School Committee: Meetings

School Committee conducts its business in regular public meetings under the rules of the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law.  Generally, these meetings are scheduled for Tuesday evenings, September through June; adjustments are made to accommodate school vacations.  The regular twice-monthly business meetings allow the School Committee to efficiently conduct all of the various transactions required by law. Most meetings are held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room of the Town Office Building, but occasionally the meetings are held at Clarke Middle School Auditorium or in Cary Memorial Hall Auditorium; at least one meeting is scheduled in Boston with METCO families.

Additional meetings are scheduled when needed.  These meetings serve a much broader purpose than the business meetings.  Usually they allow opportunities for the School Committee to explore specific issues in greater detail, to listen to more extensive presentations and public input on topics, and/or to engage in School Committee development activities.  Public forums on key topics may also be scheduled.

School Committee agendas and other public documents may be found on the Lexington Public Schools' website.  The Public is invited to speak at School Committee meetings during the Public Comments portion of the meeting and, as the Chair and time allows, throughout the meeting after members of the School Committee and the Administration have had an opportunity to express their views.

School Committee: Hires

The School Committee hires an administrative staff to oversee all of the daily operations in the schools and to do the work necessary for the Committee both to act on policy matters and to evaluate, in a general sense, the overall functioning of the school system.  Thus, the Committee asks the administrative staff to do a variety of tasks involving data collection and analysis and to make recommendations where appropriate.  In many instances, the law requires from the Superintendent a recommendation upon which the Committee can act.

The LPS administrative staff consists of Dr. Paul B. Ash, Superintendent of Schools; Ms. Carol A. Pilarski, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development; Ms. Mary Ellen Dunn, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Business; Mr. Robert. J. Harris, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources; Ms. Linda Chase, Director of Student Services; and Mr. Tom Plati, Director of Educational Technology and Assessment.

For more about the Lexington Public Schools, please visit the LPS website:  http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Page/1

School Committee: Members

The School Committee is a policy-setting body.  Since education is a State function, the five elected members of the Lexington Public School Committee serve as officers of the State.  At the local level, the School Committee is a legislative body responsible for establishing local policy for seeing that the schools are properly run in accordance with State law and regulations.  Copies of the Policy Manual are available in the Office of the Superintendent, 146 Maple Street, Lexington  MA  02420, or online here.

The Lexington School Committee is composed of five citizens elected to serve overlapping terms of three years each.  At the end of a term, a Committee Member wishing to continue unsalaried service to the community must be re-elected to an additional three-year term.  State law does not limit the number of terms a member may serve.  Voting for School Committee positions takes place at the regular Annual Town Elections in March.  the list of Committee members and the expiration of their term is:

Mary Ann Stewart, Chair, 2012

Alessandro Alessandrini, Vice-Chair, 2013

Margaret Coppe, 2013

Jessie Steigerwald, 2012

Bonnie Brodner, 2014

School Committee: Mission

The Lexington School Committee provides oversight and direction to the operation of the Lexington Public School District.  The Committee's role, responsibilities, and high level operating procedures are established in the context of various applicable general laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Our primary responsibilities are to establish the educational vision and goals for the district, approve the budget, establish policies for the district, and hire and evaluate the Superintendent.  The implementation and achievement of these goals lies with the Superintendent and the administrative team.  More simply stated, the role of the School Committee is not to run the schools, but rather to establish the policies by which the schools are run, and to oversee their maintenance in a very broad sense.

For more about School Governance:  http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/advisory/cm1115gov.html

Common Core

In July 2010, Massachusetts became one of over forty states to adopt new national education standards.  These standards, called the Common Core State Standards, were designed to prepare students for success in college and 21st century careers.  They are important because they help ensure that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success in college and the workforce.  They help set clear and consistent expectations for students, parents, and teachers:  build your child's knowledge and skills; and help set high goals for all students.

The standards are for all students in Kindergarten through grade 12 and, at the present time, are  focused only on English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics.  Of course, high standards are not the only thing needed for our children's success.  But standards provide an important first step - a clear roadmap for learning for teachers, parents, and students.  Having clearly defined goals helps families and teachers work together to ensure that students succeed.  Standards help parents and teachers know when students need to be challenged even more.  They will also help your child develop critical thinking skills so necessary for college and career.  

National PTA collaborated with education experts, parents, and others to create a set of Guides for families to understand Common Core, strengthen home-school communications, and support childrens' success.  You may access them here.

The challenge for school leaders now is to understand how to transition from their current curriculum to the new paradigm.  Activities include comparing the content of the Common Core with current standards as a bridge and implementing the core standards systemically, with an approach that engages the whole school community - teachers, students, families, and community members - to ensure success.

Words To Live By

Courage.  Purpose.  Compassion.  Gratitude.  Service.  Respect.  Support.  Care.  Love.  Concern.  Balance.  Inspire.  Strength.  Revelation.  Calm.  Goodness.  Progressive.  Humility.  Voice.  Reflection.  Attention.  Heart.  Unity.  Solitude.  Truth.  Freedom.  Values.  Discipline.  Justice.  Liberty.  Passion.  Hope.  Advocacy.  Change.  Stability.  Grace.  Empty.  Wonder.  Difficult.  Sight.  Joy.  Flight.  Energy.  Faith.  Challenge.  Vision.  Insight.  Rest.  Wisdom.  Access.  Believe.  Open.  Closed.  Present.  Possibility.  Speak.  Listen.  Presence.  Lead.  Promise.  Trust.  Soul.  Harmony.  Discord.  Consonance.  Sanctuary.  Forward.  Community.  Certainty.  Growth.  Empathy.  Engage.  Adapt.  Levity.  Integrity.

Site Councils and School Committees

When our daughter was in elementary school, I served on the Harrington Elementary School Site Council for two years (2006-2008).  I was elected through a representative process.  Serving on the School Council was an engaging, pragmatic way to be involved in all students' academic and social-emotional life. 

Our Council was comprised of four parents whose children attended the school; each parent served overlapping terms of two years each with two parents elected each year.  Three school staff members were elected by the staff.  One parent was nominated as Co-Chair and the principal served as the other Co-Chair and also appointed one member from the community at large.

Most often we met monthly in a conference room at the school, before the start of the school day, and for about an hour.  The issues we took up  impacted the annual school improvement plan:  the impact of class size on student performance; school safety and discipline; the school handbook; enhancing family engagement; enhancing the school and grounds and more.

The law requires Councils to:

• hold meetings in a public place and allow anyone in attendance to audio and/or video record the proceedings as long as it is not disruptive to the meeting;
• post a notice of each meeting with the city or town clerk and in a public place at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.
• keep minutes indicating the date, time, place, members present and absent, and actions taken;
• adhere to a quorum, which is to be defined as a majority of the Council members.

In recent years, our School Committee has sought to inform local Councils of the above requirements.  The relationship between school committees and school councils provides for a unique opportunity to improve and strengthen community engagement within public education governance.  The law provides an oversight role for School Committees.  School Committees are responsible for:

• setting district wide performance standards and educational policies that building-level School Improvement Plans (SIP) must take into account;
• reviewing and approving building-level SIP;
• approving a representative process for the election of parent and teacher members of the Council.

The School Committee is a policy-setting body.  Since education is a State function, the five elected members of our School Committee serve as officers of the State.  At the local level, the School Committee is a legislative body responsible for establishing local policy for seeing that the schools are properly run in accordance with State law and regulations.  Copies of the Policy Manual are available in the Office of the Superintendent, 146 Maple Street, Lexington MA 02420, or online at http://lps.lexingtonma.org.