Preliminary Conversations About Calendar, Schedule, Capital Items Dominate School Committee Meeting

The stage was set in last night's School Committee meeting for future conversations and decisions about a collection of topics, including next year's school calendar, the daily schedule for elementary students, capital requests for May Town Meeting, and more.

Superintendent Eric Conti presented three calendar drafts for the upcoming school year and shared results from a recent survey. The Committee is considering whether to start classes before or after Labor Day and if Good Friday should remain a day off. The majority of parents and teachers who responded to the survey (41%) said they prefer starting after Labor Day. Committee member Melissa Massardo supports an earlier start date, aiming to finish the school year as soon as possible. This approach would provide flexibility for potential snow days, which have been less frequent lately.

The highest percentage of respondents (43%) said the school shouldn't give any religious holidays off, and Former School Committee member Martha Simon read a letter she co-authored with Rabbi Susan Abramson, which was signed by a number of residents, imploring that the district adhere to a secular calendar.

Still, say many Committee members and Dr. Conti, the high number of staff absences this day means coverage concerns in the district and result in a lost day of instruction for many. Multiple Committee members suggested a day off on Good Friday to help families plan and framed the conversation as a logistical one rather than a religious one. The conversation will continue at a future School Committee meeting.

Another point that was brought up was whether or not the kindergarten (and pre-K) classes should start at the same time as the rest of students. Traditionally, they start a few days after students in grades 1-12, and some staff members were present at the meeting to advocate for keeping that convention. The calendars will be adjusted to be sure kindergarten teachers have the time they need to prepare for their incoming students.

Preliminary plans for a new elementary school schedule were also presented to the School Committee. The new literacy curriculum that has been selected by the district requires a 120-minute block for literacy, into which social studies and science are integrated. The schedule won't affect arrival and dismissal times appreciably, said Dr. Conti, but will impact social-emotional learning, which might need to be embedded in specials like art, music, and P.E. This schedule is still in development.

Operations Director Bob Cunha presented an initial list of capital requests for the Committee's review. Projects range from a $150,000 annual turf replacement fund to a $3.85 million solar panel installation at the new Fox Hill Elementary. These requests include the new literacy curriculum and related professional development. Cunha will provide more detail about these projects at a future meeting, as well as prioritizing them. The list will then likely be pared down by the Committee and presented to Town Meeting in May.

The School Committee next meets on March 11, 2025 and will continue discussing many of these items.