Reading, MA — After a one-hour executive session and by a vote of 5-0, the School Committee agreed on May 8 to ratify a superintendent’s successor contract for a six-year term beginning on July 1, 2023. School Committee member Erin Gaffen was not present at the meeting. School Committee chair Shawn Brandt explained that the contract “represents commitment to stability in the district, a commitment to executing a vision, and a commitment to seeing [the vision] through.”
According to Brandt, Milaschewski will have a base salary of $214,000 with no less than a 2.5% increase annually. The School Committee has the option to offer greater increases if it so desires. Milaschewski will also receive $4,000 in travel expenses annually and an annual longevity payment of $2,000, with a $15,000 longevity payment at the end of the contract. All raises, and payments are subject performance evaluations of proficient or exemplary.
School Committee member Thomas Wise expressed his excitement about the contract. “We’ve seen collaboration, focus on excellence, focus on all students improving, and growth in staff and principals,” Wise commented. “It’s a good thing we are making this commitment to him, and conversely, he is making a commitment to us.”
Milaschewski responded by thanking the committee for believing in him and his team.
The meeting began with the Reading Education Foundation (REF) presentation of $42,478 in grants to the Reading Public Schools to fund several innovative programs such as podcasts at Reading Memorial High School and in the middle schools, art curriculum, and audiobook curriculum in the elementary schools. Overall nine grants were awarded. REF president Laura O’Neill explained that eighty percent of the funds were raised at the annual festival of trees, with the rest coming from teacher tributes, direct donations, and from local businesses. Brandt thanked REF for its continued support of the district and its students.
Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Jennifer Stys and Director of Special Education Allison Wright provided the committee with updates regarding student sense of belonging and program reviews in the special education department. Stys began reminding the committee of the impact on students who do not feel safe, valued, seen, and heard in school.
Stys continued by sharing a survey given to students in the fall that shows that seventy-nine percent of elementary students in Reading report having a good sense of belonging in school. This figure places Reading in the ninetieth percentile. Fifty-five percent of middle and high school students also reported similar feelings. These figures place Coolidge Middle School in the ninety-ninth percentile, Parker Middle School in the eightieth percentile, and Reading Memorial High School in the seventieth percentile. Stys shared data that shows that at the middle and high school level, those students who struggle with belonging also struggle with attendance.
At the elementary level, students stated that the longer they are in a school, the more they feel like they belong. Others reported feeling less connected if they do not celebrate the same holidays or do not have people to play with at recess.
In middle and high school, Stys shared that students felt a greater sense of belonging when they had agency over their learning environment. This notion was backed anecdotally by Jayda Hayes, student representative to the committee. Stys also noted that many students indicated that they would love to have more opportunities to go deeper with subjects such as Black History Month, languages, and other academic offerings that celebrate diversity. Next steps to aid with student belonging include fostering positive relationships, increasing access to opportunities, professional learning, and an examination of policies and practices. There is also a plan to administer the survey again this spring to track any possible changes in the data.
Wright shared that the district received notification that its Tiered Focus Monitoring revealed no findings. She also shared that external review of the RISE program and the Learning Center had just been completed and that external review of the LEAD program was continuing through next year. As of 2020, Reading has 671 enrolled students on Individual Education Plans (IEP), with 111 utilizing partial inclusion in classrooms and forty-nine in out-of-district placements. Wright also informed that committee that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education was beginning a project to improve IEPs state-wide.
The School Committee voted 5-0 to accept a revised 2023-2024 school calendar and chose not to opt out of school choice for the same year. Reading welcomed nine school choice students this year and has seventy-five seats available for 2023-2024, with no more than four per grade level per school. The district received $42,500 in additional funding from the state for its participation in school choice in this fiscal year.
The School Committee adjourned at 10:25 pm.
