wanted to just make sure I have it straight so With the waivers in place. We've been Serving or providing meals for anyone who comes to pick up the meals We haven't had a check-off about what school you're in or anything like that. Is that correct? and so When those waivers go away it's going to and we don't have the town's Cares funds It's going to be the case that only students enrolled will be able to get the meals Or will anyone still be able to get the meals? Um, so Uh parents and guardians to extent of that waiver so the students don't have to come themselves to the meal sites so Parents or guardians can pick up the meals At them at the school pick up sites Um, but we will at that point have to track Who's getting the meals and then it's going to have to like Those numbers let's go back to each individual school and the different districts to like Keep those meals with the school That that student goes to and it won't be It won't be free meals. Um so Yeah, so we'll That's another part they'll have to deal with is um, you know, I don't know if we'll have a lot of people that uh Aren't unfree or reduced coming to the schools to pick up meals. Um, but if we do Either we'll have to make sure that we're charging their accounts or Um, possibly deal with money at the at the pick up site, but I'd rather not do that. So Probably just charge your accounts. Um, and then Try to deal with it in the future Okay, thank you Any other questions Great. Thank you so much. Mr. Gallo. That was really helpful. I appreciate your work on this Um, okay. Dr. Morris. Did you have anything else before we move on? No, okay All right. So next up are the, um policies that we had first discussed last week so where As miss mcdonald explained we do a first read and then come back and revisit, um And miss mcdonald had emailed those around So I guess going in order the first one was Beed h which is the public participation Um, do you like me to display this miss hall? Oh, do you have those? I would love that if you could Thank you So the public participation that one um There were several changes made based on um The Was the natick decision? I think that was yes natick decision And then also the changes for the um Now more acceptable formats in which we will accept public comment. Um, so the version that's up on the screen now is um There were no changes from the one Last week So this second read is really the same as the first one. Um, and so just wanted to see if folks have more questions comments Further changes Yes, mr. Manino The third read will vote on the policy Well, that's up to the committees that we could vote tonight if folks are comfortable If there's something if there's any element that needs to be revisited then We could but if people feel okay with where we are we can vote on these Thank you one or all of them tonight Yes, miss lord Um, I may be confusing myself from last week, but it says mail and email did we Think that still having a voicemail was um, were we gonna keep that included? Hello, um Oh, we did. No, we did leave the voice message in there Okay, maybe yes, we're both stated during an in-person meeting a recorded voice voice message or a written email message Thank you. This is not in the second paragraph. I was confused. Oh, okay understandable Not hot Uh, yes, dr. Morris. I think the second paragraph is more just a reminder that um That those are public documents Um, so that if you know, I I think that's the intent It's actually a really interesting point that miss lord raises whether other forms of communication become public documents or public media I guess documents is probably the wrong word So, you know, not that I necessarily needs to hold everything up tonight But I think it's it's really actually worth thinking about because in my opinion, probably all of that becomes public, um, so, you know, I wonder if there's A way, you know, obviously this is your all decision but to match the language in both sites because I think We wouldn't want anyone to have the impression that a voice message is not a public media Um, whereas an email is um, so I'm glad you found that miss lord Yeah, that is a good point. I mean and as a practical matter the the voice mails come in and are transcribed So although they're not technically emails. There is There is sort of a written version of them. Um So, yes, I I wonder if it's, you know, just uh, oh, I miss or deling as a hand up. I don't I'm sorry Oh Yeah, sorry. Um, when I heard miss mcdonald Miss mcdonald and that mr. Demling good Um, if you can if you can hear me and I want to Yes I wonder if it's a simple edit in that last sentence of the second paragraph that says, uh, Male and email sent to the school committee members could just be voicemail mail and email I like that That looks sounds good to me. Mr. Demling Yeah, I mean so I guess the the wording isn't all that important to To me I the the only point I was gonna um that occurred to me is that when the voicemail was played during the Open meeting it by it by definition becomes part of the public record because it's played in the open meeting It's the same. Uh, and it's the same Effect as when you you scroll the The email during the public public meetings basically anything that happens Within the bounds of the open meeting becomes part of the public record I guess the only exception to that is if If you had so much written email that you didn't you weren't able to scroll it all in the time allotted and the chair decided that That you're going to post the overflow somewhere else Then then explicitly stating that any email that came in as part was going to be part of the public record Um, I suppose it's also technically possible that you could get so much voicemail Um That you could that you could commit to posting it somewhere else But you know that would be that would get technically maybe a little challenging. So I get the only point I wanted to make is this as long as you play it during the during the meeting It becomes part of the public record anyone All right. Yeah, and I and I agree with that and I also think that just