At the May 19 School Committee Meeting, there was a Student Advisory update, presentation of the Sunita Williams School Improvement Plan, announcement of the spring Needham Education Foundation grants, discussion of the Stephen Palmer parcel disposition, and a Pollard Middle School schematic design update. Votes were also taken on the NEF grants, the elementary, middle, and high school handbooks, and an updated bullying prevention and intervention plan.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Student Advisory to the School Committee Update
NHS Students Jack Arvedon, Maeve Newman, Sabrina Rauch and Angelo (AJ) Giannacopoulos provided the Needham High School Student Advisory update. The students highlighted the following:
- 9th Grade Update: Students have really settled into life at the high school. They are focused on the upcoming Spring Fling event and are thinking of other events to bond as a class. They are excited about their merch orders coming in soon.
- 10th Grade Update: Students are focused on major final projects like the Sophomore Oral Project and finishing up Math MCAS. They are excited about the underclassmen dance coming up and are starting to think about J-Harb next year.
- 11th Grade Update: Juniors are ending the year with hard work and dedication. AP exams just finished and J-Harb is this week. Looking ahead to next year, they are researching prom venues.
- 12th Grade Update: Seniors are wrapping up their high school careers and reflecting on their past four years while also getting excited for what comes next.
- At Large: Subcommittees have been a monumental success, contributing to observable positive results.
- Senior Life: Seniors are excited about the senior picnic and all the end of high school traditions.
- A full written update is available in the packet on pages 7-14.
The School Committee engaged in a robust discussion with student leaders.
Sunita Williams School Improvement Plan
Caren Firger, Principal, and parent and teacher members of the Sunita Williams School Council presented on the Sunita Williams Elementary School (SWES) Improvement Plan.The presentation highlighted the following topics:
- SWES: A Success Story of Growth and Achievement
- Looking at Panorama survey results and MCAS data shows that students’ overall social-emotional well-being and academic performance have improved or continue to exceed expectations
- Ms. Firger has focused over the past year, her first as principal, on learning about the school and community
- She believes strongly in:
- A whole school philosophy and is glad to be using the Responsive Classroom framework.
- The work that goes into hosting the Intensive Learning Classrooms for the district.
- Teacher autonomy within a framework of equity for students.
- Visible and transparent leadership.
- She believes strongly in:
- In reflecting on the SWES Student Roadmap for Success the team highlighted a number of topics:
- Community meetings that build a unified community and foster student leadership
- Student-led open houses that are interactive and teach students about responsibility
- What I Need (WIN) blocks that provide an opportunity multiple times a week for students to receive interventions that do not pull them out of classtime.
- The entire SWES School Improvement Plan can be found in the packet on pages 16-37.
Needham Education Foundation (NEF) Grants
Amy Chan and Emily Dill, NEF grants chairs, announced eight spring grant awards totaling $41,601 and benefiting students at all levels of NPS schools.
- Full descriptions about each of the grants can be found on the NEF website.
Marissa Traeger and Andrea Cunningham, NEF co-presidents, announced a Collaborative Initiative grant to fund $50,000 for an Internship Coordinator at Needham High School.
- The funding is part of a three-year collaboration between Needham Public Schools (NPS) and the NEF to create a comprehensive internship, work-experience, and job-shadowing program for high school students.
- The NEF will generously provide $50,000 in Year 1 funding to hire a part-time (.6 FTE) Internship Coordinator for the 2026-2027 school year.
- This coordinator will focus on building partnerships with local businesses and non-profits to add at least 80 new external placement spots and ensure equitable participation across the student body.
- After fully launching the expanded program in the 2027-2028 school year, NPS plans to absorb the coordinator’s compensation into its own budget by 2029-2030 to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability.
Stephen Palmer Parcel Disposition Discussion
Members of the School Committee engaged in robust discussion about any potential foreseeable needs for the Stephen Palmer Building. This conversation about needs and space planning will continue down the road. Various ideas for usage were mentioned, including:
- Universal pre-K
- Office space for the district/town IT department, which is currently still located at the old Hillside school
- A town-owned site for the Little Rockets daycare as it currently rents space at the Congregational church.
- Incubator space for internships like the one being funded through the NEF.
ACTION ITEMS
- Needham Education Foundation (NEF) Grants
- Approved by a unanimous 6-0-0 vote
- 2026-27 Elementary, Middle, and High School Handbooks
- Elementary and Middle School handbooks were both approved by a unanimous 6-0-0 vote
- High School handbook was approved by a 5-0-1 vote with Matt Spengler abstaining
- Updated Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
- Approved by a 6-0-0 unanimous vote
Pollard Middle School Project Schematic Design Update
Dan Gutekanst, superintendent, Alisa Skatrud, School Committee chair and Pollard school building committee members, Tamatha Bibbo, Pollard principal, and Jessica Downey, High Rock principal, presented a side by side comparison of building sizes. They compared the current size of the Pollard and High Rock schools to the proposed new Pollard building. Detailed information can be found in the packet on pages 50-55. A few key points:
- The new building comes in at 45,170 additional square footage of floor space.
- The new building meets the educational plan for grades 6-8 and is not being overbuilt.
- Science classroom spaces are larger in the new building because of MSBA requirements.
- Special education space will increase by 12,000 square feet in order to strengthen the program and help students transition to middle school and be better able to remain in district.
- At this time, there is no identified need for additional staff.
- Learning labs are at +15 because there are currently none. They should be renamed as collaborative space to reduce confusion about them. They are built into hallways space similar to the way they are at SWES.
- Next steps include:
- June 2 School Committee meeting – the design team will be back for more questions and to show where they have created building efficiencies
- June 16 School Committee vote on a schematic design to submit to the MSBA
The next School Committee Meeting will be June 2, 2026 at 6:30pm.