The School Committee on Wednesday, Dec. 11, discussed MCAS, the Am I Ready diagnostics and the state assessment, so parents and the community could see how students are doing.
MCAS scores, officials reported are commensurate with end-of-year performance compared with other schools in the state, but the bulk of discussion focused on curriculum in the wake of some parental concerns.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools George Ferro said the district is making moderate progress toward educational targets.
“We’ve done this in the past,” said Ferro of the review. “We’ve done this in different ways. We’ve done it with, simply, what have we done with our curriculum, We’ve done it with an MCAS presentation, we’ve done it with the diagnostics and what our students are learning. Today, we’ve combined it all, because we do live in a different time as far as the threat to the internet.”
He said educators are still not completely certain of where the issue is going to go with respect to graduation requirements.
The district now knows that’s no longer a graduation requirement and that the district has received two different FAQs (frequently asked question filed) from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as to where they might be going, according to Ferro.
He and Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Compliance, Dr. Nicole Semas-Schneeweis offered the presentation together.
“We’re going to try to give you a synopsis of what we do, why we do it and the reasons for it,” Ferro said. “What we do is based on credible laws.”
Two federal laws govern curriculum – No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), both of which require proof of effectiveness in some way in order to secure continuing funding.
“Basically, the feds tell the states what needs to take place, and the states come up with what they do, they enact it and we have to cooperate,” Ferro said.
Semas-Schneeweis added that No Child Left Behind, demanded that interventions required since 1955 had to be scientifically based and ESSA added the requirement that they also be evidence-based.
“We are mandated to follow this federal law and choose curriculum material that are evidence-based that meet that criteria,” she said. “We don’t determine that. Curriculum developers must go out and make their own studies, submit those studies and then they get vetted. So, when you see a curriculum developer partner with an agency or a third party, that is what they are mandated to do under this law, and that is not always clear.”
Ferro emphasized that no decisions are made without evidence and a proper process.
DESE does that work and lets school districts know which curricula meet those requirements.
“There are regulations and requirements about digital learning as well,” Semas-Schneeweis said. “The pandemic just exacerbated the digital learning requirement.”
The state also has a digital literacy component to its education regulations.
She stressed that digital learning programs must also be active, rather than having students merely sitting at a computer.
Some curricula, such as My Path, adjust to the deficiencies an advancements of students. Ferro and Semas-Schneeweis said.
“Sometimes a parent will say, ‘My child is exposed to material he has not learned,’” Ferro said. “Yes, because at that point in time his diagnostic is saying he’s at a higher grade level than where he’s at.”
Semas-Schneeweis said teachers are an important part of the equation as the instructional piece, making the time to work with those students about 10 minutes a day in a station model.
Committee member Glenn DiGravio asked about the curriculum’s adjustment to students with a deficit and whether they are tested at that deficit level and how students catch up.
“There are no grades on your path,” Ferro said. “It’s helping you in your deficit skills while you’re still in math class at that grade level. … The goal of this is to say where you’re at, what grade level you’re at, what your deficits are, and then give you a plan to catch that up.”
“That’s awesome,” DiGravio said. “I just didn’t want to see students getting left behind and still getting the trophy.”
Member Rosemary Connolly said she assumed the discussion came up because of questions to the schools, asking what the path is if a child is not comfortable in their spaces and with technology at the same time, or a particular tool is helping a child.
Semas-Schneeweis said a teaching team might decide supplemental work is needed,
“No program, curriculum, technology is perfect or is going to replace good teaching,” said committee member Kara Moser. “As a teacher, I also use I Ready, not as a core curriculum, but as with the diagnostic and the My Path – there are some areas that are not perfect, However, I think it is part of thinking holistically, especially when we’re thinking about elementary level.”
Committee member Stephanie Blackman said it is also important to determine if a child who is struggling is it an issue is not being comfortable with the technology or an issue with not being comfortable with the material.
“We have a core curriculum, and this is a supplemental curriculum,” Ferro said.
Committee member Dawn Byers, going into budget season, asked that the committee be able to review the cost vs life cycle of curricula.
Following the curriculum discussion, the committee got down to talking about that parent letter.
The School Committee received a parent letter via the U.S. Postal Service Monday, Nov. 18, which was opened the next day. The letter addressed kindergarten and some of the curriculum features.
“I usually don’t get [mail that way],” Superintendent of School Jeff Szymaniak said. “I usually get everything by email.”
Semas-Schneeweis reviewed the letter to put together some information to present to the committe, according to Szymaniak.
“I didn’t want you to get something blind, because I knew the next question we were going to get was, ‘what is this and what do we do about it?’” he said to the committee.
School Committee member Dawn Byers said her concern centered around parental consent, which was bullet point number three on the letter’s reverse, which outlined the requirement for “parental consent if there is a potential for data collection.”