adding voicemail to that last sentence Um, just makes it even that more much more clear any other questions comments on policy BEDH Does anyone feel like making a motion? From any committee? Oh, wait. Oh, so miss mcdonnell. I can't do this part. I can't do your votes. Can I? Got a little trigger happy here. Um, sorry What anyone from felt I'm not taking over Um, would anyone from pellum like to make a motion? Sorry, miss kennie go ahead Do we have to make those edits first to include voicemail? I think you can make the motion as amended So with the the you know adding the word voicemail Okay, so Adopt the policy as amended I move we accept policy BEDH for public participation at committee meetings as amended to include voicemails as public comment That was a great motion Seconded by no. Any further discussion? All right, we'll do a roll call vote. Um, miss kennie Kenny I Mr. Menino Menino I Miss Barlow Barlow I Miss dancer Okay, I can't well. I can see your lips moving. I'll count that I think Okay, we have we have a nodding eye and haul eye Um, all right chair mcdonnell. Do you want me to pass this over? to you And I will try but I might ask um my uh region vice chair to take over if if uh folks can't hear me Can you your region vice chairs having a little trouble with volume So why don't we have the amherst vice chair take the vote for take the motion for the amherst committee Okay, um This is peter dumbling amherst vice chair, uh, is there anyone from the amherst school committee who would like to make a motion the amherst committee approve policy de dh as amended Lord second All right moved by spitzer seconded by lord. Is there any further discussion on the motion for the amherst school committee? Seeing none. We'll move to a roll call vote And I am not as organized to do this alphabetically. I'm just going to go around As I see you and we'll start with miss mcdonald mcdonald I uh miss spitzer spitzer I uh, mr. Harrington Harrington I Mr. Lord Lord I And damling I it passes five zero Uh, miss mcdonald, do you want me to proceed with the region? um No What's that? Can you hear me or no? You want to go for it? Yeah, um, so I I move to approve policy bedh for the region. Um as amended second Move by mcdonald seconded by was that spitzer? Yes, yeah, um roll call vote Mr. Demling Demling I Miss lord Lord I Miss spitzer spitzer I Mr. Sullivan Sullivan I Mr. Harrington Harrington I Miss Kenny Say aye Miss dancer And mcdonald's I The motion passes um eight to zero Okay, great. Thank you um Dr. Morris would you mind pulling up? Um, ebc supplemental, please If you have it You are on mute Can you say that one again? I'm sorry ebc supplemental That's the the longer one that covers a bunch of different policies. It was a the word document ebc fa Uh, we can do that one first. Okay that one. I'm Yeah, that'd be easier for me at the moment. Yeah, okay In a second. Um, okay, so ebc fa is the face coverings policy the only change That we made from the first read last week was that instead of it just going away Um, the school committee would need to vote to rescind this policy when when that's deemed necessary but other than that, um everything in here is Um, is the same so any any questions comments follow up on ebc fa Mr. Denley Um, dr. Morris. Did we get mr. Consolino? Did she happen to take a look at this? We'd uh Let's go to Allison Yeah, so I think we looked at it in terms of mass breaks and other things like that She she's developing her own kind of our local procedures as we would Based on policy given the proximity to the start of the school year Um, took a look at something I believe yesterday that she put together Around this. Um, so we feel good moving forward anything else on face covering policy Okay, we'll make a motion from pelham. I moved to adopt policy ebc fa on face coverings Is there a second? second All right moved by hall seconded by kinny any further discussion All right, we'll do a roll call vote miss barlow Barlow I miss kenny Kenny I miss dancer nodding I from miss dancer Mr. Manino, you know I and haul I Mr. Demling, do you want to do this for amherst? Sure, um For the emmer school committee, uh, is there a motion does anyone want to make a motion for the emmer school committee? Or I will make a motion. Um, I move to approve policy ebc fa face coverings for the emmer school committee Lord second Move by demling seconded by lord Is there any discussion? I guess I'll just make a quick note for the public since this is a topic of active discussion at like kind of the detailed implementation level but We're discussing policy, which is a higher level than the low lower level detailed implementation and I would certainly expect this to come up and periodically in terms of um superintendent's update We had talked about lower level things like, um Masks and gators and that kind of level thing and as we hear more from our nurse manager and whatnot Um, it's an active detailed level topic. I would expect to come up with the fall a lot But this is one of those higher level policy Um guideline documents That's the only sort of framing I want to put on that Any further discussion on um face covering policy Seeing none. Uh, we'll go a roll call vote. Um, miss lord Lord I Miss mcdonald mcdonald I Miss spitzer Spitzer I Mr. Harrington Harold tonight And demling I That is five zero at the emmerced wall Swing over to you miss mcdonald Okay, I will try uh to uh Manage for the region um I'll make the motion. I move to approve the policy ebc f a face coverings for the region Is there a second? second Move by mcdonald second by spitzer. We'll do a roll call vote Um miss kenny Kenny I Mr. Harrington Harrington I Mr. Sullivan Sullivan I Miss spitzer Spitzer I Miss lord Lord I Mr. Demling Demling I Miss dancer Dancer I And mcdonald I It passes the motion passes eight to zero. All right. Thank you. Um, so then the last one is um ebc supplemental so this one was the general policy on covid related issues. Um, so instead of it being its own standalone policy, it just calls out the covid related changes to existing policies um and This