RECAP: Millbury School Committee - 9/28/22

The Millbury School Committee met on September 28, 2022. Present were Jen  Nietupski, Christopher Wilbur, Julia Lagerholm, and Nicholas Lazzaro.

In the Superintendent's Report...

• Superintendent Greg Myers introduced the student representative, Fatma Al-Bargash, of the class of 2023.
• Student council members Gabby Girard and Kaitlyn Garden provided a student council update. They report that the school year has been positive so far, and the sports teams are off to a good start. They also let the board knew about the calendar fundraiser in December and the "Trunk or Treat" at Elmwood Street School in October.
• School Resource Officer Keith Gasco held a safety meeting earlier this week. Among the topics covered were identification on the windows, the "reunification site" of the Blackstone Valley Cinema De Lux, and that the safety drills will be ongoing. The safety committee will be pursing some additional deliverables for staff in the coming months.  Finance Director Richard Bedard added that Gasco will have some equipment requests that may come before the town, including updating Elmwood Street and the High School with card entry systems and "hardening" the vestibule at the entrypoint of the high school.
  
  Bedard additionally with a recap from Gasco's presentation. Julia Lagerholm noted that the attendance was light for the meeting, and she implored the citizens and parents to get informed and involved. Nicholas Lazzaro also credited the parents who joined the meeting for good questions and comments.
• Elizabeth Boutiette, Director of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment gave an explanation of the "Virtual High School" program which allows students to take pre-recorded elective classes that cannot necessarily be offered within the school walls. Nietupski asked which staff members are involved, and both the media specialist and psychology teacher are offering courses. Lazzaro asked about the AP Bio class on the Virtual High School, Boutiette confirmed that AP Bio is not offered at the school this year. Lagerholm asked how this is funded, and Boutiette noted that it's considered a "virtual high school collaborative," where a teacher who provides a class then gets access for their school's students.
• Boutiette also gave an update on the AP classes, and gave some statistics on enrollment.

Among other topics:

• Bedard updated the Committee on the Green Communities Grant provided $22,319 for lighting upgrades at the high school, alongside sewer pump upgrades for the town. This grant reflects the reduction in energy use at the high school, but is lower because Millbury has recieved a few grants already.
• OneSchool Global's construction continues, and the school has requested to rent Dorothy Manor School through the end of the school year due to construction delays.
• Myers said there was "great attendance" at the Shaw School open house. Project is still on schedule and on budget. Bedard noted that the Elmwood Street school safety lights are currently in disrepair, but new lights are part of the plans.
• Lagerholm updated the Committee on the superintendent evaluation process. Myers said that his goal is to have the evaluation be more "authentic" and less prescriptive, and is focused on family engagement. Discussion of the goals continued for approximately 15 minutes.
• In discussion about the School Committee goals, Nietupski highlighted a Wall Street Journal article that discussed the start time of school, an issue that Christopher Wilbur has requested to discuss.

The School Committee adjourned at approximately 8:05pm; the meeting can be viewed at Millbury Cable Access.