Committee Year-In-Review Newsletter January, 2025
On behalf of the LS School Committee, I am excited to share an update on our work and accomplishments over the course of the 2024-2025 school year. As your elected representatives, we work closely with the LS administration and town officials in Lincoln and Sudbury to provide community oversight over our remarkable high school. As always, our highest priority remains the safety, success, and education of our students. Here are some of our most significant accomplishments from the last 6 months: ● *We created and approved our own **Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee Goals* <https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1CWupFSKcfK9jpyhwINWZ6p-7OJO3V6INyABu7oPGzo4/edit?usp=sharing>* for the 2024-2025 school year.* Our goals include: 1. Improving community engagement 2. Strengthening our governance 3. Supporting program quality ● *We successfully negotiated a new 3-year contract with the LS Teachers Association* through a 6-month collective bargaining process, which governs faculty pay, working conditions, and evaluations. The new contract includes, among smaller technical changes: ○ A 7.375% cost of living adjustment for faculty over three years ○ An overhaul of our system of stipends for academic advisors and coaches. Stipends will now be determined through the use of a standardized formula. ○ Changes to paid time off policies intended to provide reasonable guardrails on its usage by faculty. ● *We approved a major project to repair and reseal the LS roof*, which is at the end of its expected lifetime unless repaired or replaced. ○ This project is expected to cost $2.6 million and extend the lifetime of the roof by at least 20 years. ○ LS is almost finished paying down debt from the initial construction of the new school. To pay the cost of the roof project, LS would incur new debt. ○ Construction on the roof is expected to take place over the summer of 2026. Other key actions the School Committee took this year included: ● Working with Dr. Andrew Stephens to draft and approve his Superintendent’s goals <https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-gmoxdpG1H4dAYHSOWkgOLVVcNVGD3A3CTuVS0p1o4s/edit#slide=id.g1ea5aac47da_4_55> for the 2024-2025 school year. ● Reviewing the LS School Improvement Goals <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E40w7qJJ1Avp503yPhDYuTeGtGaHmS2XtOpNgKYOu8I/edit?usp=sharing> for the 2024-2025 school year. ● Approving rates for the new electric vehicle charging stations at LS. ● Reviewing a grant application for EPA funding for electric vehicle school buses in conjunction with Sudbury Public Schools. ● Voting to approve extending our current bus contract in its first of two optional years. ● Beginning our annual budget process for FY26. You can find our most recent Budget presentation here <https://drive.google.com/file/d/135JCRVHLGS6FOASR5nioGfayRVuvZ_Z0/view?usp=sharing> . ● Approving the calendar for the 2025-2026 school year <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xidmEJsrmJ4zevH-l_-oDbk33PpIIXcnO7VKQKaPiEs/edit?fbclid=IwY2xjawH2so5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfzwLuCwWOSJBqs3vfslVNButn_Down0mdAu_55kIMoTeuvUOHQhy_DMyw_aem_ii30J0seWUzRTj348f3B6g&gid=0#gid=0> . ● Agreeing to conduct a review of the holidays in the LS calendar and ask the LS administration to include questions regarding AP classes and GPA weighting in a survey of college admissions departments based on community feedback. ● Receiving training on the Open Meeting Law and on the collective bargaining process. ● Receiving presentations on a variety of other topics not covered above including: ○ The 2024 LS Equity Survey results <https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LIqO7T42uNCi_RGytTmuxXb91qpqG6R9ZH3QR4GXop4/edit?usp=sharing> ○ The first year implementation of the Advisory program <https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yFAu6IdtDI59NmQ2W6K0BluXd74dJ1Yi6gw8jVnZAjM/edit?usp=sharing> ○ FY26 enrollment <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U36_jsIDwVwnQiRxv9XbtWCSqOxdvn53/view?usp=sharing%20Report> ○ FY26 class size and staffing <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W0-Zl1XpjoBIAzkGUhJNwanVNvkxq7u7/view?usp=drive_link> ○ The status of AP classes at LS <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1neVqPuMVsZCugUPAf8QK674f7teJcOhu/view?usp=drive_link> ○ The Metrowest Adolescent Health Survey results <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n-vgaUl-ljvcNq8_3bMWZYM1u-rebSA8/view?usp=drive_link> ○ Narrowing the Opportunity and Achievement Gap (includes MCAS scores) <https://drive.google.com/file/d/14G89uiFHXnBfaEeLn8OYrjwi_0WA7Ikb/view?usp=sharing> ○ 2024 <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LkIQQzilDH0k9A13IYXmmrToDKQVTX_4/view?usp=sharing> OPEB <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LkIQQzilDH0k9A13IYXmmrToDKQVTX_4/view?usp=sharing> Results report <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LkIQQzilDH0k9A13IYXmmrToDKQVTX_4/view?usp=sharing> ○ LS Student Services and Special Education <https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-bedDHmY1_ZqVVNoYu7u69cDpOOvv2tDmYaYho15f7g/edit?usp=sharing> We have also continued to improve our engagement with the community, which has been a goal for the Committee the last couple of years. We have launched this newsletter, and continue to hold regular listening sessions for students, families, and community members. The next listening session is on Monday, February 24 from 7:00–8:00 PM with School Committee member Lucy Maulsby and myself (Ravi Simon). You can join the session using the following Google meet link: https://meet.google.com/ybc-xbho-eih We wish you a wonderful second semester, and please never hesitate to reach out to the school committee at [email protected]. Sincerely, Ravi Simon Class of 2015 Chair, LS School Committee
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