one similar to the face coverings um Policy the only change we made on this one Um was to have it we would the school committee would need to vote to rescind this policy. Um, Instead of it just any of it going away automatically Um, and and also just to reiterate mr. Demling's point. Um, oh and there's the the change highlighted Um, that these you know as policies They are just more general and there will be a lot more specificity when it comes to the implementation of the policies At the at the school and district level um, so any questions comments further edits on Um, ebc supplemental Yes, mr. Spitzer Sorry, I apologize because I wasn't here on um thursday, but I'm wondering for that first bullet that's promote public safety and safety of students and faculty if we shouldn't also include staff Just recognizing that there are people in our buildings who aren't faculty Unless that term generally that term is just including teachers I believe that's there You when you think it Well, can you scroll up to the top? Okay So just that very first bullet Yeah, because it just is of students and faculty I'm sure our intent was everybody in the buildings Mm-hmm. So it would read of students faculty and staff That's my Any anyone have any objections to adding staff there Okay, great. Thank you Any other questions comments edits? I don't see any Um, all right with someone from pellum like to make a motion on ebc supplemental As amended out adding the word staff I'm happy to make a motion for the region. Yeah, get us going miss spitzer um I move that the regional school committee approve policy ebc supplemental creation of a general interim policy on covid related issues as amended second Moved by spitzer seconded by herrington A need for their discussion Seeing none, we'll move to a roll call vote miss dancer Mr. Demling Deming I Miss lord Lord I Miss spitzer Spitzer I Mr. Sullivan Sullivan I Mr. Herrington Herrington I Miss Kenny Penny I And mcdonald I The motion passes eight to zero All right. Thank you. Mr. Demling you want to take it away for Amherst Sure, I move to approve policy ebc supplemental creation of a general interim policy on covid related issues as amended for the Amherst school committee Second Seconded by spitzer. Is there any further discussion for the Amherst school committee? Seeing none, we'll move to a roll call vote. Um miss spitzer Spitzer I I miss mcdonald McDonald I Mr. Herrington Herrington I Miss lord Lord I And demling I passes five zero All right. Thank you All right, I move to adopt policy ebc supplemental creation of a general interim policy on covid related issues as amended for the Pelham school committee Is there a second? Honestly, you got to do it again. I have no idea who got it first Let's All right, Ron. You're the only one unmuted. Is there a second second? There he goes Ruin my whole second in my manino any further discussion Thank goodness. Okay Roll call vote. Um miss dancer dancer I miss kenny Kenny I Mr. Manino Manino I Miss Barlow Barlow I And haul I the motion passes unanimously for Pelham as well Um, okay. Next up is the fall 2020 update I will pass things back to you. Dr. Morse Sure. So I've kind of um Two things that I'd like to share and they're both a little lengthy. Um I guess that phrase means different things different people. They're just not like one sentence ones, but um So, uh, the first is just a little update on distance learning We talked about that recently. I want to thank the apa for working together on agreement that I'll guarantee high quality synchronous instruction for every student every day That's something that you know, uh, we definitely heard the feedback last spring We did the surveys of family staff and students Was a huge need at every grade level from our youngest students to our to our graduating seniors How important that was uh, we're now in the process of developing More formal schedules. We got some feedback from what was presented last time By friday all principals will be sending home draft schedules at least the kind of The middle school high school they're a little more formed the elementary. We're taking that feedback in And we'll be able to share with families at least blocks of time during the day Where uh, live instruction will occur because we know that that's really important for families start time end time So they can do some planning. Uh, we'll be then looking and getting feedback from staff at grade level schedules So about a week later before labor day, we'll have a grade level schedule that'll be more individualized for for students Um at the secondary level, we'll be able to share, um, you know, the kind of model schedules by friday Um And I think um, we're looking at in that email We'll have when student schedules like student registration process and when actual individual student schedules Will be uh, will be available, uh, which will be a couple days before the academic year starts given that they're Transitioning scheduling all the students into new schedules at both the middle school high school and summit academy I want to be really clear about a couple things on the elementary side. Uh, one is that There'll be a visual schedule offered for every family We know that for students we want to build their independence and for students at the elementary level Not just having what we would think of as a schedule as adults But we want to have a visual schedule to support them, uh to support their independence I think the second thing is that there'll be live Synchronous instruction every single day Across our content areas are key areas Um, I think another thing is that it'll be aligned between schools So the same expectations, you know for our four elementary schools We hear that feedback. We know that that was not the case last spring and and we're working hard and we appreciate partnering Again with our our association who agrees that we want to make sure that it's a better experience for our students Um, I think um, there was a I think some of the the original schedule had Probably too much detail like we're gonna do it again We