“This parent seems concerned about consent and approval,” she said, noting that she did a search through district school policy documents, which are available online, including [Sec. IJND] curriculum and instruction, where a section headed “permission and agreement form.”
“My question to follow up, is that our policy says, ‘a written parental request shall be required prior to the student being granted independent access to electronic media,’ and that the required permission agreement form shall be signed by the parent, and also by the student,” Byers said. “I’d be happy to make a motion to send this to our policy subcommittee, if we need to review ‘pemission and agreement form.’”
She made a similar motion to allow discussion on Sec. IJNDb, which is the access policy where there is another signature access agreement, primarily concerning the laptops that go out with students, but also mentions parental signature and agreement.
“Educational software companies don’t collect students’ personal data,” said Committee member Hillary Kniffen, who is also a teacher in another district. “It’s education policy beyond us that companies that bring in educational material electronically do not collect private data from students.”
Byers said that wasn’t her biggest concern. “The concern, actually, is the student was given a device and started using it, and the parent said, ‘What if I don’t want my child using it?’” she said. “So, we’re offering consent – it might actually exist.” She questioned if the district was asking a kindergartener to sign a form.
“I don’t see a problem with bringing that to the policy subcommittee,” Szymaniak said.
“It was probably written before all of this, too, so it probably needs to be looked at anyway,” Chair Beth Stafford said.
Szymaniak said a motion may not even be needed, but agreed to work within one if the Committee wanted to. The Committee gave unanimous approval to referring the issue to the policy subcommittee.

HANSON –The Selcet Board voted on Tuesday Dec. 17 to hold off accepting Veterans’ Agent Joseph Gumbakis’ resignation, which was to be effective Friday, Dec. 20, until officials could speak to him in hopes that he might change his mind.
Select Board Member David George said on Friday, Dec. 20 that he had spoken to Gumbakis, who has agreed to stay until a replacement can be hired. The position has been posted, Town Administrator Lisa Green said Monday, Dec. 23. Anyone interested may contact her office at 781-293-2131 for more information.
“He expressed his reasons why,” Green said during the meeting in response to George’s questioning whether anyone tried to talk him out of it. “I can only respect his reasons of why he is choosing to resign.”
She added that he spoke to her of his reasons for leaving, adding that they were things she could not talk someone out of, nor publicly share.
“He’s got personal things he needs to work on and with that, I don’t feel I can talk someone out of stating when they say to me, ‘I need to resign,’ for these particular reasons.”
“I spoke with Joe today and he said he’d stay on as long as we needed him to stay on,” George said. “He would work something out with the town. We really do need Joe. You might not need him and a lot of other people in town might not need him, but people like me and a lot of other veterans in the town need him.”
George said he is not going to go to another town to ask for benefits as a veteran.
“We have one in Hanson, he’s a good guy, and he knows his job,” George said.
“That’s never been an issue,” Green said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett strongly suggested taking the conversation offline at that point, as it seemed to be getting personal.
“We’re running the risk of potentially discussing somebody’s personal situation in an open meeting, which would be completely inappropriate,” she said.
“And I was not going to go in that direction,” Green said.
“If somebody is performing well and doing their job, we certainly want to retain people,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I think Ms. Green understands that, and in every instance where that applies, she does try to do that.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested George and Green discuss the matter so she could talk to him about Gumbakis’ reasons.
“He’s willing to stay on,” George said. “I don’t think he really wanted to quit.”
George said he wasn’t willing to discuss Gumbakis’ reasons in open meeting, either, but he stressed that he did not think the man wanted to quit right now.
“At some point in time, I know he wants to move out of state,” he said. “At some point in time, but don’t think it’s right now, and I know he loves working with the veterans.”
“Here’s the danger,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We’re talking about two different things.”
Noting that the board is not meeting again until Jan. 14, she reminded the board that Gumbakis’ resignation is effective at the end of December, she suggested letting Gumbakis know that, should he still wish to resign at the end of the month, the board would accept it.
“But we could also ask that you speak to him and, if he wants to revoke his request to resign, then we will empower you to retain him,” FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested.
The board unanimously supported the motion.
George said the weight of hours are difficult for Gumbakis, but “as a veterans’ agent … there isn’t anything that guy doesn’t know.”
“If he leaves, he’s going to be missed by a lot of us,” George said.
“Clearly, there’’s a level of passion here that none of us could understand to the level that David does,” Board member Joe Weeks said.

HANSON – Everyone loves an ARPA check, almost as much as Christmas celebrations.
The Hanson Select Board, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, were able to extend their verbal thank-you notes to those who made both possible for Hanson this year.
The Board issued its thanks and recognition to the Hanson Holiday Committee and the Plymouth County Commissioners for their hard work in creating Hanson’s Holiday Fest, and efficiently overseeing the distribution of ARPA funds, respectively.
