The May 20 School Committee meeting topics focused on the High School advisory report presented by HS students, Needham Education Foundation spring grants, a Pollard renovation project update and the literacy program updates.
Public Comment
- The president and vice president of the high school DECA Club advocated for a stipend for their advisor, as they feel their club advisor is not adequately compensated for the tremendous time and effort required to organize and attend the many conferences and events, and does not receive reimbursement for personal travel costs for events to which they are required to have an adult advisor.
- Two HS students and a parent advocated for an enhanced auditorium and theater space to be included in the design of the new Pollard building. They cited inadequate and failing sound and electrical systems, lack of sufficient space for essential backstage work, and the potential for the space to serve the greater community and be used to bring in revenue.
- A California resident joined via Zoom to comment on the inadequacies of the Units of Study Literary program.
School Committee Comments
- Gratitude expressed to Sunita Williams for her recent visit to our schools and the various presentations she gave for our students.
- Recognition of HS senior Max Scott as he ends his tenure as the SC Student Representative. Gratitude was expressed for his commitment to the role and his thoughtfulness in working with the group on a variety of issues. Max expressed much enthusiasm for being a student representative and the opportunity to be part of the organization.
Superintendent Comments
- Dr. Gutekanst congratulated the four Pollard 8th graders who were award winners & honorees in the Massachusetts Regional Middle School Science Fair, a first for Pollard. A full list of award winners & projects can be found here.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
NHS Student Advisory to the School Committee Report
NHS class representatives presented an update and highlights:
- Overall, students are preparing for final exams, working on fundraising and enjoying end-of-the-year events such as puppy yoga and the junior class JHarb harbor cruise.
- Students shared successes in improving school spirit, the use of cellphone hotels in the classroom and seeking help from teachers.
- Students and HS staff have been working on how some policies are carried out, with the goal of providing greater consistency across classes in regards to HW, grading policies and overall experience.
Needham Education Foundation (NEF) Spring Grants Discussion
Aubry Goodman and Emily Dill, co-chairs of NEF, presented 8 grants for all schools across the district, totaling over $45,000. Grant details can be found on the NEF website.
- Actions include literacy, a podcasting lab and support for METCO students to attend summer programs.
- There has been an increase in the number of grants and applications compared to past cycles.
School Committee approved acceptance of these NEF Grants in a 7-0-0 vote.
Pollard Renovation Project Update
Needham’s Director of Building Design and Construction Hank Haff introduced architect Meryl Nistler, a new member of the department, and presented details of the School Master Plan, including the new Pollard project.
- What is the School Master Plan? By working with many stakeholders, over the years the town has identified significant deficiencies at Pollard and Mitchell, as well as overcrowding issues at High Rock and the community desire for more elementary classroom space for future enrollment needs
- After reviewing many options and scenarios, renovating Pollard as a Gr 6-8 school first appears to be the most efficient and economical way to tackle all of these community needs. This also would limit repeated disruptions to the same group of students, eliminates the need for construction of temporary space, and would achieve the most square footage.
- This will be a costly endeavor for the town, requiring an override vote, likely in Nov 2026. However, as the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has agreed to partner with Needham on the Pollard project, there will be a significant reimbursement from the state.
- Where are we in the process now?
- At the May 20 MSBA meeting, HMFH was chosen to be the designer for the feasibility studies.
- Town will now work to finalize contracts with HMFH and then will work on developing feasibility studies for several options to present to the state.
- Needham is required to study several options including addition/renovation to Pollard, total demolition and rebuild on the Pollard site and a new build on a different site (DeFazio parking lot). They will also study a combined Gr 6-8 option and 7-8 option. So at this point we do not know what the final design or location of a new Pollard will be. The goal is to submit these evaluations to the MSBA in Fall 2025.
School Committee asked many questions and had an extensive discussion with the presenters.
- They highlighted opportunities for community input and questions, architect designs and examples of an upgraded auditorium at the Weymouth Middle School.
