Spring Newsletter
April 28, 2023
Holliston Public Schools Spring Newsletter
Superintendent's Corner
April 28, 2023
Hello Parents, Guardians, Caregivers, & Staff:
While it seems we are not exactly experiencing the warmer temperatures that I would prefer, the bustle and activities taking place in all four schools are indicative that Spring is well underway and Summer will soon be upon us. Administrators at all four schools and at the district level, while managing such things as MCAS and end of year events, have also been busily planning for the upcoming school year this Spring.
On July 1st, we will be welcoming new members to our leadership team for 2023-2024. At the middle school we have a newly appointed assistant principal, Karen Manning, and Ron Taylor will be our new assistant principal at the high school. As many of you already know, I have permanently appointed Jessica Beattie as our Director of Student Services at the district level, Tessa Piantedosi as our Student Services Administrator at RAMS, and I am permanently appointing Dion Puleo as our Director of Extended Day. All three were serving in the interim roles this year, and we are delighted to have them remain in these leadership positions. We are fortunate to have found strong leaders for all of these important roles. The leadership team will attend our administrative retreat together on August 1st-3rd this Summer where we will expand our educational capacity together through team building activities and further training, as we do each year.
As many of you already know, Nicole Bottomley, current HHS principal, has been appointed as the next high school principal at King Philip Regional Schools, and she was also recently selected as the Massachusetts School Administrators’ Association Principal of the Year. Congratulations and well wishes to Ms. Bottomley as she transitions to this new leadership position at King Philip.
Last night I was notiifed that the HHS Principal Search Committee has selected three finalists whom they are moving forward for further consideration for the high school role. The three candidates will be visiting the high school for forums with staff and students on May 2nd, 3rd and 4th followed by community forums via Zoom on May 4, 2023 from 5:30-7:00pm, where parents and stakeholders will be able to Zoom in and hear their responses to important educational topics. We will be sending out the names and bios of the candidates and more details about these visits this weekend after they have had the opportunity to notify their current school districts.
As we begin to wrap up the school year, there are a small number of open positions from teacher retirements and resignations, and building administrators have been completing interviews and will announce the new staff later in the year. On May 15, 2023, I am feeling very optimistic that my recommended FY24 School Budget will be supported and voted on at town meeting. Once voted, this will ensure that Full Day Kindergarten (which we have been funding these last two school years through one-time ARPA and ESSER grant funds) will be fully funded through the appropriation budget. I am very grateful for the support of our school committee, town administrator, finance committee, and select board members for supporting the funding of the school budget, which includes a few new positions, at a time when I continue to hear of a reduction of teaching and support positions in many of our neighboring school districts, as towns continue to struggle with budgetary constraints in the post-COVID environment.
On May 2, 2023, National Teacher Appreciation Day will be celebrated and Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-12th. Principal's Day is celebrated on May 1st. Paraprofessional Appreciation Day was on April 5th, Administrative Assistant Day was on April 26th, and Nurse’s Day will be on May 6th. Please show some love and appreciation to all of our educators and educational support staff in every role throughout the district, as we all know “It takes a village to raise a child.” We are so very fortunate to have so many talented and dedicated individuals in our Holliston Public Schools’ village/ community.
With regards,
Dr. Susan Kustka
Holliston Schools Good News
- Much appreciation to Sara Peters at RAMS for her great work preparing the students for Aladdin. I was fortunate to have been able to view the dress rehearsal yesterday.
- Looking forward to 8th Grade Community Service Day at RAMS on May 26th
- Placentino Student Learning Showcases are coming up May 9th & 16th
- ESL Family Evening takes place at Miller and Placentino on May 24th
- The Spring Play will be taking place at HHS on May 4th-6th
News from the Town of Holliston
"We need your input! The Town's 5-10 year Strategic Plan is underway with many ways to contribute. It is important to be part of this process to identify goals and priorities for Holliston's future. The whole family, including our students, are welcome to join the community to share your stories, thoughts, and ideas."
Visit our Social Pinpoint site for ways to leave comments, discussions and ideas. https://berrydunn.mysocialpinpoint.com/holliston-strategic-plan
Attend an Upcoming Community Forums (Hybrid) & Events:
- Tuesday evening, May 2nd 6:30-8pm at the Holliston High School Library
- Wednesday afternoon, May 3rd 3:00-4:30pm at Town Hall
- Thursday morning, May 4th 9:30-11 at the Senior Center
- Saturday morning, May 6th 9am- 1pm, Public Safety/Touch-a-Truck Day at Holliston High School Parking Lot.