probably would put less detail on because I think for instance Some people assume there was a transition from an asynchronous lesson to a synchronous follow-up and really it would be like Similar to what we just did here where could be a video that is shown of a mini lesson And then very quickly that screen sharing turns off and then the follow-up happens So we are very conscious for elementary students that we don't want to have a tremendous number of transitions There will likely be two significant blocks of instruction a day There'll be a pretty wide Middle where there's a lunch recess time and part of that is for teacher prep teacher collaboration But part of that actually is the food service piece that the mr. Gallo O'Connell talked about before Because we do well. We are planning on having food sites in our community We need enough time where no elementary school student needs to miss a lesson because they're going out to Get food that happened last spring and we're trying to be much more organized and aligned so that Having access to food doesn't conflict with having access to instruction, you know, and that's our goal So you're likely seeing we're working this out with the food service that people this morning A long period in the middle of the day for lunch recess and some independent work We are focused on academic subjects as well as social emotional learning And you know, we're continuing to do that. So by Friday principles be emailing out At least you know rough schedules with kind of when blocks of time will happen And then a week later at the elementary level the full schedule by grade level And probably about the 13th or so at the high school summit a little bit earlier at the middle school The student schedules to be available, but the emails will go out by the weekend We'll have all those details about here's where we are and here's where you'll get your final schedule Because we know our families are interested Another thing that we are doing is a little different last year is we'll use google classroom for grade 3 to 12 At the K to 2 level we're using a program called seesaw, which is a similar Model to google classroom, but it's designed for younger students So it promotes more independence and more capacity for students to be in charge You know, for instance has icons if you're a student who's an emerging reader You don't need to read as much to navigate the site Many districts use it actually for all the elementary schools. We're going to do K to 2 We feel like at age 3 grade 3 rather we're able to use google classroom effectively So, you know, that is something important In addition for some of the independent work times we are we have purchased with some of our coveted funds Reading and math programs that are much more self-sufficient. So instead of kind of families feeling like they need to create Additional assignments for some of the independent blocks These programs have been vetted by our staff their high quality and easily navigable navigable Programs that supplement the in-person learning, you know at the elementary levels for sure I think anywhere we don't want to have six students on screens for six hours that we you know, especially doing live instruction But for students who do want to have more, you know independent work We want to have that available for students I think Another update is that next week or the week after yeah next week Starting the 31st is when staff report back that includes teachers and para educators and are at pre-k to 12 They'll all have high quality professional development on distance learning I think I talked before we're using goa, which is which is a school distance learning school International school that does that they do professional learning and professional development for schools I've taken a course mr. Sheehan's taken a course all of our elementary principles have taken a course We've been incredibly impressed with what we see. I think most valuable Has been that the elementary principles immediately saw the connections or on equity about student engagement from their school improvement plan To the professional development they received which I guess in theory was really about distance learning But they were able to see the through lines to what our district values as well So we really were excited to see that and something that I was really glad they had an eye to do It's going to look a little different at the secondary and elementary But all para educators and all professional staff will have a lot of professional development next week To really ground them and best practices in distance learning You know the elementaries will have two additional sessions ones about how to humanize online spaces It's true for it's important for everyone But particularly for elementary staff thinking about how spaces like this can feel a little different than spaces like this, frankly For working with young children is really important And the second is how to transition online or in-person learning or in-person planning To online Education so we feel really good about where we're going We're also going to be planning some family and caregiver professional development as well to support families and caregivers because it's going to be mixed To support them in that way So I think you know for families who are advocating for more live instruction more structure a daily schedule That's reliable and dependable I think they'll be pleased with what they see in the next two weeks as those plans get formalized I think in terms of the professional development I think people will be pleased with a higher quality product and that's on us last year was an emergency We did a lot of training on the technology and the tools We did not do as much training on the pedagogy. There just frankly wasn't time and capacity At that point of the pandemic at this point we're being much more planful We have distance learning coaches at the secondary level at the elementary level Those are current staff members. We have one in each district one in Pelham one in Amherst and one in the region