“If you are fortunate enough to go to [the Holiday Fest] every year, then you might think that it just magically happens,” Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “That is not true. There is a committee of people who meet, really at the start of summer, which seems quite shocking, but it’s true, talking about how to fund raise, what organizations are going to take part, etc.”
While she said the Hanson Highway and Police departments who always support the event, she said she thought it would be nice to
FitzGerald-Kemmett had also offered some recognition during the event which was also attended by Board members Ed Heal and Joe Weeks, but she didn’t think sufficient thanks had been offered.
“I wanted to make sure that it was, because I see how hard you guys work and I really think it’s important,” she said. “It’s such a beloved tradition in Hanson.”
The family-oriented event does not charge admission, and is a low-key time to gather with family, friends and community, enjoy the bonfires, sample the wares of local eateries and watch the fireworks.
“It’s a beautiful event,” she said. “We need more of those events.”
Receiving certificates of appreciation were: Hanson Police Sgt. Michael Bearce for organizing the police detail and crowd safety; Amanda Hauk, for social media and organizational work on the event; Highway Department employee Kevin Dykes, who plays a critical role in the event; Bob Hayes, for serving as the official ambassador for the committee and assisting with fundraising, ensuring the event’s sustainability; Fire Department Deputy Chief Charlie Barends, who is non-stop working on fundraising and ideas for connecting with people and getting the word out; Fire Chief Robert O’Brien for his work in organizing the fireworks display; and Committee Chair Steve Amico, for “quietly leading the charge for many years.
“You have had a part in it the last few years, as well,” Amico said to FitzGerald-Kemmett. “So, we thank you for all of your help.”
“That is unscripted, Mr. Amico, and not fitting” she joked.
There may not have been any certificates of appreciation for the county commissioners, but FitzGerald-Kemmett was equally as vocal in her thanks for the work they have done to help Hanson.
“You know how we love it,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said as she opened the meeting. “Show us the money, Jared!”
Plymouth County Commissioners Chair Jared Valanzola and Sen. Mike Brady aide Jimmy J. Valentin.
“This is the cap for me for Hanson, if we are able to get some more money, we’ll work on it, [but] every community is committed to using their full allocation, there very well may be,” Valanzola said.
“Thank you for coming, and thank you for bringing the money,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
Valanzola attended the meeting to present a $977,095.18 check to the town in ARPA funds to pay for improvements and expansion of the food pantry, Prat Place culvert construction, highway catch basin repair/construction and a Class V ambulance.
“It’s kind of hard to believe,” he said. “It is the season for giving.”
Valanzola noted the Commissioners have pretty much come to the end of the ARPA program, which is scheduled to sunset on Dec. 31.
“The county needs to have all its fun allocated by then,” Valanzola said. “It can still write checks after that day, but all applications need to be in.”
None of the other commissioners were able to attend the meeting and Treasurer Thomas J. O’Brien has been “more or less tethered to his desk to make sure we get these applications out,” according to Valanzola. “When the ball drops, so does the hammer on getting these things out the door on Dec. 31.” Three Commissioners’ meetings are planned before that date too get things out the door.
He said Hanson has been on the forefront of securing these funds among the 27 cities and towns the Commissioners work with, and lauded some of the things the town has obtained with the ARPA funds – purchasing an ambulance, replacing culverts and needs of the food pantry.
“This money is going to do great work for the town of Hanson as well as for our public servants, who dedicate their lives and work hours every day to the town of Hanson,” Valentin, said, urging the town to reach out to Sen. Brady’s office if they need anything.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said both offices were an example of responsive public
service, noting that Brady “is always on it, or he knows somebody who somebody who can help. … he gets the job done.”
But she also sang the praises of the county commissioners.
“You guys have been amazing partners in this ARPA [program],” she said. “You showed everybody how this should be done, and you did it efficiently with very low overhead cost. We are lucky to have Ms. Green advocating for us, but without that partnership on the other side it wouldn’t have been as amazing as it has been, so we thank you.”
Valanzola said the commissioners pride themselves on that, noting Massachusetts is a big state and state officials have to deal with big cities – Boston, Worcester and Springfield.
“Little towns like Hanson sometimes get left behind in that fray,” he said. “But for us at the County level, Hanson is not going to get left behind.”
The commissioners have been proud of demonstrating what good regional government can do, Valanzola said.
“We’re elected by the same people and are accountable to the same people,” he said of the neighbors they are helping. Rockland native, who now lives in Plymouth said he also knows Hanson well.
“These are communities that we’re really entrenched in, and I think that demonstrates [our] commitment to these towns” he said.
As they have kept their low overhead, the final number they have been tracking, 1.25 percent administrative costs. Keeping those administrative costs low has meant more money for Hanson and the other communities they’ve been working with, Valanzola said.