“It takes both sides
to build a bridge.”
- Fredrik Nael
“Theatre is a powerful
art form. It teaches lessons about life, society, and emotion, and more importantly yourself.”
- Anastasia Roberts
“It takes a village
to raise a child. It takes a village to support that child's parent.
- Ann Douglas
(Click "View Entire Message" at the bottom left of email for full message.)
Strategic Plan Arch 1 - Communication
From the Director of Technology & Digital Learning
We continue to work on several communication initiatives outlined in our strategic plan. The initiatives and progress updates are outlined below.
Initiative
- Ensure culturally appropriate communications that make all families of varied backgrounds feel welcomed and supported
Progress
- Developing additional family engagement resources for our website - example page: resources
Initiative
- Focus on improving the accessibility of content of information in the communication process
Progress
Creating translatable web-based report card options for students and families for 2023-2024
Migrating external websites to the primary web platform to improve navigation and accessibility features
Initiative
- Continue the work of building the district website as an informational and communication tool
Progress
- Improving staff directories to maintain currency and add photos
We are thrilled to welcome three new members to the Holliston Public Schools family who will be instrumental in assisting with implementation of many of these technology-based initiatives.
All the best!
Dan MacLeod
Director of Technology & Digital Learning
JodiRene Miller
Data. Systems Specialist
Kim Sexton
Registration / Central Office Operations
Jacob Keplinger
Placentino Technology Support Specialist
Strategic Plan Arch 2 Social Emotional Wellbeing
From the Director of Student Services & the Director of SEL & Equity
As spring and the upcoming summer approaches there is critical work happening and focused planning for the future that continues to blossom. Arch 2 is focused on Social Emotional Wellbeing which requires systemic approaches to building systems for student support, aimed at student belonging, that is culturally responsive to our students needs, and that is always working to sustain social emotional wellbeing.
Special Olympics 2023
On April 14th we had the return of Special Olympics. For years this has been an amazing “5-Town” tradition with Holliston, Ashland, Medfield, Medway, and Millis. This day marked the first Special Olympics since 2019. A big thank you to Ashland who hosted this year with the theme of Football. Our partiicpants did an amazing job demonstrating their skills in throwing, catching, and running through obstacles. The day started with an amazing send off of parades of students and staff through Miller, RAMS, and HHS. The event came to a close with the traditional "medal ceremony", passing of the torch to Millis, and a community picnic lunch. We want to thank our Community business sponsors who made generous donations to assist us in participanting, and to our volunteers that helped prepare and support our students through this wonderful day. A fun and amazing day was had by all, and we are incredibly proud of our Holliston athletes!!
Special Education Tiered Focus Monitoring Update
As many of you know, in February we had our DESE Tiered Focused Monitoring Review. DESE’s Tiered Focused Monitoring process is designed to help school systems throughout Massachusetts remain in compliance and ensure that districts are following federal and state special education and civil rights guidelines. As part of this audit, DESE reviewed multiple special education student files, conducted staff and parent interviews regarding services, timelines, and protocols in Holliston, and completed walkthroughs of all buildings.
It is with pleasure that I share that DESE’s reported findings determined that we as a school district had no compliance issues or areas of concerns relative to our IEP documents, timelines, and ability to provide services for students in need. I am extremely proud of our staff and administrators for their efficiency in the areas of service delivery, timelines, and documentation on student progress.
School Safety
We are pleased to share with you the continued advanacements in our school safety trainings, protocols, and measures under the guidance of our districtwide School Safety Committee this year. While it is important to not share publicly all safety measures, we do want to keep families informed of ways that we are working tirelessly to ensure overall safety in Holliston. This year we have been able to implement developmentally appropriate trainings and/or drills with staff and students from Placentino up through High School. We are mindful of developmental appropriateness of students, while also recognizing the importance of helping all students understand and maintain safety and awareness within their environmental surroundings alebeit school, home, amd/or public places.