Who part of their job in the fall is going to be to support their colleagues? So we have all the pd we're doing but we want to have ongoing professional development support So these are these are wonderful outstanding teachers Who are stepping forward to be able to support their colleagues? So I think the structures are really different for what we're how we're able to support staff I do hear from staff very frequently, you know this high engagement and improving their practice Our summer programs indicated that our staff who participated in teaching those programs had a lot higher success rate And a major focus is continues to be how do we get students in small groups because what we know about online education And it's right on you know GOA's website is if you have 15 20 students in a room It means one person like me in this case is doing a lot of talking When you can break that number down that really engenders broader conversation much more so than in-person learning And particularly at the elementary level not exclusively particularly We want the majority of our synchronous instruction happening in a small group context And and we believe that'll make a huge difference from what people How students and families? Understood an experience the spring And by no means are these comments meant to indicate that I don't have a full belief that online education Is or excuse me in-person education Far exceeds online education in terms of the value For educating for students for social emotional functioning I've said that since June 3rd or whenever that first presentation was nothing has changed my mind on that topic And we know we're going to have students starting the year and throughout the year either by choice or by public health A situation who are going to be in a remote learning environment and we feel obligated I feel obligated and dedicated that it's a markedly different Experience than what what our students and families and staff experience last fall in terms of ongoing support training And final product in terms of learning which is why we're all here So I was a little long-winded, but I did I think it's important for folks to know What we're doing how we're working And then we still have work to do that you know I'd love to have a plan that was neat and perfect to present to unite on every detail And you know be honest we're not there and we're not there because we're trying to be thoughtful And learning from some places frankly that have started this year Like you know a district I spoke to in the southern part of the united states Where they had one hour of synchronous calls for you know at the elementary level every day for every kid in large groups And and they're backtracking is what they've what they found out is you know That wasn't an effective mechanism to engage students So we are trying to be thoughtful in that way and and you know our principals are working with elementary folks for instance secondary folks yesterday elementary folks yesterday and secondary Yesterday and today people are working incredibly hard Trying to make the best situation for our students trying to understand the developmental differences between Age levels as well. So I have one other whole different Update to offer on fall 2020, but that was a mouthful So I want to earn your full in your case. So I wanted to stop and and see if there's any questions on that and then I can Talk a bit about another topic All right, sure. Uh, mr. Manino I have two questions. I'm a little dense. Is there going to be in classroom? Uh instruction uh, uh, October 1st Yeah, so that that is our current plan We do need to continue to negotiate that with the association of those actually multiple bargaining units. Um the apea AFSC me ufc w and the apea which is our small but Still important administrators union. So those conversations are ongoing and that would be the aim And that that's sincerely my hope Then my second question is uh it for pellum If a student if there's going to be in class instruction And a student opts for distant learning they will not have a pellum teacher as an instructor So I think we've talked about this in the past meetings, but I don't think maybe I've been clear enough My understanding from the committees is that there was a comfort level of amherst union 26 Which is the amherst elementary schools in the pellum elementary school Working together to make sure all students Received high quality instruction Regardless of whether in person or virtual I think for schools like pellum that have one teacher per grade level Um, it forces a choice that either if they weren't collaborating with amherst then we have to get into multi multi-age multi-grade Oh, yeah multi-age classrooms Uh or multi-grade classrooms, which there was not so warm feelings about when we talked about it earlier this summer Um, so I think that kind of collaboration is really important. We have got our tier one numbers in we're still analyzing them There's still a couple we're still reaching out to families. We're reaching out to But even this one of the meetings this afternoon was looking about what our numbers in school What are our numbers out of school at our four elementary schools? And how do we guarantee that we have a teacher? From one of those two districts or from union 26 to support them In virtual, you know, we're not taking the step that districts like surrounding districts neighboring districts are taking where they're Buying into online platform that doesn't that involves teachers that are not on the site We're guaranteeing it's our teacher's teaching And that's about as much as I can guarantee for for that because otherwise you highlight that You know, I mean a couple districts and I've said this but actually we've had this conversation. Mr. We know that you know Some districts in the midwest they're coming off like putting a video camera in the back of a room Yeah, it just it doesn't make any sense. There was a big outcry made a lot of national news actually Just because it was the plan they thought it would work and it just doesn't I think boston