Three new administrator hires announced prior to meeting.
The regularly scheduled School Committee meeting on May 20 contained a busy agenda and ran close to three and a half hours. The regular Superintendent’s update highlighted professional development training for 130 staff members at the Hebrew College library. The training was focused on mental wellness and was funded by Newton Schools Foundation. Superintendent Anna Nolin also spoke about a METCO seniors graduation ceremony and the installation of cooling centers in schools that cannot provide air conditioning throughout the building.
After the School Committee approved a consent agenda, the meeting turned to a presentation regarding the Newton – Beijing Jingshan Exchange program for high school students, which was described by Assistant Superintendent Toby Romer as the “first, oldest Chinese exchange program in the U.S.” A 10-minute video described the history and merits of the program (see 22:00 to 32:00 on NewTV’s video of the meeting). The exchange program is aiming to restart after going on hiatus during the Covid pandemic.
The meeting then turned to a presentation from Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Ayesha Farag and Social Emotional Learning Coach Maria Kolbe about multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) to assist students having academic challenges. Providing students additional academic support prior to providing more comprehensive special education services has been a stated priority of Dr. Nolin. During the discussion, Dr. Nolin stated, “Right now, as a parent in Newton, you may think special ed is the only tool that you have if your child is struggling, because we have not aligned and discussed our resources in such a way to increase parent confidence,” and she emphasized the importance of rigor and family communication when implementing MTSS. Member Amy Davenport (Ward 7) focused on ensuring that parents understand how changing of elementary schools’ schedules to a block format will facilitate implementation of MTSS.
The Committee then heard a presentation on social-emotional learning (SEL) for Newton Public Schools (NPS) K-8th grades, including for students who were experiencing behavioral challenges. The presentation began with the results of weekly surveys given to middle-school students to assess their emotional state using emojis. The results generally indicate that NPS students were feeling satisfactory, with outliers. The discussion then turned to students who require “stabilization” services for in-classroom behavioral issues. The racial composition of the students receiving such services was discussed by the presenters and Committee.
The Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) comprehensive year-end report was then presented to the Committee by Board Members Eliza Spaulding and Jenny Klein-Sosa. The ensuing discussion was congenial and reflected mutual cooperation between the district and SEPAC, however the topic of budget limitations arose regarding allocations between the MTSS initiatives, which occur in general education, and the needs of special education, for which the SEPAC is charged with advocating. Committee Member Paul Levy (Ward 6) emphasized the need for rigorous analysis of how well the MTSS initiatives described earlier in the meeting were meeting students’ needs, in order to achieve Dr. Nolin’s objective of giving families confidence in tiered interventionist student support versus special education services.
Three new leadership hires
On Friday, May 17, NPS announced the hiring of two Assistant Superintendents and a Principal:
- Dr. Gina Flanagan: Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
- Dr. Gene Roundtree: Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education
- Dr. Daniel Green: Principal of Bigelow Middle School
The hiring process included school visits, meetings with NPS staff, and community meetings with families. Dr. Nolin said, “I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Flanagan, Dr. Roundtree, and Dr. Green to the Newton Public Schools as each brings their own brand of new energy and expertise to the roles. All three candidates impressed our administrators, educators, and families with their extensive experience, their vision for leadership, and most of all, their commitment to improving the student experience. I believe each of them will continue to propel our district to new heights, while also addressing areas of needed improvement.”