This year in the lower grades we introduced an interactive assembly that was led by School Resource Officer Woods, Ms. Lassey, and Ms. Linares and the exciting “virtual Officer Dog” . Within this assembly students and staff were able to interact with our "virtual dog" who was able to teach them safety protocols and answer questions they had relative to school safety. Additionally, we continued to run Intruder Response Drills on multiple occasions at both RAMS and HHS with all students and staff. As always, each building level of students also participated in several Fire Evacation Drills with Holliston Fire.
A new addition to the Safety Committee, is the development of our HPS Crisis Team. This team that is comprised of administrators and counseling staff are being trained in how to respond to crises within the community from a mental health perspective. We are partnering with local districts within these trainings, to be able to develop a partnership for the "if and when" a crisis occurs we are able to assist each other and lend support for staff, students, and families.
Important Reminders:
Notice of Destruction
This is a reminder to all families, that each year we are required to notify families of our “destruction of files”. This notification allows families the opportunities to retrieve your graduated child’s special education cumulative file. By law we are required to maintain student’s special education records for 5-7 years beyond graduation. Please note that the next round of destruction of files is ONLY for students who have graduated during the 2014-2015 school year. Please see attached for more information.
Notice of Destruction of Records
SEPAC Event: Introducing the New IEP
For those that were unable to attend our districtwide parent night on DESE’s rollout of the “new” IEP document, please see the attached resources to review at your leisure. HPS partnered with SEPAC to provide consultation with Allan Blume to provide a meaningful and resourceful night for parents. Mr. Blume was able to provide an hour long session reviewing the new IEP process to improve outcomes for all students with disabilities by providing guidance, technical assistance, and tools on equitable processes to school and district professionals, families, and students.
Strategic Plan Arch 2 Social Emotional Wellbeing
District Planning and Professional Development:
We have been partnering with Lesley university and been able to facilitate and run Trauma Sensitive Schools graduate level courses for our educators in both the Fall 22, and Spring 23 with over 40 staff members benefiting from their continued professional journey which augments their own approaches, practices, and creates lasting support for the importance of Social Emotional Well being! We will be continuing to build upon this momentum and plan to offer 3 different levels of course in the Fall of 2023. Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity. This continued partnership can even culminate in a 5 course certificate program for those interested which includes Course 1. The Impact of Trauma on Learning: An Overview, Course 2. The Impact of Trauma on Learning: Classroom and Student Supports, Course 3. The Impact of Trauma on Learning: Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools, Course 4. The Impact of Trauma on Learning: Action Research and Seminar, and Course 5. Racism, Equity, and Trauma. We have already offered course 1 and course 2 with much success and positive feedback.
Arch 2: District planning at work!
Part of our strategic plan under ARCH 2 strategic initiative 1 and 2 call for articulated and purposeful planning of a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) that builds a robust trajectory towards social emotional wellbeing for our students, staff, and greater HPS community. This winter / spring a passionate group of 11 educators came together to further develop our ongoing vision for SEL & Mental Health which includes culturally responsive SEL, utilizing data to improve our tiers of support, and looks to support the trajectory that is already happening at each of our schools. Without continued collaborative feedback from our student support professionally within HPS we would do a dis-service to the work if we were not authentic and provided real opportunities for cross school collaborative conversations around how the “District” can support alignment, while each school developing a developmentally appropriate approach to a multi-tiered system of support at each school. Through the support of the Metrowest Health foundation, we continued our work with the Education Development Center(EDC), who co-facilitated these sessions with Jariel Vergne the Director of SEL & Equity these planning sessions will have lasting impacts through the next few years, as creating / enhancing our MTSS approach is at the true essence what schools can do to impact the SEL & MH needs of our students and staff.
This group has been so motivated and hopeful towards our future trajectory.
Strategic Plan Arch 2: What does this work look like in our Schools?
The RAMS the Safe and Supportive Lessons are one component of how our school provides the context and tools for our students to build their social emotional competencies. Our school has conducted and continues to implement six Safe and Supportive Lessons over the course of the school year. (Microaggressions, Slurs/Biased language, supporting our LGBTQ+ community, Anti-Semitism, Ableism, and Sexism)
The first four lessons were conducted by staff.
The lessons on ableism and sexism will be student-led by our Peer Leadership Group-this group of approximately 30 students, composed of 7th and 8th grade leaders, is advised by Mrs Sara Peters, an eighth grade humanities teacher.