is still Playing for the camera at the back of the room Mr. Denling on distance learning So there was a question about Minimum amount of synchronous time For distance learning that might vary per grade Are you able to comment on that at this time or is that something that you want to wait until future meeting to to comment on? From a student perspective you mean Yeah, um, there's been There has been question and comment about and concern slash concern about um, will there be should there be a minimum amount of synchronous time for students, um For synchronous instruction And and and that might vary per grade. Um, and um, and that might be a discussion that's currently happening I don't I don't want to get into something that you might not be comfortable Oh, no, I just wanted to cut the Afterwards, but I just um didn't know something that you were could comment on now Yeah, absolutely So the reason I cut the question a little differently is that if we are breaking into small groups There's going to be a difference between staff synchronous time and student synchronous time So that's why I asked that that question to distinguish those two. Um, because they're going to be different. Um So in terms of students and we are looking at a range of of synchronous times I think the big thing that that I feel strongly about and our team does is that every day There's a synchronous component to the kind of three quarters math literacy and then unit study As well as one synchronous session that's on social emotional Now what we find at the elementary level is once you get a little beyond half an hour That starts getting in one session that starts getting to be a little bit of a challenge for students And you know, sixth graders better. I don't handle longer stretches than first grade students In general, so I think that's probably what what where I am or where we are in terms of sharing Again, you know on friday will share out just kind of general blocks of time It's also going to range and the reason I'm not hedging but just wanting to be That it's going to range based on the individual student. So some students for instance are going to receive synchronous Occupational therapy or speech therapy Some special education services some ELL services. Some students may be taking an instrumental music lesson That would be that would occur synchronously. So there's some range that isn't just about the grade level span some of range is about individual student And and options they have And we also have to talk about specials because we still are obligated as we should be to teach the arts the computer Right, all those other really important Whole child activities that we value so much in our community So, I mean, I think the short story is you add it up and you're talking not about minutes, but you know You know beyond an hour And I think probably considerably so And again, I think for our our vantage point if we can do that in small groups We know that our students can manage that a lot better once we start doing lots of whole group lessons. We believe that it will be less effective So I'll come back probably next week of the week after with a bit more information, but I hopefully that gives at least enough for now Any more questions for dr. Morris before part two of the fall 2020 update All right, dr. Morris. Do you want to go ahead? Sure. So last week On friday, as you all know, I think I forwarded desi Our state governing board put out a set of guidance that requested that educators Who are teaching virtually do so from their school building, you know, perhaps bringing their children or others with them If they need to to do that You know, I just want to say publicly and respectfully I disagree with that request I think you just heard me and I'll say again I'm deeply committed to virtual teaching being substantially improved since last spring However, I don't believe mandating a physical location for educators to complete We're mandating a physical location Where educators would complete that task correlates with the quality of education that our students will receive You know, we want to be committed to opening our school buildings for educators Who would like to provide high quality distance learning from our sites There's going to be a lot of good reasons people want to do that whether that's Technology having computer with you know wired internet access or high high quality wi-fi It may be that, you know, the instructional materials people have I've heard from some particularly from some science teachers that they really value will value being in Their classrooms to do distance learning because of the physical parts that are there That are hard to simulate in a home environment But I want to be clear that, you know, my perspective is we should not be mandating that they do that There's so many complications that people are managing And having all staff have to be in buildings if you think about all of our staff Not all of our staff have a classroom to go to our para educators Work in classrooms, but they don't have most of them don't have a classroom of their own And you know, it just it feels respectfully, you know, not something that we would want to do And simply put our focus our primary focus is on supporting educators with skills and development They need to perform at a high level not on their physical location And so, you know, I just wanted to be really clear with the community and with the community and then our staff Which I'll follow up in an email tomorrow on this topic that, you know, our eyes in the prize our prize is high quality distance learning Really for me stress causing stress on where that happens for staff members and frankly causing a significant amount of stress on our custodial crew And and parenting for families Who are teaching can be much better done for some in the home environment if they have high quality Access to internet and and other supports there. So, you know, well, I appreciate desi's trying to Support districts. I think in this case it it created It created a problem we weren't trying to solve