- There were many questions related to project costs. The MSBA website houses extensive details of various projects across the state, including a page with detailed cost data.
- They made cost comparisons between Sunita Williams Elementary School and the new Pollard project and highlighted that given SWES planning and construction was pre-pandemic, that Pollard is for approximately three times as many students, and with the increase of materials and labor costs over time, the overall expenditure for the Pollard project is within the norm for current construction costs.
- This project will require a lot of community support, especially if there is a desire for a larger auditorium/community theater space which is not reimbursed through MSBA funding. A similar project was built at Weymouth’s Chapman Middle School with great success and several members of the team recently toured this school.
Literacy Pilot Update
Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Innovation Dr. Carmen Williams and Literacy Director Lisa Messina presented an overview of the K-5 Literacy pilot program, analysis of findings and recommendations. Detailed slides can be found in the packet.
- They responded to some areas of concern that have been raised during public comment, clarifying that this is the first year of the literacy pilot where students are trying new materials in the classroom, that Needham has received DESE grants in the past and has applied for new grants to support their literacy efforts, and that the district wants evidence based curriculum materials in the classroom.
- They reviewed the pilot process and the numerous stakeholders and committees involved in the evaluation.
- Evaluators used the DESE CURATE rubric for their evaluations and also reviewed teacher feedback and student work.
- After data collection and review this year, ARC and Collaborative Classroom were consistently rated the highest among the 4 programs on a variety of different parameters.
- Therefore the district is choosing to move forward with further study of ARC and Collaborative Classroom next year. Fishtank, which was added to the pilot in February, has also had promising initial results and will be expanded to a full pilot next year.
- Why should the pilot continue for another year? There are still gaps in their understanding of these programs. The district wants to expand the pilot next year to additional grade levels to ensure that they understand how the programs would serve student growth throughout their elementary experience.
- These three programs are also very different in the way their curricula are organized. Some have their own embedded phonics programs, others would require a separate phonics program like Fundations which Needham currently uses. Collaborative Classroom teaches literacy through units on different styles of writing (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc) while ARC embeds literacy learning in larger units about science & social studies topics. Fishtank seems to be a mix of the two.
- Further analysis is needed to understand which style would best fit our community. Needham already has strong science and social studies curricula through our Science Center and Investigating History programs.
- Extending the pilot also allows further DIBELS screening data collection and analysis, as they do not yet have the end of year data to review.
- They noted the elementary staff is eager and open to change and dedicated to choosing the best program to lead to better outcomes for all students.
- Final decision will tie in with the MTSS, Multi-tiered system of support for all learners.
- The pilot program will continue next year. They plan to make a final decision by the spring of 2026, and look forward to implementing the new program in the fall of 2026.
SC Members engaged in a robust discussion with the presenters including:
- Consideration of the marketing and commercial components of literacy programs.
- Use of data in the decision making process and considering the conditions around implementation of a new curriculum
- Teacher training time frames
- strongest programs for struggling readers
- Acknowledgement of all the hard work that has gone into this pilot process and thanks to all the teachers and staff participating in the pilot programs
ACTION ITEMS
- NEF grants (Approved 7-0-0 Vote)
- Withdrawal from MA School Choice Program for 2025-2026 school year (Approved 7-0-0 vote)
- Approval of school handbooks: Motion-Proposed amendment to the HS attendance policy- if a student is absent, it can be marked as an “excused absence” if it is accompanied by a parent note. Currently an excused absence requires a physician note. 2nd motion to defer this vote for further discussion. Proposed amendment vote (3-3-0). Elementary and middle school handbooks-(approved 7-0-0). Motion to refer HS handbook approval to future meeting (6-1-0 vote)
- Approval of 2026-2028 legal services contracts (Approved 7-0-0 vote)
- Extension of transportation contract for METCO students (Approved 7-0-0 vote)
The next School Committee meeting will be June 3, 2025.