Our peer leadership group recently attended a seminar by the Mass Partnerships for the Youth - Learning to Lead. This conference equipped our peer leaders with the tools and skills and confidence to be change makers
This peer leadership group will continue to hone and build their skills and knowledge working with the ADL in the 2023-24 school year. One of the intended goals of this student group for next school year is to lead our Safe and Supportive Lessons at RAMS into the future.
Mass Partnerships for the Youth - Learning to Lead
Future Leaders
Youth Empowerment
What does Arch 2 look like at HHS?
At HHS the administration and a team of dedicated educators have come together as part of the Social, Emotional, and Behavior (SEB) Academy an initiative by MA DESE
to support schools and districts across Massachusetts to build evidence-based, data-driven, and culturally responsive systems of support using the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) approach. HHS received and will continue to receive intensive coaching and technical assistance, and participate in professional development and peer-sharing events throughout their three-year participation in the academy. The team has been meeting this school year with the goal of developing an articulated action plan that speaks to the SEL / MH needs at HHS, that was a collaborative approach, and is a multi-year across multiple tiers of support.
Principal Bottomley shared “This is an exciting opportunity to better understand the mental health supports we currently have in place and work collaboratively to develop a clear plan to ensure increased access and awareness of services offered for students and families”.
What Does Arch 2 look like at Placentino?
At Placentino the school has embarked on using the power of stories and reading as way to enhance and support a culture of Inclusion and Belonging. For example in October the school read “Our Class is a Family” where: These lessons occur in every classroom Prek to grade 2. A shared text is read aloud to students and lesson objectives are met through a series of guided questions and conversations. A team of educators created these school wide lessons utilizing the Anti-Bias Building Blocks lessons and objectives from the Anti-Defamation League. Topics include: creating a safe and comfortable environment, understanding my strengths- skills and identity, understanding and appreciating differences, and confronting /challenging bias and bullying. Each month, we will be sharing the topic, text, and questions you can use to engage your students at home.
This story...
Shares the message that families come in many shapes and sizes
Emphasizes that family is more than the people you are related to
Establishes norms around how classmates should treat each other
Can help educators create a sense of community in the classroom
Recently in March the students read The Judgmental Flower by Julia Cook, teaching the skill of valuing the differences in others. Talking points and ideas from this book that were shared with parents for continued home conversation included:
Toddlers and young children notice differences in people. Discussing these differences can make the unfamiliar less scary and create spaces of belonging.
Be a role model by showing respect to everyone, even those who may not share your beliefs, background, or perspectives.
Look for teachable moments to highlight how people are just people.
Practice and model empathy and compassion. The Golden Rule - Treat others as you want them to treat you.
What Does Arch 2 look like at Miller?
Miller Elementary School is participating in another of MA DESE’s academy’s - around supporting the school’s development of culturally responsive learning opportunities. A team of teachers have piloted and launched this work at Miller through a participation in this comprehensive program that helps teachers / school leaders to walk away with a strong understanding of culturally responsive practices that can be immediately implemented in the classroom. The Academy helps educators confront their own biases and beliefs and couple that with evidence-based strategies in order to support teachers in changing behavior in classrooms. Through the program educators experience interactive workshops designed to be delivered in person or virtually. Through the use of 11 research-based practices teachers promote culturally responsive teaching within the classroom. These proven practices promote grade-level rigor in reading and writing, and empower students to engage and take ownership of their learning. Miller is participating in this academy for the next 3 years through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Sincerely,
Jessica Beattie, Director of Student Support Services
Jariel Vergne, Director of Social Emotional Learning & Equity
Strategic Plan Arch 3: Teaching & Learning
Current Holliston Curriculum Reviews
Both a PreK-12+ math and 6-12 ELA curriculum review is currently being conducted. Many people are involved in this rigorous, collaborative endeavor: teachers, district curriculum coordinator, building-level administrators, and the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction. This is one of the teaching and learning strategic initiatives in Holliston's strategic plan - vertical and state alignment. The outcome of these reviews will be the creation of clear, rigorous, and consistent academic expectations for student success that align to the Massachusetts State Frameworks. Once this work has been completed, outcomes will be shared with the community.
Updated Teaching & Learning Website
Please make sure to check out the updated Holliston Teaching & Learning website. The following areas of interest are provided: Holliston's academic vision, curriculum alignment, district strategic plan, district curriculum review process, curriculum review cycle, mapping curriculum, curriculum map - standards by month.