In terms of mandating location We want to make sure we're open to that. We know that there are staff members without access to high quality technology and wi-fi We absolutely want to open our doors for them if they think that's the best in work environment But to force people out of their work environment, it creates a log jam of hr issues There are some families some some staff members who can't return to work, you know in the environment It creates layers upon layers of complications where really we want to be laser focused On pedagogy relationships and student agency And not on these kind of other tangential items So I I didn't want to come as surprised to the committee or the community or staff that that's my feelings on the topic I'll follow up with them in an email tomorrow But you know, really there are an incredible number of distractions in our world right now in schools in planning In life and this is a distraction that is you know for for us, you know Our administrative team We don't feel like it's actually going to help up promote what we want to have which is the best product possible for our kids We feel like it's actually going to distract from that focus So sorry it's long winded, but I this one I was really surprised by and frankly little taken aback by This guidance and you know, I just wanted to be really clear on my how I view that one Thank you Any any questions or anything else for dr. Morris mr. Demling Um, so as to that update, thank you for saying that I mean, I don't think you would probably surprise if we went around the horn that there's probably a lot of support for that sentiment that you just expressed I think we've been I think we've been pretty comfortable pushing back on the state when they have Ridiculous ideas about the fall. Um, I mean just speaking for myself There should be good reasons for doing what we're doing and there should be there should be compelling reasons for the education of students And if it's not improving the distance learning instruction, then then then why why do it right so so thank you for that um I I I guess I guess given the date and given given the news and given the public comment I I I would be remiss if I didn't say Is there anything else that you can share with the public in the community about either the timeline for a final complete picture of the fall Or any other details you can provide about the fall if your answer is no Things are still in process You'll have to wait. I understand um as Representative of the public. It's just my job to ask you so that's the only reason I ask So, uh, I think my response is that we are meeting quite frequently We being the negotiating team which includes miss lord miss Kenny as well as miss cunningham and Miss Ortiz We're meeting frequently with the with our bargaining units both in formal negotiation and bargaining sessions We've had some success breaking into smaller groups to like work groups to try to expedite the pace And that's been really a successful model including even today where we had a work group That met to try to expedite the pace. We are aware. I think I Feel awkward speaking for bargaining units, but I think there's a collective feeling that we're trying to work towards resolution as soon as we can And try to resolve differences as soon as we can So the answer questions. No, and like I don't have a finite or definite Point at which we'll reach resolution But I do believe that everyone is doing their best to try to work on this as expeditionly as expeditiously as possible You know, I know mr. Harrington is also On negotiating group for ufcw, which is one of our other bargaining groups Um, I don't know if they have anything to add Or disagreement, which is fine if there's divergent viewpoints, but that that's my belief Anything else for dr. Morris? All right. Thank you for that Um, all right next up is future agenda planning um, so I guess I will pose this more as a question what I guess dr. Morris or miss mcdonald or anyone on the committee what what would we need to meet about next? Yeah, dr. Morris So one topic that's region specific is that athletics So next week i'd like to put that on the agenda because we are starting in a remote start at the secondary level It is a school committee vote whether we can have athletics in the fall season. I have touch Um Miss steward or athletic director and I have been in touch with the amherst health department as well as miss consolino about their views on Athletics, there are not all sports are allowed to be played in messachusetts. For instance football has been pushed off fall I think it would start in february potentially But there are sports all except one volleyball Our outdoor sports volleyball is the only indoor sport and they are there are modifications to the sports Um, so I know there's a lot of interest at least I've received a lot of interest in this particular issue So that is something that at least the regional school committee would need to come back And and potentially take a vote on next week. I know miss stewart could come and Update you all on what's happening at the other schools. Um, she meets with the athletic directors Locally with some frequency as well as where we are in terms of coaches and student athletes But that that's something that is pressing that Hopefully we could meet, you know, perhaps a week from tuesday a week from tonight. Excuse me Um to move on. I mean, I think there's general fall updates that will continue So like mr. Deming's question both about The schedule but also about Where are we with an update on are we closer to kind of resolution? Those two seem like their topics Uh, we need to meet about i'm certainly open to any others. I know we will have a policy review of The new title nine Uh requirements that you know our staff have been trained on but our some of our harassment policies based on Rule changes at the federal level will need some adjustment. Um as well But i'm open to other topics those were the ones that seemed they were in the top of my head All right, any other committee members have topics