NPS also provided an update on rules for PTOs and Booster organizations.
The agenda for the regular January 27 School Committee meeting included Superintendent Nolin describing recent outreach and meetings with Newton Public Schools (NPS) alumni as part of a coordinated district effort to encourage past graduates to retain their connections to NPS. Dr. Nolin described meeting with graduates from the 1960s through the present, and she noted the district will cooperate with two recent alumni to develop social media pages for NPS alumni, as well as promote the next Newton South vs. Newton North football game.
Dr. Nolin then gave a mid-year update (since Monday January 27 was the 90th day, or halfway point, of the school year) on the 2024-2025 district’s annual goals. Dr. Nolin noted that this year’s goals are “bridge goals” as the district implements best educational practices during the second year of her administration.
The longest discussion item of the meeting pertained to Newton’s reaction to the passage of Massachusetts Ballot Question 2 to eliminate requiring minimum qualifying scores on certain MCAS exams as a requirement for high school graduation. Dr. Nolin highlighted the need for NPS to provide immediate clarification for the “very small number of students” who are currently seniors in NPS high schools who have not previously passed the MCAS graduation requirement. It was later clarified that these students are predominantly non-native English speakers who arrived to NPS at relatively older ages.
Dr. Nolin presented a legal memorandum that described the current status of graduation requirements. In determining graduation requirements, NPS must keep in mind that to receive a diploma, each student must achieve satisfaction of both (i) their local school district graduation requirements and (ii) a competency determination, which prior to Ballot Question 2 had been determined by DESE to mean passing MCAS. DESE is expected to issue guidance in the coming weeks regarding which academic work it will now consider meeting the competency determination, and one question the School Committee needs to navigate is whether NPS will decide on its requirements before or after DESE finalizes its own.
The School Committee appeared to be leaning toward implementing a temporary definition of competency determination for only the Class of 2025, and possibly the Class of 2026. The draft NPS competency determination would accept either previously passing the relevant MCAS tests, OR satisfying the existing NPS coursework graduation requirements. Dr. Nolin noted that four districts in the Metrowest region have proposed incorporating MCAS passage, as it stood prior to Ballot Question 2, into their local graduation requirements.
Mayor Fuller asked the Superintendent which letter grades at NPS were considered suitable for earning course credit for purposes of graduation, and Dr. Nolin replied that anything but failing, therefore ‘D’ or better, would suffice. Barry Greenstein (Ward 8) asked if there was any way to extrapolate NPS class grades to a certain MCAS score, and Dr. Nolin stated there was not, because grading is subjective.
The discussion ended with the possibility of a vote at the February 8 School Committee meeting. The meeting’s replay is available on NewTV.
Update on PTO and Booster rules
Following the January 11 School Committee meeting discussion regarding possible changes to how NPS interacts with its support organizations, Superintendent Anna Nolin responded to questions from Fig City News regarding that topic by clarifying:
The intent is for the School Committee to come into financial compliance with their duties. In addition, the current equity policy, which provides only partial insight and oversight into the spending of certain groups, also made parents watchdogs over other parents and still did not help the district and School Committee comply with its financial responsibilities. Parent organizational leadership indicates that it’s hard enough to get volunteers for fundraising. …We’d like the [new] process [for financial reporting] to be aligned with already expected paperwork submission required of these organizations by the IRS and the Attorney General’s office.
— Superintendent Anna Nolin
The “financial requirements” Dr. Nolin referred to are the obligations of NPS under Massachusetts General Law, via the School Committee, to formally accept any gifts or donations to NPS. These donations to NPS are related to, but distinct from, family donations to individual PTOs, even though the same discrete dollars may be the subject of both donations.
The new PTO draft guidelines are still an open matter, and they were not discussed at the January 27 School Committee meeting. That morning, Fig City News spoke with Amy Mistrot, NPS Director of Business Operations, who has been actively involved the district’s re-evaluation of procedures for PTOs and Booster organizations. During the interview, Ms. Mistrot explained that the district’s intent is to minimize the administration burden on PTO officers by requiring submission of all budgetary and organizational materials, instead of asking each PTO to create separate reporting for NPS. However, this intent may not have been communicated clearly. Ms. Mistrot stated:
Where oversight crosses a line into appearing to compromise the independence of these organizations is probably where people feel most sensitive about the draft guidelines. The specific review of fundraising activities is more intended for events in-school and on school property when students are present.
— Amy Mistrot, NPS Director of Business Operations
Ms. Mistrot explained that the district had analyzed the PTO and support organization procedures of three nearby districts having what she described as well-structured rules: Lexington, Needham, and Wellesley, and this analysis informed the NPS draft guidelines. Ms. Mistrot, Dr. Nolin, and School Committee Chair Chris Brezski (Ward 2) met with the PTO Council and the individual PTO Co-Presidents the evening of Tuesday January 27 to give a brief presentation and hear feedback from PTOs about the draft guidelines. As of this writing, it is unknown when a final version will be voted on by the School Committee.