District Curriculum Coordinators and Holliston teachers have been hard at work collaborating on mapping curriculum and the creation of curriculum maps - standards by month documents which contain: which state curriculum standards are being addressed in each unit within a class; what will students do to demonstrate their knowledge; big ideas and understandings students will have when they complete the unit; questions that will foster inquiry, understanding, and transfer of learning; content knowledge and content skills students will acquire from the unit. It is important to note that these documents will be continuously uploaded on our website as they are completed.
Links to these teaching and learning documents are also accessible on the website: Massachusetts current frameworks, DESE Center for Instructional Support, Holliston's DESE Report Card, District Curriculum Accommodation Plan, and DESE Family Framework Guide by Level.
DESE Report Cards
Earlier this spring, a letter was sent to all families regarding our district's DESE Report Cards. These have all been uploaded to our website for easy access.
Updated Multilingual Education Website
A Multilingual Education tab has been added to the Academics section of our website. Check it out for a family resource guide.
Spring Family English Learner Events
At each school, a family English Learner event will be held this spring. Please be on the lookout for each building to send out the event information soon! We hope to see you there!
Title I Family Informational Night Resources
Placentino Elementary School held a Title I Family Informational night on March 9, 2023. All resources can be found here.
Dr. Joanne Menard
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction
Finance & Operations
Transportation
We are starting to plan for next school year and an email regarding transportation for next school year will be coming out. Please remember that free transportation is available for students in Grades K-6 who live greater than 2 miles from school. All other students who desire transportation will have a fee assessed. Further details will be communicated via email.
Please remember to thank your drivers for another terrific year that had plenty of road challenges from the first to the last day.
Facilities
We successfully submitted another Statement of Interest (SOI) requesting the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) partner with us to update or replace Holliston High School. Holliston High School originally opened in 1969 and had a renovation in 2001. Unfortunately, the renovation did not significantly change the learning spaces to create a true 21st century experience for our students.
We met with a number of architects and experts in school construction to help us improve our application this year. They were all complimentary of the work we have done adapting our current spaces to our needs but agreed that the time has come to consider other solutions.
We are hopeful that MSBA will look favorably on our SOI submission this time.
We have worked in partnership the the Town's Facilities Director, James Keast, and have a capital request to replace the shingled portion of the Placentino School roof. The shingles were installed in 1997 and the time has come for replacement. The town will recognize savings on this project if we receive favorable action from May Town Meeting (May 15th) as we can combine this project with the roof project over the cafeteria which was previously funded.
Thank you to the fine work by the Grounds Division of the DPW. They have been working diligently on prepping the fields for our spring sports and they have never looked better. Congratulations to Robert Walker and Nick Murray for leading these efforts.
Keith Buday
Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations
News From Food Services
Happy Spring to all of our students and families!
It’s hard to believe that May is almost here and summer break is around the corner. It’s been very busy in the Food Service Department. More children are participating each day thanks to the universal free meals program; we are hopeful that the Governor will continue it for next school year. The supply chain issues that we faced over the last few years seem to be improving. We remain committed to providing high quality food such as whole muscle, soy-free chicken, soy and gluten free meatballs, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grain products. We proudly serve names that you may recognize such as Stonyfield, GoldKist, Kayem, Land O Lakes, McCains, Sal’s Pizza, and Original Pizza to name a few..
When we aren’t cooking for our students, we work on professional development opportunities for our team. Did you know that all of our full and part time staff are required to become manager level ServSafe certified? Recently, 9 staff members passed the exam! We are incredibly lucky to have a hardworking and dedicated team.
It has been a pleasure feeding our students this year; they are polite, kind, and compassionate. We love what we do and are already looking forward to September!
Lynne Koenig
School Nutrition Director
"A little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about." — John Mayer
Central Office Contacts
- Superintendent- Dr. Susan Kustka
- Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction- Dr. Joanne Menard
- Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations - Keith Buday
- Director of Student Services - Jess Beattie
- Director of SEL & Equity - Jariel Vergne
- Director of Technology & Digital Learning - Dan MacLeod
- Director of Food Services- Lynne Koenig
- Nurse Leader - Missy Jordan
370 Hollis Street
Holliston, MA 01746
(508) 429-0654