Okay. Oh, yeah, miss spitzer Well, just that we're gonna need to um related to an item on our agenda We're starting the superintendent evaluation process and so I think that needs to be built into the schedule as we move forward For the region in amherst I don't know about Going I um thursday miss dancer um presented a proposed timeline and um I think we were looking at um two weeks from now would be when um When the submission would be due from the the actual submission of the instrument from committee members would be due in two weeks from now And then a week after that would be when we would meet at the committee to to discuss that So three weeks from now Okay, but so but still the meeting next week though that would be region only on athletics and then potentially a joint portion of that with um Uh more general for all updates Okay, is there oh, sorry go ahead dr. Morris No, I'm good. Was there a Time frame for the athletics conversation should we try to oh wait no today's tuesday. It's not thursday So we could we could do that a week from today Okay, yep, okay Is advised to skip this given the time does anyone have an objection to that? No, okay Gifts there are no Gifts, I believe right Okay, um, I moved to adjourn the palom school committee meeting Second. All right move by hall seconded by minino. Uh roll call vote miss kenny Penny I I'm a stance Or it's I um miss barlow Barlow I Mr. Minino Minino I And haul I palom is adjourned Um, peter do you want to take care of um amherst? Sorry mr. Demling They have an item on their agenda Oh, you guys aren't even adjourning. Oh, right. Sorry. Okay So Can folks hear me Okay So, yes, we have um another one more item for both the amherst committee and the region committee Which is the superintendent evaluation? Um, and in our packet are the one pagers Prepared by dr. Morris for each of the each of the districts on his goals and Dr. Morris, would you like to Give a quick guided tour of the documents or Sure. Yeah tried to get them on one page But didn't want to mess around with the font and make it tiny to literally be on one page. I went a little over um, but the the um, it's the last four pages. I think of the packet So the first one is the amherst goals. Um, what I chose to do on most of them is have very short text Uh in italics and then a couple links to the actual artifact documents said the first goal in amherst Was around the early childhood education. The second was on the capital plan Which actually just typed out the projects that were completed and which ones are done Done and which ones are partial As well as the capital plan document The third goal is about school improvement plans We heard an update on crocker farms. The other two were scheduled. I think of the 17th of march Which did not occur, but I think I'm able to describe some of them The fourth is about coming on days and the the review. Um, so that is posted As well as a document about how it was integrated into the the entire school environment And the last one is a wellness goal on the lgbtq tq plus students and families Um And vaping education so you can see some links to some of the work there Similarly at the region, you know, the the wellness goal included some more topics Like especially mental health. Um, so I included a little more there On the sixth grade, you know, the interim report, which is not fully completed all except the executive summary is there In terms of diversity of staff and hr And pd I included some links there and against strategic planning much like at the elementary level was curtailed given the end of the school year But I tried to give follow the directives that I heard or allowances However, you want to say it from the school committee of trying to just focus on Pretty small amounts of of content For each given the situation so hopefully it's efficient. I think if any committee member has any questions About either what they read or what they didn't read or you know, they can definitely be in touch with me individually But I tried to follow the kind of process that was laid out To support the committee members to complete the evaluation process and hopefully this matched what we talked about great I personally actually really I thought these were really comprehensive one page or so Very in depth any um Comments or questions I just because we've been having a lot of conversations want to reiterate like I think this looks very useful. So, um, We have two weeks now to independently Read through the links and I just want to confirm We voted on the Instruments previously I will ask I'm assuming Sasha to to actually send that instrument out to the full committees and then she'll be In email I just wanted to confirm that because this is the first time I've I've been In this role Yeah Yeah, that that's you're exactly right So, um, we'll just ask, um, Sasha to email the The instrument out to each committee member for each District of which they're a member um and To wait with the due date of two weeks from tonight, whatever that date is September something it's the a thank you Any other questions? No, okay Great Can I make a motion I moved to adjourn the emmer school committee Lord second Um, moved by spitzer seconded by lord. There's no discussion on that mr. Demling Demling I move lord Lord I Mr. Harrington Harrington I Miss spitzer Spitzer I In the family I The emmer's committee is adjourned Mr. Demlin I moved to adjourn the emmer's poem regional school committee again And I'm moved by demling second vice dancer, I believe Kenny Kenny, sorry. Thank you Moved by demling seconded by Kenny and there is no discussion mr. Demling Demling I Miss lord Lord I Mr. Harrington Harrington I Miss Kenny Kenny I Miss spitzer Spitzer I Miss dancer Answer I and I want to apologize for my in and out on the audio tonight I've been using the phone and after a while it decides it doesn't want to do it anymore, so I apologize No need I'm the biggest coupler. Um, mr. Sullivan Sullivan I And mcdonald I the region is adjourned And thank you everybody for stepping in and helping tonight Night enjoy your vacation