New members join council
After year-end elections, the Hildreth Elementary School (HES) Council has two new members. Sarah von Conta Connolly was elected as a parent representative at the June 22 meeting to replace Kirsten Wright, now on the School Committee. Barbie Kelley was elected as a teacher representative in place of Kathy Kittredge, whose term had ended. Kelley was already serving on the council while Kristina Lazaro was on maternity leave. Lazaro is returning both to teaching and the School Council, while Kelley will now serve in her own right. Deb Barton was re-elected for a second term.
Council to seek MASC advice on future climate surveys
The council discussed how future HES climate surveys should be handled. Members reviewed the advice of Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), who spoke in Harvard recently. In reply to written questions, Koocher advised that a survey should be administered by the district superintendent or a “third party.”
Departing HES principal Mary Beth Banios noted that some people had used the anonymity of the previous survey to make comments that were professionally disparaging of others in the school. If such comments became public, she explained, school administrators could be legally liable. The council agreed to ask Koocher for further advice on the best possible way to conduct a survey so as to allow for open-ended questions while still protecting faculty and staff against potentially libelous statements.
Playground plans to be presented to School Committee
Council members looked over preliminary plans for the new playground. The plan calls for an expanded play area in the same location as the current playground, with improved retaining walls and four-foot high fences as safety barriers. The playground will include a separate space for the youngest children. Council member Mary Traphagen will present the location to the School Committee at its June 28 meeting.
Open comments to be added to subsequent agendas
Council members reevaluated the procedures for the open-comment sections of their meetings. They concluded that matters that arose through open comments should be put on the agenda for a later meeting, so that all interested parties would have an opportunity to participate in the discussion before any decisions were reached.
