Comparing district leaders to ducks appearing calm above the surface while furiously moving underneath, Old Rochester Regional School Committee member Frances Kearns recognized the effort that went into the Tiered Focus Monitoring Audit recently completed.
In the January 26 public meeting of the committee, Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson thanked Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Dr. Jannell Pearson-Campbell and Director of Student Services Craig Davidson for their work on what he called “a cumbersome project.”
ORR was not found to be out of compliance in any of the prescribed areas. Most of the areas were found to be in full compliance, and Nelson said that only partial implementation was evident on some of the forms.
The second such audit in the past two years, according to Nelson, the Tiered Focus Monitoring Audit is conducted by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and looks at the implementation of English language learners, Special Education and Civil Rights regulations. DESE examines relevant documentation and student records, interviews staff members and solicits parent/guardian feedback.
Detailing a result that scored ORR’s English language learners’ documentation against 12 criteria, Pearson-Campbell reported DESE considered ORR to have fully implemented eight of the 12 criteria and four more with partial implementation. Pearson-Campbell said the ORR Central Office is working with Early Childhood Coordinator Doreen Lopes to ensure that proper documentation is in place.
Committee member Margaret McSweeny recognized the importance of making the school’s website accessible to all families regardless of English fluency and applauded the effort as presented by Pearson-Campbell, who would conclude by noting that ORR faces another audit.
Director of Student Services Craig Davidson reviewed the past year, beginning with the self-assessment phase including two internal reviews before the self-assessment was submitted to the Tiered Focus Monitoring Department. DESE visited ORR for verification.
Davidson credited administrative assistants Donna Kirk and Debra Threlfall for their preparation work. Summarizing extensive work on Special Education at ORR, Davidson said the DESE found no areas out of compliance.
Pearson-Campbell thanked her secretary Kim Read and ORR District ELL Specialist Kathy Dranchak.
ORR Junior High Principal Silas Coellner told the committee that the school will conduct an eight-week test run to see if one consolidated day of advisory time on a weekly basis is more efficient than spending half the time twice a week. Under the new arrangement, a weekly academic goal will be set and emailed from the student to the student, advisor and to the parent/guardian. The idea, said Coellner, is to promote family engagement with the student’s weekly academic plan.
The junior high, said Coellner, will then plan for anti-racism and anti-bias learning in the advisory portion of the week.
In other junior high news, Coellner reported that Tech Education teacher Brian Almeida received a grant to obtain robotic kits from Worcester Polytechnical Institute and has them now in his classes. Amanda Tomasso qualified to participate in the Southeast Districts Chorus in March.
The committee voted unanimously to approve a new implementation of courses at the high school for the 2022-23 academic year.
The High School Program of Studies approval vote authorized ORR High School Principal Mike Devoll to make what he called “necessary changes in studies.”
New offerings for 2022-23 include Portuguese II and Thematic 12th Grade English courses, a graduation requirement that will change the traditional curriculum and offer seniors a variety of options including: Multicultural Literature; Monsters, Murder and Madness, Creative English and Media Literacy.
Devoll said the rebranding of the 12th-grade, college prep English courses will focus more on 21st century literacy and skills needed for post-high school. A member of the ORR staff is seeking certification in Portuguese, he said, and given strong student response, it is likely Portuguese will eventually expand to all four grades.
ORR School Committee Chair Heather Burke said her vote hinged on Devoll’s outlook to ultimately expand Portuguese to Grades 9-12. Burke also recommended ORR consider codifying course override procedure so parents can understand how to apply for an override.
Advanced Placement Psychology, Honors Economics and Honors Forensics all have new prerequisites. Advanced Placement Studio Art will now be called AP Art & Design to match with the College Board. Devoll said other course descriptions are being changed to more accurately reflect what transpires in those courses.
In his report, Devoll said that the high school has been conducting weekly personal finance sessions through Junior Achievement, maintaining the same instructor.
Nelson told the ORR School Committee that the administration has come to an agreement with the Budget Subcommittee on priorities for the FY23 budget.
The most-noteworthy inclusion is the possibility of the addition of a director of Guidance position. Nelson based the discussions on work done by the committee and feedback from a contracted consultancy group. He also told the committee about upgrades to the technology in the Science Department.
State aid information was released to local school districts on January 26, and Nelson said that Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber spent his day examining the allocations. The next step, said Nelson, will be bringing the budget before the ORR School Committee.
In her Chairperson’s Report, Burke told the committee that contract negotiations and the superintendent’s evaluation, along with policy and budget work, will intensify.
In his report, Nelson updated the Covid status, telling the committee that the mask requirement has been extended by DESE through February 28. ORR is considering opting into the new testing (at home) program, which would discontinue contact tracing in school and put full reliance on the local boards of health. Nelson sent out a survey to parents, guardians, caretakers and faculty, and said he would decide on the direction of the testing program.
Nelson said he was also surveying families on the feasibility of a math camp during school vacations.
Nelson told the committee that the Regional Agreement has been approved. “I think the big piece for us is we’re getting used to the weighted vote,” said Nelson, noting that the ORR District is using its new assessment for the sake of the operating and capital budgets.
Barber gave the committee an overview of the approximate $20,000,000 operating budget and said ORR has just under $400,000 of unencumbered funds in the budget.
In Food Services, Barber pointed out that while lunch counts steadily rise, breakfast counts are down even lower than in 2020-21 when ORR was operating on a four-day week based on the hybrid learning model so that students were in the building two days per week instead of five. Barber asked the membership to spread the word that ORR is offering free breakfast throughout the school district.
During the committee reports, Kearns reported on the January 25 Anti-Racism Subcommittee meeting, which she said will henceforth meet on a bimonthly basis. Kearns said that a name change was discussed and that the committee’s core values would be used to drive the subcommittee’s goals and objectives.
Student Representative Eddie Gonet told the committee that the Student Council was preparing for Kindness Week, which would precede the February vacation. The Class Olympics, he said, is being postponed to the spring so it can be held outdoors in warm conditions. A Spirit Week was being considered, said Gonet, “because school spirit’s been very low this year, and we need to do something to drive that back up.”
The senior class is going through with its prom plans, and Senior Superlative Night (i.e. “most likely to …” for the yearbook) will be held on March 9 at 6:30 pm in the ORR auditorium.
The ORR School Committee will meet twice in March, on March 1 for the public hearing on the FY23 budget and on March 23 for a regular meeting. The committee entered executive session and only returned to public session to adjourn.
ORR School Committee
By Mick Colageo