School Committee Summary
November 5, 2019
Official Meeting Minutes
Walpole High School students made Random Acts of Kindness bookmarks
Walpole High School Pride Day - November 27th
Fisher School students have a bus safety lesson
Walpole Public Schools
Website: www.walpole.k12.ma.us
Location: 135 School Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508-660-7200
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/walpolepublicschools/photos/?ref=page_internal
Recognitions
Teacher/Student Council Advisor Kerry McMenimen and Student Council members Andrea Wilber (President), Sarah St. George (Vice President), Abby Duffy (Secretary), Liam Crowley (Assistant Treasurer) and Kevin McElaney (Junior Class President) attended the School Committee Meeting. The Walpole High School Student Council run many programs, fundraisers and events all year long. They also participate in a great deal of community service. The students discussed the recent fundraiser of raking leaves this past weekend for 53 homes and filling over 600 bags! They are preparing for the Pep Rally and Powder Puff Game on November 27, which is in conjunction with the PRIDE Day at Walpole High School. PRIDE stands for Positivity, Respect, Integrity, Drive and Empathy.
The Student Council also recently hosted the regional conference for student councils in Southeastern Massachusetts (SEMASC). Dr. Gough visited this event and was impressed by the energy, time, effort and leadership exhibited by the Student Council.
The Student Council is planning a Service Day for April 17th. During the Service Day, students, teachers, and staff will collaborate on projects around Walpole in an effort to give back to the community. Student Council hopes to have community partners and advertising sponsorship to help facilitate this day.
New and Regular School Committee Business
The SC unanimously voted to approve a Walpole High School field trip to Rome, Italy from April 18, 2020 through April 26, 2020.
Assistant Superintendent Bill Hahn presented 2019 MCAS Results. Mr. Hahn's presentation can be accessed here.
Math Department Chair David Passeggio presented on the Math Curriculum. Mr. Passeggio went through recent changes to the curriculum and current initiatives. Mr. Passeggio's presentation is available here.
The FY '21 Budget Timetable was presented to the School Committee and will be posted on the District webpage.
Superintendent Report
Dr. Gough gave an update with respect to:
- School and sporting events attended last week including Walpole High School Student Council regional meeting, the JV home soccer game at Bird Middle School and the Varsity girls game at Walpole High School. Dr. Gough indicated it was wonderful to attend the Boyden School Monster Mash and see multiple generations attending with students.
- In terms of school visits, Dr. Gough spent time at Elm Street School, Daniel Feeney Preschool and Boyden meeting with principals and visiting classrooms. The areas of focus include guided math, digital learning, writers' workshop and reading centers which allow for student engagement and enables teachers to individualize instruction.
- Walmart recently granted Walpole Public Schools $1,000 for our literacy program. This grant will be used toward purchasing much needed books for the next phase of the literacy program.
- Dr. Gough provided an enrollment update. As of November 1, 2019, our total enrollment is 3,757.
- School Committee Member Mrs. Gallivan and Dr. Gough will be attending the MASC/MASS Conference this week. This is the largest annual gathering of education leaders in Massachusetts, featuring a program of nationally known guest speakers, panel sessions offering professional development opportunities and in-depth discussion of the critical education issues of today.
MSBA Update
Last year, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) accepted the Walpole School District’s Statement of Interest for Bird Middle School into MSBA's Eligibility Period. The invitation includes consideration of Johnson Middle School for the potential consolidation of all students in grades 6-8 (only). The Eligibility Period assists the MSBA with managing its financial resources by identifying early in the process whether a District is ready to manage and fund a capital project. It will help to determine a district’s financial and community readiness to enter the capital pipeline. It also assists districts locally by providing a definitive schedule and identifying needs for planning and budgeting. We successfully completed the Eligibility Phase and additionally, a School Building Committee was formed to oversee the process.
We are pleased to announce that on October 30th, we were officially accepted into the Feasibility Phase. The Feasibility Study will examine potential solutions to the issues identified and will develop the most educationally appropriate and cost-effective preferred solution for MSBA consideration. The next step in the Feasibility process is the procurement of an Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) to work with the School Building Committee. The goal is to submit all required documents and applications no later than February 2020. Once the MSBA approves this process at the OPM Review Panel Meeting, we will go through a similar process to hire a Designer. We look forward to continuing our collaborative partnership with MSBA and will provide updates leading up to the community forums.
You can find out more about MSBA process, funding, and the School Building Committee by clicking here.Walk with the Supers
- The next Walk with the Supers is scheduled for Friday, November 15th from 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. at the Walpole High School track. These walks are for all community members.