School Committee | Jan 8, 2025
The meeting covered a wide range of topics, including grievances, school vision and values, student presentations, school showcases, facilities updates, policy revisions, and personnel matters.
Watch the meeting. AI generated summary of meeting video below. Corrections are welcome; see contact page.
The meeting covered a wide range of topics, including grievances, school vision and values, student presentations, school showcases, facilities updates, policy revisions, and personnel matters.
Key Points
- Barnstable Teachers Association Grievance: The meeting began and ended with executive sessions to discuss a grievance filed by the Barnstable Teachers Association.
- District Vision and Core Values: The committee reviewed and affirmed the district's vision and core values, emphasizing student-centered learning and a supportive school culture.
- Student Presentations: Students from West Villages Elementary School gave presentations highlighting their school's activities and focus on creating a sense of belonging.
- Barnstable Intermediate School (BIS) Showcase: A significant portion of the meeting focused on the successful BIS student showcase, which aimed to highlight student work, attract new students, and ease the transition from elementary to middle school. The showcase involved active participation from staff, students, and community partners.
- Facilities Subcommittee Update: The subcommittee presented a comprehensive update on the district's facilities, including discussions about addressing mold issues at various schools, potential new construction projects (particularly a new elementary school in Hyannis), and the use of debt and debt drop-off strategies to fund capital improvements. This section involved considerable discussion about the best location for a new school and the need to balance fiscal responsibility with addressing the needs of all schools.
- High School Program of Studies: The Barnstable High School principal presented updates to the school's program of studies for the 2025-2026 school year, including new course offerings, changes to existing courses, and the removal of some courses due to low enrollment or other factors. The updates included a focus on aligning the curriculum with pathways, ensuring NCAA eligibility, and expanding offerings for multilingual learners.
- Policy Revisions: The committee approved revisions to the graduation requirements policy to address the elimination of MCAS as a graduation requirement for the class of 2025.
- Personnel Matters: The committee approved revised job descriptions for the Youth Development and Dropout Prevention Coordinator and custodians.
- Mold Remediation: The committee approved a contract for mold prevention and environmental consulting services.